Kick Off Roundtable: The State of Migration in Canada

Yasmeen Abu-Laban is Professor of Political Science and Canada Research Chair in the Politics of Citizenship and Human Rights at the University of Alberta, and a Fellow at the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. She has served as President of both the Canadian Political Science Association and the Canadian Ethnic Studies Association, as well as Vice-President of the International Political Science Association.  Her published research addresses themes relating to multiculturalism and anti-racism; migration policies and politics; surveillance, artificial intelligence and border control; and human rights. Recent books she has been involved in co-editing include: Human Rights and the United Nations: Paradox and Promise (Routledge 2025); Resisting the Dehumanization of Refugees (Athabasca University Press, 2024); and Multiculturalism in Global Comparative Perspective (Routledge, 2023). She is also the co-author, with Ethel Tungohan and Christina Gabriel, of Containing Diversity: Canada and the Politics of Immigration in the 21st Century (University of Toronto Press, 2023.

Naomi Alboim is the Senior Policy Fellow at the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration (CERC) program at Toronto Metropolitan University, and a Distinguished Fellow at the School of Policy Studies at Queen’s University. She is an active public policy consultant and has advised governments and NGOs across Canada, in Europe, the Caribbean, Vietnam, Indonesia, Ghana, Kenya and South Korea.

Previously, Naomi worked at senior levels in the Canadian federal and Ontario provincial governments for twenty-five years, including eight years as Deputy Minister in three different portfolios. Her areas of responsibility included immigration, human rights, labour market training, workplace standards, culture, as well as women’s, seniors’, disability, ant-racism and Indigenous issues.

Naomi is a recipient of Queen Elizabeth II’s Gold and Diamond Jubilee Medals and is a member of the Order of Ontario.

Antje Ellerman is the Founder and Co-Director of the Centre for Migration Studies and a Professor of Political Science at the University of British Columbia, located on xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) territory. A scholar of the politics of migration and citizenship in the global North, her current projects include community-based research collaborations at the intersection of citizenship, belonging, and decolonization in Metro Vancouver, alongside a comparative study of immigration departments in Canada, Australia, and the UK.

Antje is the author of two books, The Comparative Politics of Immigration: Policy Choices in Germany, Canada, Switzerland, and the United States (2021) and States Against Migration: Deportation in Germany and the United States (2009), both published by Cambridge University Press. She also serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies and is the former Co-President of the American Political Science Association’s Migration and Citizenship Section.

Dan Hiebert is Emeritus Professor of Geography at the University of British Columbia. He conducts research on migration/immigration policy and the impact of immigration on Canadian cities. This includes an effort to understand Canadian immigration within the wider global context. He also plays an active role in the Canadian policy process. This has included extensive engagement with municipal, provincial and federal authorities. In 2021-2024 he was appointed Academic in Residence at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. He is also closely associated with the Bridging Divides project at Toronto Metropolitan University, the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, and the Transatlantic Council on Migration.

Hayat Looye is the Senior Director of Strategic and Digital Policy at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), where she has been a key member of the Strategic and Horizontal Policy Branch since January 2023. In her role, Hayat provides strategic leadership on a wide range of policy issues, working on large-scale horizontal and strategic policy initiatives. She offers expert guidance to the department, including advising on approaches for new and incoming governments, and plays a critical role in shaping immigration policy and responding to the evolving global context.

With over a decade of experience in the Federal Public Service, Hayat has held a diverse range of roles across several key departments, including Indigenous Affairs and Northern Development Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency, and the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Her career has spanned critical areas such as digital policy, advanced analytics, and public service engagement. Throughout her work, Hayat has consistently provided strategic leadership, driving high-impact initiatives that align with government priorities, improve operational effectiveness, and foster innovation within the public sector. Her expertise in shaping policy and implementing solutions has contributed to the advancement of both departmental and whole-of-government objectives.

Anna Triandafyllidou holds the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University. In 2023, she took on the additional role of Scientific Director for a new $98.6 million project, Bridging Divides, awarded to Toronto Metropolitan University by the Government of Canada through the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. Prior to joining the university, Anna was based at the European University Institute, where she held a Robert Schuman Chair on Global Pluralism. She is Editor of the Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies, Chair of the IMISCOE Editorial Committee and member of the IMISCOE Board of Directors.