Canada has long been seen as a haven for immigrants and refugees seeking economic opportunities and social freedoms, but the country’s immigration system is inherently flawed. Immigration policy has evolved over the past two centuries from explicitly racist and xenophobic laws in the 19th and 20th centuries to more subtle discriminatory regulations in the post-World War II era. Despite progress made in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, the recent COVID-19 pandemic shone a light on the persistent deficiencies in the system, including a discriminatory point-based system, entry requirements that are not accessible for many people, and the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States. 

A Discriminatory History

During the 19th century, Canada had an “open door” immigration policy that only applied to White Europeans. From the 19th to mid-20th centuries, the Canadian government implemented policies that explicitly discriminated against minority groups based on race, religion, and political affiliation. These forms of discrimination included the head tax on Chinese immigrants in 1885 and the refusal to take in Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 40s. The post-World War II period proved a promising era with the formal ban on Chinese immigrants being lifted and the end of explicitly racialized discrimination in 1962. The passage of the Immigration Act of 1976 suggested huge progress, promoting diversity and multiculturalism and creating a distinctive category for refugees to ensure the Canadian government fulfilled its obligations to those seeking asylum under international law. In 1979, Canada even created the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program so that sponsors could more easily assist refugees with the immigration process and assimilation into their new home. At first glance, Canada appeared to be opening its borders without prejudice, but policy had simply evolved to use more subtle methods of exclusion.

Immigration Pre-COVID

Despite the illusion of progress, discriminatory practices persist within the Canadian immigration system. Since 1967, the IRCC has used a point system called the Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) to assess potential immigrants based on age, education, work experience, and language fluency. Canada emphasizes economic immigration, preferring “highly skilled and educated” immigrants while dissuading poorer and working-class immigrants from applying. As an example, those without a high school diploma receive zero points for the education category; this means that people who did not have the privilege of education in their home country are less likely to receive approval. Refugees face further regulations in the pursuit of permanent residency. Since refugees are in a different category from immigrants, they cannot apply directly for resettlement. Instead, they must be sponsored, either privately or by the United Nations Refugee Agency, which means they have to wait for long periods of time in potentially unsafe conditions before they can begin the relocation process. If refugees enter Canada from the United States, they must abide by the Safe Third Country Agreement, requiring them to be returned to the US unless they are granted an exemption by the Canadian government; this policy has been heavily criticized considering the United States’ harsh stance on refugees. Refugees also face discriminatory practices such as the need for  “satisfactory identity documents” and the $975 “Right of Landing Fee” (ROLF). These requirements primarily impact people from poor, non-Western (and non-white) countries where there may be no stable government to provide identification documents for its citizens and where salaries may be insufficient to allow people to save up for the ROLF. Even if refugees make it over all of these hurdles, the application for permanent residency is also based on the CRS, making it more difficult for refugees from developing countries and less-privileged backgrounds.

During the Pandemic

The COVID-19 Pandemic exacerbated many of these preexisting issues. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau closed the Canadian Border on March 18, 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, and almost two years later in November 2021, it remains unopened. The IRCC cancelled all citizenship tests and Visa Application Centers closed around the world, making it impossible for many immigrants to complete their applications. The pace of the bureaucracy dramatically slowed, further harming immigrants dealing with the mere 90 extra days alloted to finish their application. At first, only essential workers, Canadians, and immediate family members could travel to Canada. Those who were permitted entry had to create a 14-day quarantine plan, which, while beneficial to preventing the spread of COVID-19, was a more difficult task for people who did not have pre-established housing or the funds to book a hotel room.

The movement of refugees into Canada was drastically curtailed due to COVID-19. Canada developed a “pandemic policy” which upheld the Safe Third Country Agreement to turn back refugees at the US-Canada land border, despite legal challenges. The Canadian government said the policy was “justified” by the pandemic and that the exemptions granted are sufficient. However, since March 2020, at least 544 asylum-seekers have been turned back, with most lacking the proper connections to bring a legal challenge. Even as COVID restrictions are being lifted, refugees and immigrants still face a complex process that limits those with fewer resources. Immigrants must be fully vaccinated with a recognized vaccine before November 30th and provide proof of said vaccination. This is made complex given the plurality of COVD vaccines used in many non-Western countries that remain unrecognized by the Canadian government. This means that those from poorer countries who are fully vaccinated may still be forced to quarantine or be denied entry because their vaccine is not approved or they lack official documentation. The complexity of the process has led to a decrease by the thousands of refugees entering Canada from 2019 to 2020. 

Now

For the years 2021 to 2023, the government has set an ambitious resettlement goal of 1.2 million new immigrants in order to facilitate economic growth. The irony of this new pro-immigration policy is the lack of support provided to immigrants and refugees during the height of the pandemic. Asylum-seeking refugees working essential jobs were disproportionately affected. Since they were working in industries such as food delivery, housekeeping, and manufacturing, many were directly exposed to the virus and died from complications of COVID-19. Despite their societal and economic contributions, Canada’s Guardian Angels program excluded those who did not interact with patients directly, making it more difficult for refugees to achieve permanent residency unless they worked jobs involved with healthcare. It is important to note that Quebec heavily influenced this policy, as many Quebecois want a reduction in permanent immigration into their province as part of a movement to “protect its culture and the French language”. They do not want more refugees who lack higher education and knowledge of Canadian culture. Economic immigration is by far the most palatable form of immigration to Canadian citizens, showing that pro-multicultural sentiment still comes down to which people are welcome. The CRS and exclusionary programs like the Guardian Angels clearly prefer highly-educated and skilled immigrants from wealthier, whiter countries. If a candidate does not rank highly in the points system, they are less desirable for resettlement. That is, those with less opportunity in their home countries face more difficulty pursuing a better life elsewhere. 

After the pandemic, Canada needs immigrants and refugees to perform essential jobs for economic recovery, and yet the government is unwilling to provide people with connections and resources to facilitate the process. Xenophobia and racism are no longer explicitly written into law, but the exclusionary sentiment persists in modern society and remains embedded in Canada’s discriminatory immigration policy.