Immediate Intervention for Admitted Gazan Graduate Students

Updated: July 27, 2026

Official Letter of Appeal
To: The Right Honourable Mark Carney, P.C., M.P.

Prime Minister of Canada
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A2

Dear Prime Minister,

We, the undersigned Graduate Student Associations (GSAs) and Graduate Student Unions (GSUs), write to you with a deep sense of pride in Canada’s long-standing commitment to academic freedom, human rights, and the support of scholars at risk. As the representatives of tens of thousands of graduate researchers, we have always championed our country as a global leader that offers refuge and opportunity to those pursuing knowledge amidst conflict.

However, we are writing today because that reputation is being undermined by Canada’s failure to respond to the crisis in Gaza for graduate students with admissions to Canadian universities. For over two years, 130 displaced Palestinian students accepted into Canadian graduate programs have faced paralyzing study permit delays. Quite simply, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is failing to perform its mandate, resulting in a bureaucratic crisis that is preventing exceptional scholars from contributing to our academic community.

As democratically elected student bodies, we officially endorse the campaign led by the Palestinian Students and Scholars at Risk (PSSAR) network. We stand in full solidarity with their advocacy to protect these vulnerable academics and ensure their safe arrival at our institutions.

The consequences of this federal inaction are catastrophic. Ten students have already lost their hard-earned admission offers, and dozens more risk losing their funding and research placements for the Fall 2026 term. Tragically, this administrative failure has cost lives: Sally and Dalia, two brilliant scholars admitted to PhD programs at the University of Waterloo, were killed while waiting for Canada to act.

We observe a clear disparity between Canada’s stated values and its current actions:

• Canada’s inaction stands in contrast to our international peers. The United Kingdom, Ireland, Italy, and France have actively coordinated diplomatic operations to implement visa policies that overcome barriers and evacuate Gazan students, allowing them to safely take up their university placements. Canada possesses the same diplomatic capacity but has chosen to remain in a state of administrative paralysis.
• While IRCC successfully utilized biometric waivers for Ukrainian students during the 2022 humanitarian crisis, the department refuses to extend this equitable measure to Palestinian applicants—despite the complete absence of Visa Application Centres in Gaza. The Ministry has also refused to implement partnerships with third party agencies such as the IOM or the International Red Cross.
• As highlighted by the PSSAR Network at their June 2nd press conference on Parliament Hill, the few students who advance to the interview stage are subjected to an adversarial and opaque process. Students are being treated with a baseline presumption of guilt simply by virtue of living and studying in Gaza. This systemic hostility, which constitutes a clear form of anti-Palestinian racism, has forced top scholars to abandon their Canadian applications entirely.

Our Call to Leadership

Canada has the resources and the moral standing to do better. We urge you to step in where IRCC has fallen short and ensure our immigration system reflects the values of justice and inclusion we hold dear. We call upon your office to take the following concrete actions:

1. Implement Immediate Biometrics Waivers: Direct IRCC to apply the same flexible delivery solutions utilized successfully for previous global humanitarian crises.
2. Fast-Track Security Screenings: Direct the Minister of Public Safety to resolve the restrictive secondary screening directives and expedite background checks.
3. Coordinate and Execute Diplomatic Evacuations: Actively utilize Canada’s diplomatic channels to establish travel corridors and evacuate these admitted students, matching the humanitarian leadership shown by our G7 and European allies.
4. End Discriminatory Interview Practices: Order an immediate cessation of the hostile and adversarial lines of questioning, ensuring all interviews are conducted with the dignity and fairness every scholar deserves.
5. Enforce Inter-Departmental Intervention: Command IRCC, Public Safety, and Foreign Affairs to establish a coordinated, fast-tracked pathway for the immediate processing and emergency transit of these scholars.
6. Honour Commitments: Hold IRCC accountable to its stated commitment to process all remaining Palestinian student visa applications within a strict 10-day timeframe.

Prime Minister, graduate students are integral to Canada’s research enterprise, contributing to our national academic priorities and the excellence of our universities. We respectfully ask you to lead your government with the urgency, compassion, and fairness that this humanitarian crisis demands, and to act swiftly to protect the more than 130 graduate scholars whose lives, safety, and academic futures are at severe risk. It is time to ensure that Canada’s actions reflect our shared values. We look forward to your immediate response and a timely resolution.

Respectfully,

Endorsing Graduate Student Associations & Unions:

• University of Ottawa’s Graduate Student Association
• Trent University Graduate Student Association
• University of Calgary Graduate Student Association 
• Fédération des associations étudiantes du campus de l’Université de Montréal (FAÉCUM)
• Simon Fraser University Graduate Student Society
• Memorial University of Newfoundland Graduate Students’ Union
• Carleton University Graduate Students’ Association
• Concordia University Montreal Graduate Student Association
• University of Toronto Graduate Students’ Union
• McMaster University Graduate Students Association
• Queen’s University Society of Graduate and Professional Students 
• University of Waterloo Graduate Student Association
• Canadian Federation of Students – Fédération canadienne des étudiantes
• Canadian Federation of Students – Saskatchewan Regional Lead