Struggling Immigration System Loses Public Approval: Strategies Suggested for Carney to Rectify the Situation
Immigrating under the Microscope: Canada's Broken System and the Future Ahead
With the dust settling from the controversial federal election where Trump's tariffs took center stage, experts urge the time is ripe for Canadians to refocus on a pervasive issue that impacts their economy, education, healthcare, and future prosperity. I'm talking about the nation's immigration system, which remains a contentious point of discussion for Prime Minister Mark Carney's newly elected government.
In reality, immigration wasn't much of a campaign topic. However, the ongoing challenges in the system are by no means disappearing.
"I dare say that this government takes a step back, not be bound by any number or percentage they may have campaigned on, but rather look at what's best for Canada," said Rick Lamanna, a board member at the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association.
Achieving such goals would require a complex and delicate conversation amidst competing interests, according to Kyle Hyndman, a former president of the Canadian Bar Association's immigration law division.
"Immigrants have faced unwarranted blame for issues in housing, health care, and employment," Hyndman said. "It's easy to be dismissive, to take the simple route and offer shallow explanations, but we owe better from our immigration minister."
The Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, however, finds itself on the receiving end of criticism largely based on perceived over-immigration, with Canadians pointing fingers at the government for flooding the country with immigrants, international students, and foreign workers.
Newcomers aren't any happier, as they grapple with the same struggles and uncertainty while dealing with abrupt policy changes and broken promises.
Last year, the Trudeau government lowered its 2025 permanent resident target, along with intakes of international students and foreign workers. Yet, there are still millions of immigration applications lingering in the queue. This leads to increased processing times and worsening backlogs. What's more, Canada saw a record high 171,850 new asylum claims last year, with the refugee board having 281,333 pending cases as of March.
Experts contend these are just the tip of the iceberg, pointing to a myriad of underlying problems in the immigration system.
"One of the critical challenges is losing accountability and perhaps even competence in decision-making processes," Hyndman said.
The Immigration Department has tried to modernize by digitizing applications and implementing advanced analytics, but users encounter frustrating issues such as crashing portals riddled with glitches, often resulting in missing documents.
"Fixing this is nearly impossible," Hyndman said. "There's no mechanism to address it. There's no one to call. It's just a lose-lose situation."
These issues lead to issues in access-to-information requests and overburdening the Federal Court with appeals.
The previous Liberal government was questioned for political expediency, rushing in with quick fixes and messing up various program launches. This resulted in the immigration department losing focus.
By decreasing the number of new international students and foreign workers, the government may buy some time to build infrastructure and catch up on population growth, but it could push those with expiring status in Canada to seek asylum as the only way to remain.
Immigration lawyer Chantal Desloges also raised concerns about raising the French-speaking permanent resident targets outside Quebec, arguing it would hinder other qualified individuals while favoring French speakers.
The government's solutions for addressing irregular migrants via the U.S. land border and imposing visas on Mexicans may not be the best approach, experts suggest. Instead, they advocate for expediting processing as a means to minimize false asylum claims.
Collaboration with provinces and municipalities is essential in planning immigration and understanding local labor and economic needs. Keeping immigration ministers in place for extended periods would help provide stability, according to Lamanna.
"We've had six different immigration ministers in just ten years," Lamanna said. "If there's one thing I'd ask from the new government, it's to appoint someone to stay for at least five years. How can you plan when you have a revolving door of ministers?"
Canada's immigration system is entangled in competing priorities – balancing economic growth through skilled migration with addressing housing shortages and public discontent. Strategies increasingly revolve around capacity-based limitations, reflecting the demand for tactics that ensure sustainability.
- The newly elected Canadian government, under Prime Minister Mark Carney, is urged to focus on immigration, a contentious issue impacting the economy, education, healthcare, and future prosperity.
- Immigration wasn't a major campaign topic, but the ongoing challenges in the system continue to persist, according to experts.
- Rick Lamanna, a board member at the Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association, suggests the government should look beyond any campaign promises and prioritize what's best for Canada.
- Kyle Hyndman, a former president of the Canadian Bar Association's immigration law division, emphasizes the need for a complex conversation to achieve these goals, given the competing interests involved.
- Justifications for immigration-related issues have often been misplaced, with immigrants unfairly blamed for problems in housing, health care, and employment, according to Hyndman.
- The Liberal government under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau faces criticism for perceived over-immigration, with Canadians complaining about an influx of immigrants, international students, and foreign workers.
- Newcomers are grappling with the same struggles and uncertainty, dealing with abrupt policy changes and broken promises, despite the government lowering its 2025 permanent resident target and intakes of international students and foreign workers.
- Millions of immigration applications are still waiting in the queue, leading to increased processing times and worsening backlogs, with Canada seeing a record high of 171,850 new asylum claims last year and the refugee board having 281,333 pending cases as of March.
- Experts argue these issues highlight underlying problems in the immigration system, including issues with accountability and decision-making processes within the Immigration Department.
- The government may temporarily reduce the number of new international students and foreign workers to build infrastructure and catch up on population growth, but experts caution this could push those with expiring status in Canada to seek asylum as the only means to remain. Collaboration with provinces and municipalities is crucial to planning immigration and understanding local labor and economic needs, say experts. Appointing an immigration minister to stay for at least five years would provide stability, according to Rick Lamanna.
