The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has the right to order the detention of permanent residents or foreign nationals on temporary visas. There are various conditions that let them do this. However, before doing that, officers must consider all alternatives before coming to this conclusion.

Recently Canada has seen a rise in immigration detention levels. Although, there was a decline in the detention levels during the pandemic. As of March 1, 2022, Canada held 206 people in detention. This is a 28% increase as compared to last year.

So, if you want to know why an officer detains someone, you are in the right place. This article enlists reasons and statistics for detention.

Reasons for Detention

There are various reasons that could lead to detention. Some of these are—

Examination— You can be detained at a port of entry if an officer needs to get more information to complete an examination. Also, an examination could either be just a few questions or it can also be an examination of your personal belongings. Moreover, there could be more intensive questioning or personal searches.

Inadmissible— If the officer believes that you are inadmissible on the basis of security, violating human or international rights, serious criminality, criminality, or organized criminality.

Identity— Also, if the officer is not able to identify your identity, you can be detained.

Danger— If an officer feels that you might be a danger to the public, they can detain you.

Unlikely to Appear— Lastly, if the officer believes that you might not appear for an examination or an admissibility hearing, they can detain you

Listed below are the stats for the reason for detention-

Detention Statistics

A report by the CBSA shows that the number of entries by foreign nationals has increased around three times in Q2 as compared to Q1. However, with the increase in entries, the number of detentions has also increased. There has been a 6% increase in the detention level in Q2 as compared to Q1.

Also, Ontario and British Columbia have the largest rate of detention. But, Quebec has the highest increase in the detention level. Quebec has seen an 8% increase in detentions in the last years.

A CBSA spokesperson said that, “when the number of entries (to Canada) goes up, an increase in detention is to be expected. However, it is believed that the CBSA uses detention as a last resort.