Canada’s border agency is investigating whether 66 suspected senior Iranian government officials improperly entered the country, officials confirmed Tuesday.
The Canada Border Services Agency has determined that 20 individuals should be barred from the country due to their suspected senior roles in Iran’s government. Authorities have already expelled one person, and issued removal orders for two others.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the Liberal government Tuesday, saying Conservatives had long advocated for stronger measures against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“Conservatives called for the IRGC to be listed as a terrorist organization for years, but Liberals dragged their feet,” Poilievre said, calling for immediate deportation of any senior IRGC officials in Canada.
Canada designated senior Iranian officials as inadmissible in 2022, initially covering those who served since November 2019. The government expanded this in September 2024 to include officials serving since June 2003.
The policy covers various high-ranking Iranian positions including government ministers, diplomatic staff, military commanders, intelligence personnel, and other senior officials.
According to CBSA spokesperson Rebecca Purdy, the agency continues efforts to prevent such individuals from finding refuge in Canada, with additional resources deployed amid regional conflicts.
Human rights advocates have raised concerns about Iranian officials potentially using Canada as a safe haven. A volunteer group led by lawyer Modeh Shahrtari identified 92 suspected cases through open-source intelligence and filed complaints with border and security agencies.
Former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler, who appears on an Iranian government target list, warned Tehran may have activated sleeper cells in Canada. Canada declared the IRGC a terrorist organization in 2024, joining the United States. Canada had previously severed diplomatic ties with Iran more than a decade earlier over human rights violations.
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