MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - A Rapid City, S.D., native who deserted the U.S. army and fled to Canada to avoid fighting in the war in Iraq was handed a deportation order Wednesday, a move critics called an about-face for the country given its tradition of opening its doors to refugees.

Jeremy Hinzman, along with his wife, son and a new baby, have been ordered by the Canada Border Services Agency to leave by Sept. 23.

"I'm tremendously disappointed," Hinzman said. "We've been here nearly five years, we have lots of friends and family. But life goes on, and we'll make the most of it wherever we go."

A handful of friends gathered outside the border services office west of Toronto where the decision came down, along with supporters from the War Resisters Support Campaign.

The 29-year-old was stoic as he walked out, holding the glass door open for his son Liam, 6, and his wife Nga Nguyen, who cradled a newborn daughter in her arms.

Lee Zaslofsky, who came to Canada 38 years ago rather than fight in the Vietnam War, said it's the Canadian government, not the people, who have closed its doors to war resisters like Hinzman.

The co-ordinator for the War Resisters Support Campaign said Hinzman and his family deserve to stay in Canada, where they've put down roots.

"This is extremely stressful for them and for many, many other people who love and support them," said Zaslofsky, who called on the government to implement a motion passed by Parliament in June that called for a halt to deportations of war resisters.

"It's the will of Parliament and we know it's the will of Canadians generally," he said.

The director of Quaker House in Fayetteville, N.C., who worked for years with Hinzman, said he respects Canada's history of taking in refugees, which he said dates back to the American Revolution and Civil War.

It's a "shameful, shameful day for Canada," said Chuck Fager, who routinely helps soldiers at nearby Fort Bragg who are facing "issues of conscience."

"The way that your government is treating these soldiers is shameful and completely out of whack with that very honourable, distinguished Canadian tradition," Fager said.

Danielle Norris, a spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada, said while she couldn't comment on a specific case, American war resisters generally wouldn't meet the criteria to be considered refugees.

The refugee category is for those who have a well-founded fear of persecution and if removed, a real danger of torture or death, she said.

"There are other means to come to this country than through that, than taking advantage of this system that really helps people in genuine need," Norris said.

Hinzman was handed the deportation order after Citizenship and Immigration officers denied two last-ditch applications to stay, one under the pre-removal risk assessment program and another on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

Neil Wilson, who is providing Hinzman with legal advice, said both decisions can be appealed and added he planned to meet with Hinzman and his family to discuss a course of action.

Hinzman, who is among an estimated 200 resisters in Canada, said he would face a court martial if he returns to the U.S., the likelihood of jail time and a dishonourable discharge from the military, which would show up on his record as a felony conviction.

He said he still believes he and other deserters did the right thing by coming to Canada.

"Iraq was an unjust war based on false pretences, and every soldier who refused to fight probably saved a lot of lives," he said.

Hinzman, a native of Rapid City who graduated high school there, was based in Fort Bragg before he fled to Canada with his family in January 2004, shortly after learning that his unit was scheduled to deploy to Iraq.

The Immigration and Refugee Board rejected his claim in 2005, and the Federal Court of Appeal held that he wouldn't face any serious punishment if returned to the United States. Hinzman took his pleas to the Supreme Court of Canada, which refused to hear the case.

Federal NDP citizenship and immigration critic Olivia Chow, who put forward the June motion, called Wednesday's decision "mean-spirited" and accused the Conservative government of pandering to the whims of U.S. authorities.

She called on Citizenship and Immigration Minister Diane Finley to immediately halt the deportation of Hinzman and other resisters.

Robin Long was deported last month from British Columbia after spending three years in Canada seeking refugee status rather than fight in what he calls an "illegal war of aggression" in Iraq. He is now in jail awaiting a court martial.