Canada
turning away more foreigners amid rise in anti-immigration sentiment
This
article is more than 1 month old
Ratio of
refused visitor visas to approved ones was higher in recent months than any
point since height of the pandemic
Leyland Cecco in Toronto
Tue 3 Sep 2024 19.43 CEST
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/sep/03/canada-trudeau-immigration-limits
Canada is taking steps, both official and unofficial, to
curb the number of people coming to the country, highlighting the way in which
immigration has become a political flashpoint ahead of a federal election.
According to figures obtained by Reuters, the ratio of
refused visitor visa applications to approved ones was higher in recent months
than at any point since the height of the pandemic. Immigration officials
rejected more applications than they approved in January, February, May and
June 2024.
At the same time, the number of approved study and work
permits dropped. And in July, Canada refused entry to nearly 6,000 foreign
travellers, including students, workers and tourists – the most since at least
January 2019. Reuters reported the shift appears to be informal, and not
dictated by a change in policy.
Recent polling has shown a sharp change in how Canadians
perceive of immigration, amid a mounting cost of living crisis. One immigration
lawyer in Nova Scotia said the firm has seen an increase in rejections – and
mounting hostility towards the firm’s clients.
“These are things people have said to us – about barring
people from coming here or kicking them out – they likely wouldn’t have felt
comfortable saying a few years ago. But now they say it to us, knowing exactly
what sort of work we do.”
Last week, the immigration minister, Marc Miller, said his
ministry would reassess the number of people applying for permanent residency.
“Now it’s time to take a look at them and put real options
on the table for the prime minister and for other cabinet ministers to look at,
and not cosmetic changes simply to deal with public opinion. Real significant
change,” Miller told CTV News.
That same week, the prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said his
government would scale back the controversial temporary foreign workers
following a surge in applications. The program was recently condemned by a UN
special rapporteur for being a “breeding ground for contemporary forms of
slavery”.
Last year, employers were approved to hire 239,646 temporary
foreign workers – more than double the 108,988 hired in 2018, according to
Employment and Social Development Canada.
Employers are increasingly using the program to fill
positions in new sectors, including in fast food and construction. For example,
the number of people hired for low-wage jobs in the healthcare sector is up
more than 15,000% since 2018.
Trudeau said employers in sectors where the unemployment
rate is 6% or higher, will not be able to hire low-wage TFW, with an exception
granted for “food security sectors” like agriculture and food and fish
processing. His government has also approved a carve out for the construction
and healthcare sectors.
The prime minister also mused about reducing the number of
permanent residents Canada accepts each year, dramatically upending years of
increased immigration levels under his tenure.
“Canada remains a place that is positive in its support for
immigration, but also responsible in the way we integrate and make sure there’s
pathways to success for everyone who comes to Canada,” he told reporters last
week following a cabinet retreat.
With a federal election due within the next year, political
leaders have sparred over immigration, with the Conservatives, who lead in the
polls, accusing Trudeau’s government of letting in too many people too quickly.
Trudeau and Miller have defended the need for elevated
immigration as critical part of Canada’s economic growth strategy, but both
have conceded the volume of immigrants – in addition to a lack of federal and
provincial investment in infrastructure – has contributed to a mounting crisis.
In late 2023, the federal government said it would freeze
permanent resident targets over the next three years to ensure inflows were
“sustainable”. There is an aim to bring in 485,000 permanent residents in 2024,
and 500,000 in both 2025 and 2026. Those projected numbers are a more than 50%
increase from the 296,000 permanent residents welcomed in 2016.
The Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party has a
sizeable lead in the polls, said last week the “radical and out of control”
Liberal government has “destroyed our immigration system”.
Poilievre said Trudeau was growing the population at a rate
far faster than houses were being build and pledged if victorious in the
election, his party would tie Canada’s population growth rate to a level below
the number of houses built.
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