TORONTO – Ontario Premier Doug Ford has walked back last week’s pledge to issue work permits to asylum seekers.
Ford and the rest of the country’s premiers said at their gathering last week they wanted more control over immigration, usually a purview of the federal government.
The Ontario premier vowed to issue work permits to asylum seekers after he and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith believed they found a workaround in the Constitution.
He says the federal government is taking too long to issue the permits, but Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says work permits are usually issued within 45 days.
Ford now says he does not want to take over work done by the federal government, but did not explain why he changed his mind.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada says it is working with the provinces and territories to plan out immigration levels from 2026 to 2028.
—With files from Sarah Ritchie in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 28, 2025.
