A surge in rejections, automation concerns, and record court challenges are shaking the foundation of Canada’s famed immigration system. For a country that built its modern identity on welcoming newcomers, Canada is suddenly turning people away at historic rates. Visa refusals across visitor, study, and work categories have spiked sharply in 2025, leaving thousands stranded and fuelling a flood of court cases. Immigration lawyers say this isn’t a coincidence — it’s a policy shift quietly aided by algorithms. New data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows that between January and August 2025, 278,900 fewer people arrived in Canada compared to the same period last year. Experts link this plunge to automated decision-making tools like Chinook, which proces

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