‘We ask the government not to send us back to the ruins’: Turkish earthquake survivors call on feds to ease path to permanent residency

IRCC says the measures that allowed 2023 earthquake survivors to stay in Canada were intended to be temporary, but many of those from hometowns that were decimated are looking for a 'fair' and 'reasonable' pathway to continue the lives they've built in this country.

Turkish earthquake survivors in Canada are looking to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, led by Minister Lena Diab, pictured, to establish a fair pathway to permanent residency, says a community group representativeThe Hill Times photograph by Andrew Meade

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BY IREM KOCA

January 22, 2026

A group representing Turkish earthquake survivors in Canada is calling on the federal government to launch a “reasonable” path to permanent residency and to ease stringent eligibility criteria as many would be forced to return to their disaster-hit country when their spe...

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