On October 17, 2009, seventy-six Tamil refugees arrived off Victoria, British Columbia, in a rusty boat followed by another four hundred and ninety-two exhausted Sri Lankan Tamil asylum seekers in August 2010 (CBC News , 2010). Their migration stemmed from the civil war that had been ongoing in their homeland for over two decades. Human rights agencies and media around the world have expressed concern over human rights violations and the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent civilians in Sri Lanka. Canadians, both Tamil and otherwise, were concerned, many of whom took to the streets of Toronto to protest between January and May 2009. However, despite street protests throughout the summer of 2009 and Canada's reputation as a of the most generous nation in the world to refugees, Tamil boat migrants received a cold welcome upon their arrival in Victoria (Bauder & Bradimore, 2011). Canadian media have been particularly critical, expressing concerns about migrants' identities and the validity of their refugee claims (Bauder & Bradimore, 2011). Based on the writings of Cynthia Bogard (2011), this article will describe the framework for understanding the social construction based on grievance activity and the context for explaining how and why Tamil refugees have been characterized in an overall negative representation in Canadian society. Complainants and their activities Bogard (2011) states that “complaint activities” are those that typically construct and reinforce social problems in which the media, activists, government and experts play a significant role. Two of the main supporters of the claims that contributed to the negative portrayal of Tamil refugees during and after their arrival in 2009 and 2010 were the government and… half of the document… 010, 22 August). Tamils ​​make fun of us. Toronto Sun. Retrieved May 20, 2014, from: http://www.torontosun.com/comment/columnists/2010/08/20/15091486.htmlTamil migrants to investigate: Toews. (2010, August 13). 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 landing of Tamil asylum seekers, Canadian refugee policy shifts to the right. Canada.com. Retrieved May 20, 2014, from: http://o.canada.com/news/tre-anni-dopo-tamil-asylum-seekers-land-on-our-shores-canadas-refugee-policy-move-to- the -rightStatement regarding the arrival of Tamil refugee claimants on the west coast by boat. (2010, August 17). Canadian Refugee Council. Retrieved May 21, 2014, from: https://ccrweb.ca/en/statement-arrival-tamil-refugees-boat