Reflections and highlights from the 2025 International Migration Conference
In May 2025, CERC Migration hosted the sixth annual conference, exploring the theme International Migration: From Roots Causes to Drivers. Organized in partnership with Bridging Divides and the MEMO Partnership Grant, the event took place in Toronto and convened leading scholars, policymakers, and advocates from across Canada and around the world for three days of dialogue on the evolving dynamics of global migration.
The conference opened with a timely panel discussion on the state of migration in Canada, which explored the growing politicization and the evolving landscape of Canadian immigration policy, along with its impact on society, economy, and politics.
Despite growing public resistance to immigration, the panelists struck a hopeful tone. “Even in the face of souring opinions, Canada still formally embraces ideas of immigration and diversity. This remains an enduring and positive feature, especially relative to many other countries,” offered Yasmeen Abu-Laban, Professor and Canada Research Chair in the Politics of Citizenship and Human Rights, University of Alberta. “Support for multiculturalism also remains quite high. I think these are elements that make Canada an attractive place for people to immigrate.”
Building on this conversation, the discussion also explored the possibilities for what the future of Canada would look like with and without immigration, and stressed the importance of immigration policy in shaping it. According to Daniel Hiebert, Emeritus Professor of Geography, University of British Columbia, “no other policy is more important to Canada's future.”
“If we stopped immigration completely tomorrow and fast forward 75 years, maintaining a reduced rate of fertility in Canada, the population will fall from 41 or 42 million to 12 million,” said Hiebert. “On the other hand, if we extended the extraordinary rate of population growth from 2022 to 2024 to the next 75 years, our population would reach 450 million. Immigration policy will determine whether Canada has a population of 12 million or 450 million people 75 years from now.”
This opening dialogue set the tone for the rest of the conference, which featured a rich program of sessions addressing the complex and intersecting forces shaping human mobility today. Scholars from the MEMO Partnership Grant also had the opportunity to present emerging research on migration drivers and governance contributing to important cross-sectoral exchanges.
The agenda featured sessions on migration flows in Asia, Africa, and the Americas; the role of digital technologies in shaping migrants’ decision-making; and the future of migration to and from Canada. Highlights included panels on climate displacement, migration data visualizations, and collaborative roundtables that invited participants to reflect on strategies for more inclusive migration policy.
Attendees also had the opportunity to engage with digital tools like Daniel Hiebert’s Superdiversity mapping platform and an interactive data installation table by Synaesthetic Media Lab (SynLab) at TMU, led by Ali Mazalek, Canada Research Chair in Digital Media and Innovation. These technologies offered new ways to visualize and understand migration trends on different scales, and sparked fresh ideas for collaboration.
The 2025 International Migration Conference was a truly energizing event filled with opportunities for thoughtful questions, networking, and great discussions throughout. We are grateful to all who contributed to its success.
Stay tuned! More detailed research outcomes and session recordings will be published in the coming weeks.
