British Columbia-based environmental activist Zain Haq was aboard a plane in Toronto on Sunday afternoon, awaiting a nearly 14-hour flight to Pakistan, where he said he was looking forward to seeing his family and eating the food.

But Haq was not on the plane by choice. He was being deported following the expiry of a temporary residency permit and a failed bid by his Canadian wife to sponsor him to stay. The couple had been living together in Vancouver.

Still, Haq said he was B次元官网网址渇eeling at peaceB次元官网网址� with his fate.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 looking forward to whatever the next years are (going to) look like,B次元官网网址漢e said, as other passengers boarded the flight to Karachi on Sunday.

Haq and his wife, Sophia Papp, had been hoping for a last-minute intervention by either the federal public safety minister or the immigration minister to stop his deportation, but a reprieve didnB次元官网网址檛 come.

Haq initially came to Canada on a student visa from Pakistan. He co-founded the activist group Save Old Growth and pleaded guilty to mischief charges in 2023 over his role in environmental protests that blocked Metro Vancouver roadways.

He was granted a temporary resident permit last spring, but it expired in October, and HaqB次元官网网址檚 challenge of his deportation in federal court was unsuccessful.

Public Safety Minister David McGuinty or Immigration Minister Marc Miller could have intervened to stop the deportation, but neither of them stepped in before HaqB次元官网网址檚 flight from Toronto to Karachi took off on Sunday.

Haq said his wife is planning to travel to Pakistan in the near future to join him.

The couple wants to return to Canada someday, and he said they intend to file an out-of-country spousal sponsorship application on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, though the process can take years to get through.

Haq said he has no ill will toward those involved in the decision to deport him, but he believes it was B次元官网网址渦nethicalB次元官网网址� to have him removed from the country.

A spokeswoman for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said the department could not comment on specific cases due to privacy legislation.

Papp said she had been emotionally B次元官网网址渙scillatingB次元官网网址� between desperation and hope they would get a call allowing her husband to stay, a B次元官网网址渕iracleB次元官网网址� that never materialized.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 kind of all over the place,B次元官网网址� Papp said Sunday.

She said the Canadian government could still reverse the deportation order even after Haq is back in Pakistan, but sheB次元官网网址檚 meeting with the coupleB次元官网网址檚 lawyer on Monday and plans on trying to get her husband back B次元官网网址渁s quick as possible.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭here was a lot of shady stuff that happened and things that were not very transparent,B次元官网网址� she said of the deportation process.

Papp said she plans to apply for a visa to travel to Pakistan to join her husband, after the couple parted ways Saturday night in Vancouver as Haq followed an order to report to the Canada Border Services Agency.

Papp said sheB次元官网网址檚 been grateful for the B次元官网网址渆ndlessB次元官网网址� support theyB次元官网网址檝e received from friends and family, but she is disappointed the ministers didnB次元官网网址檛 intervene.

B次元官网网址淚 feel really let down by my home in Canada,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 also know that this is not necessarily personal. I do believe that both ministers are good people.B次元官网网址�

Papp said her husband is B次元官网网址渆mbedded in Canadian society,B次元官网网址� and he was in Canada for the right reasons, with his commitment to a B次元官网网址減rogressive and constructiveB次元官网网址� future in the country.

Allowing Haq to live in Canada should not be a B次元官网网址渉uge ask,B次元官网网址� she said.

B次元官网网址淚t just seemed really wrong to deport someone like that.B次元官网网址�