The Current A conversation with Canada's Auditor General
Mar 24, 2026
Karen Hogan, Auditor General of Canada responsible for federal audit reports, outlines findings on immigration and policing. She discusses sharp drops in approved study permits after reforms and hundreds of flagged integrity and fraud cases left without follow-up. She also covers tens of thousands of students with unknown status and chronic RCMP recruitment shortfalls causing operational strain.
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Study Permit Cuts Far Exceeded Targets
- Immigration Canada implemented controls that cut approved study permits by 67 percent, far exceeding its 35 percent target.
- The steep decline disproportionately affected smaller provinces and suggests policy effects varied regionally, requiring provincial and institutional discussions about adjustment.
Fraud Flags Were Ignored After Permits Issued
- Immigration had integrity tools but failed to act on them, leaving flagged cases unaddressed.
- The department found about 800 post-issue fraud cases but took no action, and 92% reapplied with over half later approved.
Few Noncompliance Flags Were Fully Investigated
- Of ~153,000 students flagged for possible non-compliance between 2023–24, Immigration investigated only about 4,000 due to funding constraints.
- Approximately 40% of those investigated files were closed because students stopped communicating, instead of being pursued to resolution.