Canada is taking both official and unofficial steps to limit the number of immigrants entering the country, reflecting how immigration has become a political flashpoint ahead of the federal election.

According to figures obtained by Reuters, the ratio of rejected to approved visitor visa applications has been higher in recent months than at any other time since the peak of the pandemic. In January, February, May and June 2024, immigration authorities rejected more applications than they approved.

At the same time, the number of study and work permits approved fell. And in July, Canada denied entry to nearly 6,000 foreign travelers, including students, workers and tourists – the highest number since at least January 2019. Reuters reported that the measure appeared to be informal and not dictated by a change in policy.

Recent polls have shown that Canadians’ attitudes toward immigration have changed markedly amid rising living costs. An immigration lawyer in Nova Scotia said his firm has seen an increase in denials – and increasing hostility toward its clients.

“People have been telling us things – that people should be banned or thrown out – that they probably wouldn’t have been comfortable saying a few years ago. But now they’re telling us, even though they know exactly what kind of work we do.”

Last week, Immigration Minister Marc Miller said his department would reassess the number of applications for permanent residency.

“Now is the time to look at these and put real options on the table for the Prime Minister and the other Cabinet ministers. These cannot be cosmetic changes just to accommodate public opinion. Really meaningful changes,” Miller told CTV News.

That same week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government would scale back the controversial number of temporary foreign workers following a sharp increase in applications. The program was recently condemned by a UN special rapporteur as a “breeding ground for modern forms of slavery.”

Last year, according to Employment and Social Development Canada, employers were allowed to hire 239,646 temporary foreign workers – more than double the number of 108,988 workers hired in 2018.

Employers are increasingly using the program to fill positions in new industries, including fast food and construction. For example, new hires for low-wage jobs in the health care sector have increased by more than 15,000 percent since 2018.

Trudeau said employers in sectors where unemployment is 6% or higher will not be able to hire low-wage workers, with an exception for “food security sectors” such as agriculture and food and seafood processing. His government has also approved an exemption for the construction and health sectors.

The prime minister also considered reducing the number of permanent residents Canada admits each year, dramatically ending years of increases in immigration during his term in office.

“Canada remains a country that positively supports immigration, but is also responsible in the way we integrate and ensure that there are pathways to success for everyone who comes to Canada,” he told reporters last week after a cabinet meeting.

With a federal election coming up next year, there is a dispute among politicians over immigration. The Conservatives, who are leading in the opinion polls, accuse Trudeau’s government of letting too many people into the country in too short a time.

Trudeau and Miller defend the need for increased immigration as a critical part of Canada’s economic growth strategy. However, both acknowledge that the large number of immigrants – in addition to a lack of investment in infrastructure at the federal and provincial levels – has contributed to a growing crisis.

At the end of 2023, the federal government announced that it would freeze the targets for the number of permanent residents for the next three years in order to ensure a “sustainable” influx. The aim is to accept 485,000 people in 2024 and 500,000 in each of 2025 and 2026. These projected numbers represent an increase of more than 50% compared to the 296,000 permanent residents accepted in 2016.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party has a significant lead in the polls, said last week that the “radical and out-of-control” Liberal government had “destroyed our immigration system.”

Poilievre said Trudeau’s population growth was far faster than housing construction and promised that if his party won the election, it would set the growth rate of Canada’s population at a level below the number of homes built.