On October 17, 2009, seventy-six Tamil refugees arrived off the coast of Victoria, British Columbia, in a rusty boat, followed by four hundred and ninety-two others Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers exhausted as of August 2010 (CBC News, 2010). Their migration stems from the civil war that has raged in their country for more than two decades. Human rights agencies and media around the world have expressed concern over the human rights violations and deaths of tens of thousands of innocent civilians in Sri Lanka. Canadians, whether of Tamil or non-Tamil origin, were concerned and many took to the streets of Toronto to protest between January and May 2009. However, despite the street protests that took place throughout Throughout the summer of 2009 and Canada's reputation as one of the most generous nations in the world towards refugees, Tamil boat migrants received a cold reception upon their arrival in Victoria (Bauder and Bradimore, 2011) . Canadian media have been particularly critical, expressing concerns about the identity of migrants and the validity of their asylum claims (Bauder and Bradimore, 2011). Based on the writings of Cynthia Bogard (2011), this article will outline the framework for understanding the social construction based on advocacy activities and the context to explain how and why Tamil refugees were characterized by overall negative representation in Canadian society .Advocates and their activitiesBogard (2011) states that “advocacy activities” are those that typically construct and reinforce social problems in which the media, activists, government and experts play an important role. Two main claimants who contributed to the negative portrayal of Tamil refugees during and after their arrival in 2009 and 2010 were the government and ...... middle of newspaper ...... 010, August 22). The Tamils ​​take us for fools. Toronto Sun. Retrieved May 20, 2014 from: http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/2010/08/20/15091486.html Tamil migrants to be investigated: Toews. (August 13, 2010). CBC News. Retrieved May 20, 2014 from: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/tamil-migrants-to-be-investigated-toews-1.898421 Rosa, D, K. (2012, November 17) . Three years after the arrival of Tamil asylum seekers, Canadian refugee policy is moving to the right. Canada.com. Accessed May 20, 2014 at: http://o.canada.com/news/trois-ans-après-tamil-asylum-seekers-land-on-our-shores-canadas-refugee-policy-move-to-the -rightStatement regarding the arrival of Tamil asylum seekers by boat on the west coast. (August 17, 2010). Canadian Council for Refugees. Retrieved May 21, 2014 from: https://ccrweb.ca/en/statement-arrival-tamil-refugees-boat