Canada has seen a sharp increase in the number of foreign travellers it's turning away at ports of entry, according to data from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), while the federal government continues to face criticism for allowing immigration numbers to balloon, putting pressure on the housing supply.
The data 鈥� included in an emailed statement to 麻豆影视 鈥� show the agency turned away an average of nearly 4,000 foreign travellers per month through the first seven months of 2024, which includes both non-refugee visa holders and those deemed 鈥渁llowed to leave.鈥�
That鈥檚 a more than 20-per-cent increase compared to the 3,271 turned away during the same period in 2023.
Meanwhile, July marked the highest number of rejected entrants in a month in the last five years, with 285 non-refugee visa holders turned away at ports of entry and 5,853 were categorized as 鈥渁llowed to leave.鈥�
An 鈥渁llowed to leave鈥� is when travellers are given the opportunity to 鈥渨ithdraw their application and leave voluntarily,鈥� according to CBSA.
There was a major dip in the number of foreigners turned away starting in 2020, likely because the COVID-19 pandemic prevented would-be entrants from arriving at Canadian ports of entry. In the first seven months of 2019, CBSA turned away an average of 3,758 foreign travellers per month.
鈥淭he CBSA鈥檚 role, policy, and practice has always been to assess the admissibility of persons coming to Canada. This has not changed,鈥� wrote CBSA spokesperson Luke Reimer in the emailed statement to 麻豆影视. 鈥淭he admissibility of travellers is decided on a case-by-case basis and based on the information made available at the time of entry.鈥�
The change comes amid ongoing debate on Parliament Hill over immigration numbers and how to curb them, specifically with the high number of newcomers putting added pressure on the housing market.
The federal government has faced added criticism since January, when The Canadian Press 鈥� citing internal documents obtained through an access to information request 鈥� reported the federal government was warned by public servants two years ago that its ambitious immigration targets could jeopardize housing affordability.
The federal government has made some recent announcements on that front, including ending the pandemic-era practice of allowing visitors to apply for work visas from within the country, and stricter rules to reduce the low-wage stream of temporary foreign workers.
The prime minister also signalled more changes to immigration policy are on the way in the fall.
At the Liberal cabinet retreat in Halifax last week, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the federal government is "looking at a number of options" to re-evaluate permanent resident levels in Canada, categorizing them as 鈥渟ignificant,鈥� rather than 鈥渃osmetic.鈥�
According to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada emailed to 麻豆影视, the department approved more than 1.1 million temporary visas in the first seven months of this year, compared to nearly 1.3 million for the same time period last year.
Reimer said there can be 鈥渟everal factors鈥� that could impact whether or not a non-refugee visa holder is allowed to enter Canada, including 鈥渋ncreases in annual travel volumes,鈥� 鈥渃hanges in requirements to enter Canada鈥� 鈥� including the government鈥檚 February decision to require Mexican nationals to obtain visas in a bid to curb asylum claims 鈥� and 鈥渟ocio-economic factors which lead to migration patters,鈥� for example, employments rates.
The CBSA spokesperson also wrote that issues of security, serious criminality, financial reasons, health grounds, and non-compliance are among nearly a dozen other reasons non-refugee visa holders are deemed inadmissible to Canada.
鈥淎dmissibility of travellers is decided on a case-by-case basis and based on the information made available at the time of entry,鈥� Reimer wrote. 鈥淗aving obtained a temporary resident visa (visitor visa) or electronic travel authorization or having been previously authorized to enter Canada does not guarantee entry to Canada.鈥�
With files from 麻豆影视鈥� Stephanie Ha
