Lena Metlege Diab takes office as Canada's Minister of Immigration

Canada’s new Minister of Immigration is Lena Metlege Diab, Member of Parliament for Halifax West. She will lead Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), succeeding former Immigration Minister Rachel Bendayan.

Cabinet reshuffles such as today’s are a regular feature of Canadian politics following elections, giving prime ministers the chance to rearrange their ministerial teams on the basis of performance, political priorities or evolving policy goals.

The most recent major cabinet reshuffle took place in March 2025, when Rachel Bendayan was appointed Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC), following Marc Miller’s tenure in the role.

Who is the new Minister of Immigration?

Lena Metlege Diab brings a wealth of political and legal experience to the immigration portfolio.

She previously served as Nova Scotia’s Minister of Immigration from 2013 to 2021, becoming the first woman of Lebanese descent elected to a legislature in Canada and the first woman to serve as Attorney General and Minister of Justice in Nova Scotia’s history.

As provincial Immigration Minister, Diab made considerable progress in developing Nova Scotia’s immigration programme, including nominating a record number of new permanent residents, introducing new entrepreneur streams and pioneering the use of pilot programmes aligned with Express Entry for provincial immigration.

In addition to serving as Immigration Minister for her province, Diab also served (often concurrently) as Minister of

• Acadian Affairs and Francophonie
• Labour and Advanced Education.

Born and raised in Halifax to Lebanese immigrant parents, Diab is fluent in three languages (English, French and Arabic) and holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce from Saint Mary’s University and a law degree from Dalhousie University.

Before entering politics, she practised law and ran a small business in Halifax. Diab remains deeply involved in the Lebanese-Canadian community, having served seven terms as president of the Canadian Lebanon Society of Halifax. She was the Society’s first female president.

According to the biography on the website for her candidacy for the Halifax West seat in Parliament, Minister Diab’s values are rooted in “diversity, inclusion, collaboration and fairness.”

Immigration policy under Prime Minister Mark Carney

With Mark Carney now leading the Canadian government, the direction of Canadian immigration policy may shift once again. While the specific mandate letters have not yet been published, Carney has previously expressed support for:

• Reducing permanent immigration to “sustainable” levels
• Providing further support for economic immigration to Canada
• Increasing francophone immigration levels
• Reducing temporary resident numbers.

The importance of the immigration portfolio in Canadian politics

Immigration continues to play a central role in Canada’s economic, demographic and political landscape, serving as an important tool for filling labour market gaps and as a key driver of population growth.

Today, immigration accounts for close to 100% of Canada’s labour force and population growth.

Because of the important role immigration plays in Canadian society, it is frequently the focus of both policy change and media scrutiny.

Canada’s immigration department enjoys considerable discretionary power, allowing it to issue public policies that can have far-reaching effects on workers, students, families and employers.

One example is the power to introduce or suspend public policies, such as changing work-permit eligibility or capping the working hours of international students.

The minister can bring in such temporary public policies without parliamentary approval.

Read more about Canada’s new Minister of Immigration on the government website here.