Closing Critical National Security Gaps in Canada’s Immigration System
Restoring Integrity, Enforcement Capacity, and Public Trust
What’s at Stake?
For the first time in generations, Canadians are losing faith in our immigration system. If this trend continues, it will erode support for compassionate policy, social cohesion, and Canada’s reputation as a fair and orderly country of immigration.
- Recent polling shows 56% of Canadians now believe there is too much immigration, up from just 27% in 2022. More than one-third think immigration increases crime, and 60% believe too many arrivals are failing to adopt Canadian values.
- Antisemitic incidents in Canada more than doubled from 2022 to 2023 and reached a record high of 6,219 incidents in 2024 – a 125% increase over two years. These include violent assaults, arson attacks on synagogues, and shootings at Jewish schools. These events have shaken public confidence in Canada’s ability to manage security risks.
- The RCMP warns that terrorism-related charges have increased sharply, including cases involving individuals who entered Canada through immigration pathways or claimed asylum status.
- Without urgent enforcement reforms, Canada risks a breakdown in public trust that could undermine both our national security and our humanitarian tradition.
Canada will restore integrity, security, and fairness to immigration through Legislative Reforms to Restore IRPA’s Protective Framework, Comprehensive Screening and Border Security Reform, and an Asylum System Overhaul that upholds compassion while deterring abuse. These measures will align immigration with Canada’s values, capacity, and need.
Why These Policy Reforms?
These reforms target enforcement gaps that allow dangerous individuals to exploit Canada’s immigration system while our institutions lack capacity to remove them. The focus is on public safety, national security, and restoring immigration integrity without undermining Canada’s humanitarian values.
- Recent cases include a convicted child abductor seeking a lighter sentence to avoid deportation, ISIS-inspired plots involving asylum seekers, and IRCC losing track of up to 500,000 expired visa holders.
- Enforcement tools under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) have been weakened over time, limiting Canada’s ability to deny entry or remove individuals who pose serious risks.
- CBSA and partner agencies face staffing, resourcing, and coordination shortfalls that prevent high-risk cases from being prioritized and resolved quickly.
- Canadians are prepared to support principled immigration if they see that the system is fair, rules-based, and capable of protecting communities from security threats.
How Can It Be Implemented?
Immigration reform can take many forms. The measures outlined below illustrate pragmatic, implementable approaches consistent with this submission. Supporting the core proposal does not require endorsement of every specific recommendation.
Expand Inadmissibility Grounds
Broaden IRPA inadmissibility to exclude individuals who advocate for ideologies that subvert democracy, individual rights, and rule of law. Apply lifetime bans to those with verified affiliations to hostile regimes, plus introduce a binding "Good Conduct" undertaking to entrants.
Lower Criminal Thresholds
Apply absolute inadmissibility to offences involving terrorism, violence, sexual crimes, child abuse, domestic violence, promotion of hatred, or national security threats, eliminating threshold-based exemptions that criminals routinely exploit through plea bargaining facilitated by lenient prosecutorial and judicial decision.
Strengthen Detention & Removal
Provide CBSA with enhanced authority for automatic detention in cases involving war crimes, terrorism, espionage, or national security threats. Criminalize deliberate non-cooperation with removal processes and impose diplomatic consequences on countries that refuse repatriation.
Restore In-Person Interviews
Require mandatory in-person interviews to assess intent, credibility, and alignment with Canadian values through direct evaluation, enabling officers to probe inconsistencies and identify risks. Processing should occur overseas as standard practice, shifting the burden of proof to applicants to demonstrate admissibility.
Prevent a CBSA Workforce Crisis
Introduce retention incentives for experienced officers approaching retirement and accelerate recruitment. Establish a reserve composed of retirees, veterans, and law-enforcement professionals to provide surge capacity and to address persistent backlogs, ensuring sustained enforcement capability without compromising security screening.
Case Review Task Force
Create a multi-agency task force comprising CBSA officers, IRCC case managers, DOJ counsel, and Immigration Division members to triage all security-related files, prioritizing high-risk removals and detention reviews. Mandate cross-training to ensure consistent interpretation of IRPA provisions and evidentiary standards.
Enforcement with Accountability and Public Trust
Immigration reform must protect Canadian communities while preserving our humanitarian tradition. A dedicated enforcement framework in the Policy Declaration creates space for ongoing debate that recognizes both security imperatives and Canada’s values. Future policy development under this framework could focus on:
- Transparency & accountability: ensuring removal decisions are grounded in clear, legislated criteria, subject to judicial review, and reported publicly to maintain confidence in the system.
- Capacity building: supporting CBSA workforce retention, training, and technological modernization so officers can execute enforcement effectively, accurately, and humanely.
- Strategic partnerships: securing cooperation from countries of origin through diplomatic engagement and bilateral agreements that enable timely repatriation while respecting Canada’s international obligations.
Are You Aligned With This Policy?
If your EDA believes Canada must close critical national security gaps in our immigration system while preserving a principled humanitarian tradition, we invite you to support this submission on the Ideas Lab platform.
View & Endorse “Closing Critical Gaps in Immigration” on Ideas Lab →