Ongoing events in the Middle East are converging with longstanding vulnerabilities in Canada’s immigration and security systems, and producing an alarming reality: Individuals tied to Iran’s oppressive regime are gaining safe haven, and in some cases citizenship, in this country.
A recent CBC investigation revealed that Mahdi Nasiri, a former senior Iranian official, arrived in Canada in April and boasted about it on social media. Nasiri played a key role in the Iranian policymaking council that disseminates propaganda that is delivered during Friday prayers in mosques across the country. His background also includes serving as managing director of one of the Ayatollah’s primary state-run newspapers.
Canada has officially designated Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism, and denies entry to any individuals who have held senior positions in the Iranian regime since 2003. And yet, Nasiri was granted a visa and remains here. His case is not an isolated failure. It’s a warning signal.
Border authorities are now investigating 66 suspected cases of Iranian regime figures in Canada, but even this may be the tip of the iceberg. A 2023 report by journalist Stewart Bell cited one immigration lawyer who claimed to have received more than 300 tips from members of the public regarding regime-linked individuals and businesses — representing at least 700 suspected cases.
This is not theoretical; Iran’s agents have already endangered lives on Canadian soil. CSIS, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, has confirmed credible death threats from Iran targeting individuals in Canada. Iranian-Canadians have reported surveillance, intimidation, and harassment by regime operatives. Former justice minister Irwin Cotler was the target of an Iranian assassination plot. Protesters have displayed posters of Ayatollah Khamenei on Canadian streets. The toxic influence of the regime is not just present, it is growing.
These failures are being exploited systematically.
Individuals tied to the Iranian theocracy are navigating — and in some cases weaponizing — Canada’s generous legal protections to gain entry and evade removal. They have dragged out deportation processes through prolonged and often frivolous litigation. One regime-linked individual sued the federal government to block her removal. In another instance Iranian applicants launched a human-rights complaint claiming racism because their visa applications were referred to CSIS for screening.
One of the more cynical tactics is invoking Canada’s commitment to the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits deporting individuals to countries where they may face torture or persecution. When regime officials claim the same protections that are intended to safeguard their victims, our asylum system is being manipulated. The very people who once inflicted harm are now posing as those in need of refuge — and in some cases living side by side with the survivors of their repression.
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Deportation, already a last resort, is failing. Only a handful of Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers across the country are assigned to build deportation cases involving the Iranian regime — and even they are stretched thin, tasked with juggling other responsibilities. Once a deportation order is issued, multiple appeals can delay or block enforcement for years.
But the deeper issue is upstream: We are letting these individuals in. The front end of Canada’s immigration system is no longer functioning as a proper gatekeeper.
Just a decade ago, Canadian visa applicants were subject to rigorous vetting, including in-person interviews. Today, the system has been swamped by annual intake expansions without corresponding investments in processing, vetting, or enforcement capacity. The result is predictable: shortcuts, superficial screening, and security compromises.
Sources within the system describe it as “trying to put out a building fire with a bucket of water.” Ottawa publicly claims to be reducing immigration targets, but administrative resources remain insufficient and increasingly brittle.
In January, the federal government announced plans to cut 3,300 positions at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. The previous month, CBSA’s union denounced a planned budget cut of $68 million, saying the agency is already short 2,000 frontline officers.
Some of these cuts are now being walked back, but field offices continue to operate with only a fraction of the capacity required to properly investigate, screen, and follow up on high-risk applicants.
The system now appears built for speed, not scrutiny. In-person interviews are rare. Visa decisions are increasingly made through metadata processing, automated portals, and “one-touch” approvals. These tools may be easily gamed and cannot replace the trained judgment of seasoned immigration officers.
Meanwhile, officers face pressure to approve applications. Internal expectations penalize staff whose rejection rates exceed 20 or 30 per cent. Officers are instructed to rely on “available data” — even if it’s incomplete — and to avoid asking for further documentation unless absolutely necessary. Files are rarely referred for further screening unless they are exceptionally complex or politically sensitive.
This is not how a country protects its sovereignty. It is how a country sleepwalks into infiltration.
Canada must remain open to law-abiding immigrants and genuine refugees who enrich this country and uphold its values. But it must also summon the political will to close the door on operatives of murderous regimes. We cannot allow foreign agents to exploit our openness, endanger our citizens, and erode trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy.
The problem is not abstract. It is here and it is worsening. Without urgent reform — including proper staffing, a return to robust screening, and a fast-track process for deporting high-risk individuals — Canada risks becoming a sanctuary not for the persecuted but for the persecutors.
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