‘Canada will welcome you,’ Trudeau tells refugees

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took a stand on Saturday against Donald Trump’s temporary ban on all refugees and millions of Muslims entering the US. 

Trudeau underscored his country’s commitments to helping those “fleeing persecution, terror [and] war”, in a sunny Twitter message written in stark contrast to Trump’s order banning passport holders from seven Muslim-majority countries.

“To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada,” Trudeau tweeted.

His tweet has since been shared over 300,000 times. The hashtag #WelcomeToCanada was also trending in the country.

To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength #WelcomeToCanada

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) January 28, 2017

The message comes a day after Trump signed a sweeping executive order to suspend the arrival of refugees for at least 120 days and impose tough new controls on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen for the next three months.

Since then, travellers from those countries have been stopped from boarding US-bound planes, triggering angry protests and detentions at airports.

Some who were already in the air when Trump signed the executive order were detained on arrival, The New York Times reported.

After speaking with Washington, Canadian officials said late on Saturday that Canadian citizens - including those with dual citizenship - would not be subject to Trump’s restrictions. 

“We have been assured that Canadian citizens traveling on Canadian passports will be dealt with in the usual process,” said Trudeau spokeswoman Kate Purchase.

Canada has welcomed more than 39,670 Syrian refugees between November 2015 and the beginning of this January, according to government figures.

The latest 2011 census, showed that one out of five people in Canada are foreign-born.