Is Canada's Immigration System Broken?

When I initially immigrated to Canada, first as a temporary resident then as a permanent resident, I was impressed with its immigration system. I saw multiple pathways I could use to stay in Canada if I wanted to, relatively quick processing times (my in-land spousal application took around 6 months), and a general sense of optimism among my friends who were going through the same journey as me.  

Today, after around 20 months of writing about immigration changes, I think I’m changing my mind.

Would you be surprised to learn that almost 89% of the legal proceedings commenced in the Federal Court of Canada between January 1 and June 30 2025 were Immigration and Refugee-related proceedings? Or that court filings relating to immigration have more than quadrupled at the Federal Court since the pandemic?

That’s pretty staggering.  

Though, it makes sense. Immigration decisions have a huge impact on people’s lives. Some people, like those who are refused for the parents and grandparents program, may never have the opportunity to apply again. The same goes for those whose Express Entry applications were returned or refused before scores skyrocketed, and those spouses who will never be able to live in Canada due to issues with their spousal application – or the refugees who are refused. I would have fought tooth and nail to stay in Canada too had my application been refused – and I wasn’t facing persecution, displacement, or any lack of safety (or even any hardship at all) in my home country.  

Temporary work permits for those inside Canada are taking around 187 days to process, while inland spousal sponsorship applications are taking around 36 months (3 years!!) on average. Express Entry processing times for the Canadian Experience Class look like they are still at 5 months, which has been ‘the norm’ for the past few years. So there’s a small glimmer of good news.  

So, why are these processing delays such an issue?  

There’s the ‘limbo state’ applicants are left in. They often face issues renewing driver’s licenses or provincial/territorial medical plans, so the administrative burden can be high. I had to visit ICBC to renew my driver’s license frequently (around every 30-60 days from memory) while I waited for my PR application to be decided.  

Plus, there’s the emotional hardship. It’s tough living life a day at a time, not knowing if your application is going to be returned incomplete, or rejected due to some kind of oversight.  

But there are other less obvious issues too. People upend their lives to try to reduce the processing time. Spousal processing for outland applications is much shorter, which can lead to legitimate partners living separately for much longer to try to receive their spousal permit faster. The delays erode trust in the system and place an unfair emotional burden on families already navigating cross-border challenges.

Finally, there’s the issue of rising refusals for both temporary and permanent residence pathways.  

The Toronto Star recently reported:  

“According to Immigration Department data, the refusal rates for all four permanent resident categories have crept up in the first five months of 2025… 

However, the most significant increases in refusals over the last two years came in the temporary resident categories, with rejection rates for study permits rising to 65.4 per cent from 40.5 per cent; visitor visas to 50 per cent from 39 per cent; postgraduation work permits to 24.6 per cent from 12.8 per cent; work permit extension to 10.8 per cent from 6.5 per cent; and work permits for spouses of study and work permit holders to 52.3 per cent from 25.2 per cent. (Study permit extension and work permit refusals have remained steady.)”

But eligibility for the permanent residence programs hasn’t changed. What has changed is the number of people applying for permanent residence (or waiting in the pool).  

Which raises questions about how fairly Canada’s immigration laws are being applied by IRCC.  

If you’re looking for recent examples of IRCC’s decision making being reversed, you don’t have to look far on the Federal Court’s list of decisions. I would say that it’s fairly often I see the court ruling that the immigration officer didn’t adequately consider the evidence, and reverting the file back to IRCC for reconsideration by a different officer.  

This really sucks for those applicants.  

If Canada’s immigration rules are being applied differently today than they were just 2 years ago without changes to the actual laws, that sounds to me like a breeding ground for bias.  

There are some flaws that do concern me (especially when it comes to the fairness of rejected applications). But, Canada’s immigration system is still widely considered to be fairly open (especially compared to the US).  

That said, I do think that it’s worth it for many of the people considering Canada. It’s an incredible country that I’m proud to call home. And, for me, it was worth the heartache of the actual immigration process.  

Though, if I were granted three wishes today:  

Good luck, and as always, we’re here to help.

Steph and Rebecca

The Moving2Canada team