Sunday, March 29, 2026
ADVT 
National

More than 5,000 Canadians have fled Middle East, Anand says demand for help dropping

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 10 Mar, 2026 09:35 AM
  • More than 5,000 Canadians have fled Middle East, Anand says demand for help dropping

Global Affairs Canada says it has helped more than 5,000 Canadians leave the Middle East since the latest conflict began, and demand for evacuation support is now falling off.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is urging Canadians thinking of leaving the Middle East to do so and says the number of daily calls for help is now half what it was last week.

Her department says more than 4,300 Canadians, permanent residents and their relatives fleeing the region arrived in Canada between March 4 and March 8, through direct and indirect routes.

Another 871 people left the region for a safe third country such as Turkey, according to Global Affairs Canada.

As of Sunday, less than five per cent of the nearly 110,000 Canadians registered in the region had sought help to leave.

Global Affairs Canada says it is not aware of any Canadians killed or injured in the violence that started with American airstrikes on Iran on Feb. 28.

Picture Courtesy: AP Photo/Vahid Salemi

MORE National ARTICLES

Inflation ticks higher to 1.9% in August, short of economists’ expectations

Inflation ticks higher to 1.9% in August, short of economists’ expectations
Gasoline prices rose 1.4 per cent month-over-month in August as higher refining margins offset lower crude costs, StatCan said.

Inflation ticks higher to 1.9% in August, short of economists’ expectations

PM Carney meets with cabinet, Saskatchewan premier, canola industry leaders Tuesday

PM Carney meets with cabinet, Saskatchewan premier, canola industry leaders Tuesday
The prime minister chairs the cabinet meeting in the morning before sitting down in the afternoon with Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and with canola industry leaders later in the day.

PM Carney meets with cabinet, Saskatchewan premier, canola industry leaders Tuesday

Surrey, B.C., issues extortion rewards, citing dozens of threats and shootings

Surrey, B.C., issues extortion rewards, citing dozens of threats and shootings
Mayor Brenda Locke says at a briefing that the extortions are a threat to the city's way of life and many people are living in fear.

Surrey, B.C., issues extortion rewards, citing dozens of threats and shootings

What is the Bishnoi gang and why do some want it labelled a terrorist group?

What is the Bishnoi gang and why do some want it labelled a terrorist group?
Lawrence Bishnoi has been imprisoned in India for nearly a decade on charges of widespread involvement in gang violence.

What is the Bishnoi gang and why do some want it labelled a terrorist group?

Shooting in Surrey leaves man with serious but non-life-threatening injuries

Shooting in Surrey leaves man with serious but non-life-threatening injuries
Surrey police say the man was allegedly shot following an "altercation" between two groups at Bear Creek Park.

Shooting in Surrey leaves man with serious but non-life-threatening injuries

RCMP say four passengers dead in northern Manitoba plane crash

RCMP say four passengers dead in northern Manitoba plane crash
RCMP say their detachment in Island lake, Man., got a report on Saturday evening that a plane had crashed approximately 40 kilometres south of St. Theresa Point First Nation, near its destination of Makepeace Lake.

RCMP say four passengers dead in northern Manitoba plane crash