Photo credit: National Post
Prime Minister Mark Carney defended his government’s record on immigration on Wednesday, following a report from the auditor general this week that showed the international student program lacked proper controls.
The National Post reports Carney as saying, “We’re taking back control on immigration,” as he entered a caucus meeting.
“You’ve seen temporary wither numbers down by 50 per cent, asylum claims down by a third,” he said. “New foreign student numbers down by 60 [per cent since this government came in, and 100 per cent investigations since 2025, which is as long as I’ve been prime minister.”
Carney’s comments came two days after a new report by the auditor general’s office revealed that Canada’s immigration department investigated only a fraction of the 153,000 international students flagged for non-compliance and potential fraud over two years.
Between 2023 and 2024, the department only had the capacity to investigate just over 4,000 cases. When the cases were investigated, the department took “limited action” in confirming non-compliance beyond contacting the student for more information.
The audit also highlighted that the department failed to follow up on 800 cases where fraudulent documents were used. The report also found that the department failed to monitor which students were expected to leave each year and which students had left the country.
In her response, Immigration Minister Lena Mdetldege Diab said her department would be centralizing the investigations and sharing more information with the Canada Border Services Agency. Diab also said that since 2025, 100 per cent of the discrepancies reported were “followed up.”
