As Iran struggles under economic collapse and the aftermath of a brutally violent crackdown, Iranian-Canadian families in Ottawa anxiously await news of loved ones trapped behind closed borders.
Support has been visible especially when more than 100,000 demonstrators poured into the streets of Toronto on Feb. 1 to support anti-government protests in Iran and to condemn the religious regime’s violent crackdown.
Locally, members of the community protested outside the CBC building in downtown Ottawa in mid-January, urging Canada’s national broadcaster to increase coverage of the human rights crisis.
The Ottawa protesters said the CBC reaches audiences nationwide and organizers said they hoped broader media attention would pressure international leaders to respond to what’s happening in Iran.
The demonstrations have spoken as voices from Iran have been silenced by internet blackouts, highlighting how restricted digital access prevented the world from witnessing the scale of the violence.
Protesters have said at least 16,500 deaths have been caused by live ammunition fired by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and security forces. Some say more than 30,000 have been slain.
They also called on the international community to invoke the Responsibility to Protect, a global commitment to prevent mass atrocities when a state fails to protect its population.
Maryam Mansouri, an Iranian citizen studying journalism at Carleton University, described the personal toll of the communication gap.
“I haven’t been able to see or speak to my mom for weeks. Every day that goes by, I worry more about her safety,” Mansouri said.
“The shut-down internet makes money transfers impossible,” she added. “Students are left in impossible situations where they cannot access the resources they need to survive here.”
‘I haven’t been able to see or speak to my mom for weeks. Every day that goes by, I worry more about her safety.’
— Maryam Mansouri, Iranian citizen studying at Carleton University
As traditional financial and digital lifelines falter, many Iranian Canadians have turned to cultural and community connections for support.
Persian-language programming on CKCU-FM — the campus radio station at Carleton — has become a vital link to family, culture and community.
Ottawa’s Iranian-Canadian population is diverse, including Persian, Azeri, Kurdish, Arab and Baloch communities, with Farsi serving as a shared language.
The program Namaashoum, hosted by Mehdi Fallahi since 2001, is helping to preserve these connections.
“Even if all other connections fail, the radio gives families information, hope and solidarity,” Fallahi said. “People tell me, ‘Your show keeps us from feeling alone.’”
Fallahi says the station gave him a way to connect to his people when he arrived in Canada in 1990. At that time, there were few cultural gatherings or dedicated media outlets serving the diaspora.
“I usually call this show my third child,” he said. “I have to look after it week after week — it keeps me going, especially now.”
Beyond cultural connections, Canadian laws provide an additional layer of support for Iranian-Canadian families.
The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, as well as freedom of peaceful assembly and protection from arbitrary detention.
While these rights apply within Canada, they also shape asylum and refugee policies, offering a legal framework for protection to those facing persecution abroad and seeking safe haven in this country.
Mohammad, an Iranian-Canadian who lived in Iran for 45 years who requested his last name be withheld for safety, stressed the importance of understanding life under Iran’s clerical regime.
“Many of my friends have been arrested, and protests are still ongoing. Protests against the regime have continued for decades,” he said.
“Even when other channels are blocked, Persian-language media and community networks remain lifelines, preserving identity and sharing information,” he added. “Most Iranians I know support Reza Pahlavi’s vision for a democratic, secular Iran.”
Pahlavi, in exile in the U.S. and a key opposition figure against the Iranian regime, is the son of the last shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, deposed in the 1979 Iranian revolution that established the hardline religious Islamic Republic.
Despite these challenges, Mansouri said hope and resilience remain central to the diaspora’s experience.
“We came here believing in our rights,” she said, “and now we hope those protections truly apply when our community needs them most.”
