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OTTAWA — Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel told reporters on Thursday that she wants Canada’s immigration system to run “seamlessly, quietly and efficiently,” as she tried to build a narrative that the Tories will deliver a common-sense approach to immigration in the face of polarizing rhetoric from the left and the far right.

It was the latest example of the tightrope the Conservatives are trying to walk on immigration, criticizing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for what they see as a lax approach to irregular asylum seekers, while insisting they won’t pander to those who want a hard-line attitude to immigrants and refugees.

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“As our leader Andrew Scheer has made clear, there is no home in the Conservative Party of Canada for anti-immigrant or racist sentiment,” Rempel said. “Anyone who harbours those beliefs does not have a political home in our movement.”

The Conservatives face challenges on immigration from the left and right. The Liberals have recently hardened their position on asylum seekers, burying a new measure in the latest budget bill that would make it more difficult for some would-be refugees to make asylum claims in Canada. On the right, People’s Party Leader Maxime Bernier has been capitalizing on anti-immigrant sentiment, promising to substantially reduce the number of immigrants Canada accepts each year.