Canada is closing its doors to more visitors and temporary residents by approving fewer visas and turning away more people arriving at its borders with official documents, according to government data obtained by Reuters.
The rise in turnaways for foreign travellers comes as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, which is trailing in the polls ahead of an election due next year, is trying to reduce the number of temporary residents (and possibly permanent immigrants). Immigrants have been blamed for housing shortages and high prices.
Canadians pride themselves on welcoming newcomers, but polls show a growing number of them think Canada is taking in too many immigrants. Observers say that stance is filtering down to border and immigration officials.
In July, Canada denied entry to 5,853 foreign travellers — who were “allowed to leave,” as Canada says, and who include students, workers and tourists — the most since at least January 2019, according to previously unreported border agency data.
Border officials turned away an average of 3,727 foreign travelers per month during the first seven months of 2024, an increase of 633 people or 20 percent from the previous year.
Separately, officials deemed 285 visa holders inadmissible in July, also the most in any month since at least January 2019, the data showed.
A spokesperson for the Canada Border Services Agency said changes to inadmissibility determinations may be due to immigration patterns or policy changes and are decided on a case-by-case basis. The agency did not identify any specific policy changes.
“The role, policy and practice of the Canada Border Services Agency has always been to assess the admissibility of persons arriving in Canada. This has not changed,” the spokesperson said.
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At the same time, Canada’s Immigration Department is approving fewer visas.
In June, the proportion of visitor visa applications rejected compared to those approved was higher than at any time since the height of the pandemic. In January, February, May and June 2024, more applications were rejected than approved, according to data from the Department of Immigration.
The number of approved study and work permits also declined from multi-year highs reached in 2023 and 2022, respectively.
“Canadians want a system that is not out of control,” Immigration Minister Marc Miller said in August.
Miller’s spokesman said the immigration department was “committed to fair and non-discriminatory enforcement of immigration policy and procedures” and attributed the drop in study permit approvals to a cap announced in January. However, the decline appears to have started last year.
Eight lawyers told Reuters their clients have spoken of increased scrutiny of visa holders at airports and land border crossings.
British Columbia lawyer Will Tao said he has represented half a dozen visa holders who were disbelieved by border officials about the nature of their plans in Canada and were told to return voluntarily or risk deportation. Some did so, unaware of the implications this could have for their visa or travel authorization, including possible cancellation.
Tao believes the growing skepticism of border agents is due to a “180-degree” change in attitude by the government regarding immigration.
The idea that foreigners are entering Canada without complying with the requirements or are causing harm to the country is moving from politicians to front-line officials, he added.
‘YOUR TEMPORARY RESIDENT VISA IS NO LONGER VALID’
Mohammed Kamil Shaibu received a call while waiting to board a connecting flight from Paris to Toronto last September, en route to a conference in Edmonton.
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 the help he had received in filing his tourist visa application.
“I had a hard time responding,” he said in an interview. “I was so terrified I don’t even know what I said.”
Shaibu was told he would not be going to Canada, so he was asked to return to Accra.
“Your temporary resident visa is no longer valid for travel to Canada,” reads an email reviewed by Reuters that Shaibu received that day from the immigration department.
Canada should not grant visas it does not plan to honour, said Gideon Christian, an adjunct law professor at the University of Calgary.
“Why accept people if you’re not going to admit them when they arrive?”
Shaibu says his experience has not discouraged him from his relationship with Canada.
“I know that Canada is a very nice place, with very nice, helpful and hospitable people.”
He says he might even try to visit again someday.
(Reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny; editing by Caroline Stauffer and Rod Nickel)
© 2024 The Canadian Press
