Fire Lena

February 25, 2026

February 25, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ottawa, ON – The Hon. Michelle Rempel Garner, Conservative Shadow Minister for Immigration, issued the following statement calling on Mark Carney to fire his incompetent Immigration Minister:

“Under a Conservative government, Canada had an immigration consensus that welcomed people around the world to work hard and contribute in numbers that benefited both immigrants and those already here. The Liberals broke that consensus, bringing in too many people too fast, leading to not enough housing, healthcare capacity or jobs for anyone and now public support for immigration is collapsing. 

“Canadians wanted to see change that would repair the damage the Liberals have done, but the Prime Minister has continued to deny changes are needed, claiming that ‘we have the immigration system under control.’ His Immigration Minister goes further, denying there was ever a problem, and insisting that under the Liberals’ broken immigration system, ‘my job has been made quite easy.’ 

“Not only is Lena Diab willfully blind to the problems she and her government created, she doesn’t even understand the problem she’s been tasked with fixing.  Consequently, her Liberal colleagues have voiced their lack of confidence in her as Minister, with nine MPs ‘openly questioning her place at the cabinet table,’ and one telling Radio-Canada that ‘the minister has no idea how to respond’ to basic questions on immigration despite Diab’s claim last week that she has an ‘easy’ job.

“While being questioned by Conservatives, she was unable to provide basic answers, including how many non-permanent residents had left Canada, how the government planned to meet its targets or how many asylum claims are pending and how long it takes to process a claim. Since then, there has been no plan on how to remove the over two million people with expired or expiring temporary permits or even how to track departures, despite her targets resting on higher rates of departures.

“At the Health Committee, Diab admitted she didn’t know how many Canadians lack access to a family doctor and failed to provide any evidence that she had considered our healthcare capacity while setting immigration levels. Instead, she laughed and claimed it was ‘not a fair question for immigration’ to know how many more patients Canada could accommodate.

“Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office said that Diab’s ‘work results’ have been ‘visible.’ Well, her work failing to uphold equal justice for all and allowing foreign criminals to remain in Canada has certainly been visible, including:

• A permanent resident received a conditional sentence after being convicted of trying to purchase sexual services from a 15-year-old
• A non-citizen on a visitor’s permit, convicted of twice groping an 18-year-old woman’s genitals, received a discharge to avoid a permanent criminal record and allow a deportation appeal

“Meanwhile, the Liberals oversaw a 2902 per cent explosion in the number of asylum claims to a record 300,000 cases as of last December. 24,599 refugees had their claims accepted without a single in-person interview, and even when claimants are rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board, 86 per cent remain in Canada. 

“The Liberal failure on immigration is directly tied to an incompetent Minister who Mark Carney has continued to keep in cabinet for a year despite showing time and time again she doesn’t understand her file. As one Liberal MP put it, ‘ultimately, it is the Prime Minister who chooses his Cabinet.’

“Canadians want an immigration system that works, and we need an Immigration Minister who can deliver. It’s time for Mark Carney to admit he showed bad judgment, hold his Ministers accountable and fire Lena Diab.