Canada is closing its doors to more visitors and temporary residents by approving fewer visas and sending back more people who arrive at its border with official documents, according to government data obtained by Reuters.
The rise in the number of foreign travellers being rejected comes at a time when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, trailing in surveys ahead of next year’s election, is trying to reduce the number of temporary residents – and possibly permanent immigrants. Migrants have been blamed for housing shortages and high prices.
Canadians take pride in accepting newcomers, but surveys show a growing number of people say Canada is accepting too many immigrants. Observers say this attitude is even reaching border and immigration officials.
In July, Canada denied entry to 5,853 foreign travellers who were “allowed to leave,” as Canada calls them, and who included students, workers and tourists, the most since at least January 2019, according to border agency data that was not previously reported.
Border authorities deported an average of 3,727 foreign travellers per month in the first seven months of 2024, an increase of 633 people, or 20%, compared to a year earlier.
In addition, authorities deemed 285 visa holders inadmissible in July, the most for any month since January 2019, according to the data.
A Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson said changes in findings of inadmissibility can be due to migration patterns or policy changes and are decided on a case-by-case basis. The CBSA did not identify any specific policy changes.
“The CBSA’s role, policy and practice has always been to assess the admissibility of individuals coming to Canada. This has not changed,” the spokesperson said.
At the same time, Canada’s immigration department is approving fewer visas.
The proportion of rejected visitor visa applications was higher than at any time since the pandemic peaked in June. More applications were rejected than approved in January, February, May and June 2024, according to immigration department data.
The number of study and work permits approved has also declined from multi-year highs in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
“Canadians want a system that doesn’t get out of control,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller said in August.
Miller’s spokesman said the Immigration Department is “committed to the fair and non-discriminatory application of immigration policy and procedures” and attributed the drop in study-permit approvals to the cap announced in January. However, the decline appears to have begun last year.
Eight lawyers told Reuters they had heard from their clients that visa holders were being subjected to greater scrutiny at airports and land border checkpoints.
British Columbia lawyer Will Tao said he has represented half a dozen visa holders whose border officers did not believe the nature of their plans in Canada and suggested they return voluntarily or risk deportation. Some did so, not knowing what effect this could have on their visa or travel authorization, including possible cancellation.
Tao believes the government’s “180-degree” change in attitude toward immigration is leading to growing suspicion among border officials.
He said the idea that foreigners are entering Canada without meeting requirements, or causing harm to the country, is spreading from politicians to frontline officials.
‘Your temporary resident visa is no longer valid’
Mohamed Kamil Shaibu was paged while waiting to board a connecting flight from Paris to Toronto on his way to a conference in Edmonton last September.
The Ghanaian was told that a Canadian immigration officer wanted to speak to him. He was then questioned over the phone about his employment, the purpose of his trip, and any assistance he had received in filing his tourist visa application.
“I had trouble responding. I was so scared. I don’t even know what I said,” he said in an interview.
Shaibu was told he would not go to Canada. Instead, he was asked to return to Accra.
“Your temporary resident visa is no longer valid for travel to Canada,” read an email reviewed by Reuters, which Shaibu received from the immigration department that day.
Gideon Christian, an assistant law professor at the University of Calgary, said Canada shouldn’t be granting visas to people it doesn’t plan to accept.
“Why do you accept people when they come, why don’t you accept them when they come?”
Shaibu says his experience hasn’t tainted his feelings toward Canada.
“I know that Canada is a wonderful place, with very nice, friendly and hospitable people.”
He said that he might try to go there again one day.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)