Don’t Take the Boats

January 9, 2026January 29, 2026

Former immigration foreign service officer René Bersma offers his comprehensive recollections of the early part of his career, with particular emphasis on his experiences in south-east Asia (1978-1982).

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Refugees | Southeast Asians

Canada’s and Canadians’ humanitarian tradition
November 16, 2017February 1, 2026

CIHS President Michael Molloy , Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s Associate Assistant Deputy Minister Dawn Edlund, Naomi Alboim and Doctor Nhung Tran-Davies recently discussed Canada’s and Canadians’ humanitarian tradition. The panel was organized by the Canada School of Public Service which has made this video link accessible. The panel discussed their respective experiences with major refugee movements – Alboim…

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Foreign operations

Officer recruitment in the 1950s
December 13, 2014February 1, 2026

In 1957, the Government launched a recruitment program to bring university students into the Foreign Service as immigration officers. A CIHS member who was recruited through the program has provided us with a copy of the recruitment brochure which outlines recruitment standards, the career path and working/living conditions. The brochure was printed by the Queen’s…

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Refugees | Southeast Asians

Running on Empty book presented to IOM Director General
September 27, 2017February 1, 2026

CIHS member Erica Usher presents a copy of Running on Empty to IOM Director General, William Swing at IOM HQ in Geneva where Erica is on assignment as Senior Policy Adviser, Global Compact for Migration.

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Foreign operations | Refugees | Southeast Asians

Running on Empty – Book Publication
March 17, 2017May 16, 2026

The Society proudly announces the publication of its book, ‘Running on Empty’, on the Indochinese ‘boat people’ movement under the banner of McGill Queen’s University Press. The book focuses on the work of Canadian public servants in Southeast Asia and Canada to meet an unprecedented commitment to resettle 70,000 of the refugees before the end of 1980….

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Refugees | Ugandan Asians

The “Uganda Collection”
June 20, 2014January 25, 2026

CIHS facilitated the transfer to Carleton University of an important archive of 1972 Canadian, Ugandan and international newspaper clippings about the expulsion Uganda’s Asian community. 6,000 Ugandan Asians came to Canada with visas issued by the team sent to Kampala in the fall of 1972 and approximately 2,000 more came the following year. This resource and…

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Refugees

From the Archives: 1986 – the UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award is awarded to “the people of Canada”
January 21, 2026February 3, 2026

In 1986, the people of Canada were the recipients of a prestigious award for their work on behalf of refugees. The Nansen Refugee Award, first presented in 1954, is named after Fridtjof Nansen, who was the first High Commissioner for Refugees at the League of Nations. He led the development of a travel document for…

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