Canada Extends Welcome Amid U.S. Refugee Ban

OTTAWA—Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other lawmakers suggested Canada would be willing to take refugees affected by the White House crackdown on entry into the U.S., building on the Liberal government’s strategy to become a prime destination for immigrants. To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength,” Mr. Trudeau said Saturday on his official Twitter account.

That message generated a flood of support, or more than 500,000 “likes” on the social-media platform, and its message was quickly echoed by other Canadian lawmakers at the federal and provincial level. The Premier of the province of Saskatchewan, Brad Wall, who has quarreled publicly with Mr. Trudeau over a proposed carbon tax, said his western Canadian government stood ready to help any refugee or immigrant “stranded by the U.S. ban.”

Offering asylum to those affected by the U.S. moves also garnered some support from right-of-center leaders. Jason Kenney, who served as immigration minister under former Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper and is now seeking to become the leader of Alberta’s Conservative Party, said Mr. Trudeau “should immediately facilitate temporary residency for bona fide travelers stranded” by the executive order.

Mr. Trudeau’s message builds on moves following his October 2015 election victory to boost the number of Syrian refugees that Canada would take amid the height of the humanitarian crisis in Europe and the Middle East, and it stands in contrast to the new U.S. administration’s crackdown on immigration.

Mr. Trudeau’s government brought in 25,000 Syrian refugees four months after coming to power, and has since added another 15,000, for a total of roughly 40,000. During the 2015 election, the previous Conservative government pledged to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees over a three-year period but later pledged to speed up the timing amid heavy criticism.

The issue damaged Mr. Harper’s re-election effort in the summer of 2015 when an image of a drowned 3-year-old Syrian refugee lying facedown on a Turkish beach became a global flashpoint for the humanitarian crisis, and it emerged that anadian authorities had rejected an asylum application from the boy’s relatives.

Of the 40,000 refugees admitted since Mr. Trudeau’s election, about 22,000 were sponsored by the government. Another 14,000 came in with funding and sponsorship by Canadians, who were able under a government program to contribute toward bringing in individual refugees and families.

Mr. Trudeau’s government is also signaling that it plans to increase the number of immigrants it will accept, mostly under an economic immigration program that gives priority to would-be entrants with certain job and language skills. In 2017, Canada will admit about 300,000 new immigrants, roughly the same as in 2016, but a blue-chip government advisory panel has recommended a 50% increase over a five-year period.

That policy is aimed at boosting economic growth, since policy makers in Canada view immigration, which is generally supported by the population, as one way of offsetting the impacts of the country’s aging workforce.

As the prime minister put out his message on social media, Canadian officials tried to gauge the fallout and ramifications from Friday’s executive order from President Donald Trump that imposed restrictions from people from the seven Muslim-majority countries Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The restrictions were required, the White House said, to keep out possible terrorists while the new administration puts in place tougher screening and vetting procedures. The order also bans Syrian refugees from entering the U.S.

Late Saturday, Mr. Trudeau’s office issued a statement saying holders of Canadian passports who hailed from the seven affected countries would be exempt. It said it received those reassurances from Michael Flynn, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser.Previously, U.S. State Department officials said restrictions on entry into the U.S. by citizens of the seven countries also applied to people who originally hailed from those countries but travel on a passport issued by any other nation. Under those terms, Canada’s Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen might have had trouble entering the U.S., as he arrived in Canada in 1993 as a refugee fleeing war-torn Somalia. 

“We have been assured that Canadian citizens traveling on Canadian passport will be dealt with ‎in the usual process,” the statement from Mr. Trudeau’s office said. The White House had yet on Sunday to respond to a request for comment on the Canadian statement. On Sunday, President Donald Trump said on his official Twitter account that the U.S. needs “strong borders and extreme vetting” of immigrants and refugees.