Thursday, March 12, 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

Statistics Canada to cut 850 jobs, 12 per cent of executive team

Statistics Canada to cut 850 jobs, 12 per cent of executive team
Statistics Canada says it will be cutting around 850 of its staff along with 12 per cent of its executive team.

Statistics Canada to cut 850 jobs, 12 per cent of executive team

Supreme Court Justice Sheilah Martin to retire May 30

Supreme Court Justice Sheilah Martin to retire May 30
Justice Sheilah Martin says she will retire from the Supreme Court of Canada effective May 30.

Supreme Court Justice Sheilah Martin to retire May 30

NASA releases possible launch dates for Artemis II quest with Canada's Jeremy Hansen

NASA releases possible launch dates for Artemis II quest with Canada's Jeremy Hansen
NASA has announced possible launch dates for the Artemis II mission, which will include Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

NASA releases possible launch dates for Artemis II quest with Canada's Jeremy Hansen

Canadian charity opens relief hub for children in Gaza

Canadian charity opens relief hub for children in Gaza
As advocates warn the world is turning away from the suffering in Gaza, a Canadian charity is opening a relief hub to give traumatized children in the enclave access to basic mental health supports and education.

Canadian charity opens relief hub for children in Gaza

Carney meets with Coastal First Nations today to talk major projects, oceans

Carney meets with Coastal First Nations today to talk major projects, oceans
Prime Minister Mark Carney will meet today with Coastal First Nations in Prince Rupert, B.C., to discuss his government's major projects agenda and marine conservation.

Carney meets with Coastal First Nations today to talk major projects, oceans

B.C. court to hear Charter challenge over religious exemptions to assisted dying law

B.C. court to hear Charter challenge over religious exemptions to assisted dying law
A trial set to begin Monday in British Columbia's Supreme Court questions whether publicly funded faith-based hospitals should be allowed to prevent patients from receiving medical assistance in dying in their facilities.

B.C. court to hear Charter challenge over religious exemptions to assisted dying law