The ratio of visitor visas denied to those approved has been higher in recent months than at any other time since the pandemic’s peak.
Canada is adopting official and informal actions to reduce immigration to demonstrate how it has become a political issue ahead of a federal election.
According to data acquired by Reuters, the ratio of visitor visa applications denied to those granted was higher in recent months than it has been since the pandemic’s peak. In January, February, May, and June of 2024, immigration officers denied more petitions than granted.
Concurrently, the number of authorized work and study permits declined. Furthermore, Canada denied entrance to about 6,000 foreign visitors in July, including workers, students, and tourists—the highest number since at least January 2019. According to Reuters, an official policy change doesn’t seem to drive this shift.
In the midst of an increasing cost of living issue, recent polling has revealed a dramatic shift in Canadians’ perceptions of immigration. According to a Nova Scotian immigration attorney, the company has witnessed a rise in rejections and growing animosity toward its clients.
Individuals have said things to us that, a few years ago, they probably wouldn’t have felt comfortable saying, such as keeping people from coming here or throwing them out. But now that they know the precise nature of our work, they say it to us.
Marc Miller, the minister of immigration, announced last week that his department would review the number of applications for permanent residence.
Miller said it’s time to examine them and present the prime minister and other cabinet members with viable solutions, not just cosmetic adjustments meant to appease the public.
Following a spike in applications, Justin Trudeau, the prime minister, said that week that his government would reduce the number of problematic temporary foreign workers. A UN special rapporteur has denounced the program for serving as a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of slavery.”
Employment and Social Development Canada reports that firms were given permission to hire 239,646 temporary foreign workers last year, more than twice the number hired in 2018.
Companies increasingly embrace the program to staff new industries with qualified candidates, like fast food and construction. For instance, since 2018, the number of persons employed in the healthcare industry for low-paying positions has increased by more than 15,000.
According to Trudeau, employers in “food security sectors” such as agriculture and food and fish processing will be exempt from hiring low-wage TFW if the unemployment rate in those industries is 6% or above. Additionally, his government has granted a carve-out for the healthcare and construction industries.
The prime minister also brooded over drastically reversing years of elevated immigration levels during his administration by lowering the annual number of permanent immigrants Canada accepts.
To reporters following a cabinet retreat last week, he stated, “Canada is a nation that is positive in its support for immigration but also responsible in the way we integrate and ensure that there are pathways to success for all who come to Canada.”
Political leaders have clashed over immigration in the run-up to the federal election scheduled for early next year. The Conservatives, leading in the polls, have accused Trudeau’s government of admitting too many immigrants too rapidly.
Trudeau and Miller have supported increased immigration as a vital component of Canada’s economic growth strategy. Still, they have also acknowledged that the number of immigrants has contributed to an increasing crisis and a lack of federal and provincial investment in infrastructure.
