Â鶹´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Canada extends ban on senior Iranian officials back to 2003

 Demonstrators protest against Iran outside the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa on July 26, 2004. (Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press) Demonstrators protest against Iran outside the Department of Foreign Affairs in Ottawa on July 26, 2004. (Fred Chartrand/The Canadian Press)
Share

The federal government is expanding a measure that bans tens of thousands of Iranian officials from entering Canada. 

The change, announced Sunday, means any senior official who served in the Iranian government at any time since June 23, 2003 is now inadmissible to Canada. 

Iranian-Canadian photojournalist Zahra Kazemi was arrested on that date in Tehran, and died in hospital almost three weeks later after being tortured and raped.

Ottawa first labelled the Iranian government as a regime engaging in terrorism and systematic or gross human rights violations in November 2022, and denied entry to senior officials who'd served in the government since Nov. 15, 2019. 

Current and former officials present in Canada could also lose their temporary or permanent resident status and could be removed from the country. 

In June, the government listed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization under the Criminal Code, following years of pressure from Iranian Canadians and opposition parties. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 15, 2024

IN DEPTH

Opinion

opinion

opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster

A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?

opinion

opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike

When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.

CTVNews.ca Top Stories

Debate gets testy as MPs consider confidence motion in PM Trudeau

MPs debated the first non-confidence motion of the fall House of Commons sitting today, seeing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre push once again for a snap election. But with votes secured to keep them afloat, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals were quick to turn the discussion into a referendum on the Conservative alternative.

A city councillor in British Columbia says an online mob of "extremists" and "politically motivated hackers" is responsible for uncovering and publicizing a photo of him wearing a blackface costume to a Halloween party in 2007.

We've all had neighbours we didn't like, but two people from Sault Ste. Marie have been awarded more than half a million dollars for the 'extreme' behaviour of the people who lived next to them.

After Ontario Premier Doug Ford made controversial comments about solutions to get people out of homeless encampments, advocates and members of the opposition spoke up on Tuesday.

Questions are being raised over the use of body cameras in stores as a way to combat crime.

Local Spotlight

An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.

Fire has destroyed a barn and 17,000 plants at a family-owned business in Lower Coverdale, N.B.

Before influencers on social media, Canada’s Jeanne Beker was bringing the world of high fashion down to earth and as Calgary’s Glenbow Museum gets a major make-over, it will include a new exhibition showcasing the pop culture icon.

A sea lion swam free after a rescue team disentangled it near Vancouver Island earlier this week.

A Nova Scotian YouTuber has launched a mini-truck bookmobile.

Cole Haas is more than just an avid fan of the F.W. Johnson Wildcats football team. He's a fixture on the sidelines, a source of encouragement, and a beloved member of the team.

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

An anonymous business owner paid off the mortgage for a New Brunswick not-for-profit.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

Stay Connected