Morrigan Johnson is an independent journalist in Calgary.The problem with mass-populated regions ridden with terror and chaos is that nobody will want to live there. The war on Iran won’t likely deliver any kind of liberal progressive utopia, despite the repetition of the feeling that it somehow will. When regimes collapse, they are engulfed by the power vacuum, often filled by extremism rather than any stable or responsible governance. The regime change wars in Afghanistan (2001), Iraq (2003), Libya (2011), and Syria (2011-present) have left failed states ridden with terrorism and chaos. Contrary to the tabloids, there has yet to be any proof that Iran had weaponized any nuclear programs, with negotiations ongoing right until days before the strikes. A UNHCR report released in June 2025 noted that there were already 348,900 refugees who had fled to Iran from neighbouring conflicts, mostly Afghan. UNHCR said that if the regime were to fall, potentially 2.5 million people may need to be resettled to countries like the US or Canada. In an updated report released on March 6, the scale was updated for the worst-case scenario as a full-scale war breaks out between Israel-USA and Iran. Humanitarian officials warned that if the conflict leads to the displacement of even 10% of the 90 million Iranian population, it would create a refugee movement of around 9 million people seeking resettlement. A collapse of this magnitude could increase the total global refugee population by 75% or more if a quarter of the population is displaced. The UNHCR categorized this potential movement as a “century-scale” crisis, noting that it would rival the largest mass migrations of the last 100 years..Factors driving the problem are the potential regime collapse, as power vacuums are created. The targeting of urban areas, normally to be avoided in just wars, has already occurred with hits all over Tehran. Infrastructure destruction, such as schools, hospitals, electricity, water, food, and logistics, could worsen the humanitarian situation. And of course, ‘weaponized population’ as analysts warn that forcing populations to move with the conditions of war could destabilize the region or be exploited in any number of ways. Canada took in 44,620 Syrian refugees between 2015 and 2020, despite many Western countries facing security problems due to the migrant crisis. With Canada’s track record being a disaster, by the exact same bureaucrats deciding the next crisis, we might expect Canada to perform badly compared to its allies. In the first half of 2025, the majority of asylum seekers, otherwise what we call a “refugee” came from India. A country with no wars, famine, or natural disasters. Canada’s asylum process is ridiculed as a no-borders broken system, and even Ottawa admits finally that there might be ‘fraud occurring.’ According to an ACS ledger poll from June 2025, 62% of Canadians still believe that there are too many immigrants, down from 65% cited by the National Post last year, but the shocking thing is that the sentiment is widespread, with 57% of immigrants themselves, and 61% of non-white Canadians, feeling there are too many immigrants. Only 24% of Canadians say refugees "can be trusted.”The problem is not that the system is being abused. It’s actually designed to be abused. In Canada, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) establishes the country's humanitarian framework. The system is designed to turn nobody away until a claim is processed, giving the state minimal recourse except when the decision point is reached. Anyone can land in Canada, and it is very difficult to legally deport them under existing laws. When humanitarian principles apply, illegal entry opens a legal pathway, and under many conditions, they cannot be forced to leave before decisions are made. Otherwise, it could take many years for a claim to be rejected. The Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the IRB hears and decides these claims. .In Alberta, the provincial budget released at the end of February shows a huge deficit. The government said itself, "Alberta is feeling extreme pressures. Unprecedented growth in recent years has stretched essential service capacities beyond what the system is able to manage. More people mean Alberta needs more classrooms, more hospital capacity, more infrastructure, and more support systems — all at a time when non-renewable resource revenue is declining. These pressures are not only increasing the deficit but also pushing the province to project three years of substantial deficits..." (page 1 of the Alberta 2026 Budget). As of the date of the UN report, Iran had already seen the immediate displacement of approximately 330,000 people in the first seven days of fighting, which officials viewed as the “precursor” to the larger 9-million-person scenario in the grim projections. Considering that each factor named in the report is already known to be taking place, the worst-case scenario could very well be reached, leading to cascading regional failures and destabilizing countries around the world. For Canadians, now is the time to see the reality of the international situation and re-establish actual borders. For Albertans, the government announced a provincial referendum for October 19 as a direct response to the fiscal and social pressures it attributes to rapid demographic changes. Either way, Canada is at a crossroads with mass uncontrolled immigration.Morrigan Johnson is an independent journalist in Calgary.
