OTTAWA — The number of immigration cases brought to Federal Court in Canada has more than quadrupled since 2020, prompting concerns from immigration lawyers who attribute this surge partially to the federal government’s increased reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) and automation in processing visa applications. The spike in legal challenges reflects broader issues within Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), which insists that a multitude of factors, rather than technology alone, are influencing this trend.
In 2020, approximately 6,400 immigration cases were filed with the Federal Court, consistent with trends from the previous decade. However, in 2021, that number increased drastically to 9,700. Last year, the court saw over 28,000 immigration cases, with more than 6,600 filings in just the first quarter of 2026. Notably, the majority of these cases do not pertain to refugee matters.
Jacqueline Bonisteel, an immigration lawyer based in Ottawa, highlights the reliance on technology for expediting immigration decisions and suggests it has adversely affected the quality of those decisions. She noted that five years ago, IRCC would provide detailed explanations for visa application rejections. In contrast, she claims that the current automated decision-making tools result in vague refusals that fail to engage thoughtfully with the provided evidence.
Bonisteel stated, “Now with these automated decision-making tools, you usually don’t get much at all. There are these canned lines that we see in almost every refusal decision.” She argues that this lack of detailed review leads to a higher volume of poorly substantiated decisions, increasing the likelihood of challenging those decisions in court.
IRCC’s press secretary, Taous Ait, disputes claims that the use of AI is causing the rise in litigation, emphasizing that all refusal decisions are ultimately made by trained human officers after comprehensive reviews. Ait added that AI assists with application triaging and routine case handling but does not directly influence decision-making.
The department unveiled its first AI strategy earlier this year, focusing on using technology to decrease application backlogs and reduce wait times. The strategy involves leveraging AI to assess applications and identify straightforward cases for expedited review, although it claims AI does not make refusal recommendations.
Despite official assurances, immigration lawyers such as Nalini Reddy have identified a worrying decline in decision-making quality. Reddy recounted a specific case where a client’s visitor visa application was rejected based on an erroneous assessment of family ties to Canada, indicating that the application was not fully considered. “That kind of thing has happened so many times... whereas that was really an unusual occurrence in the past. But now it’s commonplace,” she remarked.
Attorneys like Andrew Koltun stress that the current system may be shifting IRCC’s backlog to the Federal Court rather than resolving it, with automation failing to recognize nuanced elements in applications. He shared an example of representing an Afghan refugee client whose second rejection featured identical reasoning to the first refusal, reflecting a lack of genuine review.
Retired Federal Court Chief Justice Paul Crampton noted that the systemic resource shortage in the Federal Court is exacerbating delays amidst an “extraordinary” influx of immigration cases. He indicated that many overdue applications involve decisions made regarding visa applications from outside Canada, leading to increased refusals and subsequent challenges.
With immigration cases representing 86 percent of Federal Court matters last year, Koltun advocates for an increase in judicial resources, suggesting that the number of judges might need to be doubled to cope with the caseload. The government acknowledges one Federal Court judge vacancy as of May 1, 2026, highlighting the ongoing necessity for more judicial support.
Furthermore, the introduction of new legislation requiring refugee claimants to submit their claims within a year of arrival is anticipated to exacerbate Federal Court backlogs, according to Bonisteel. The law has already prompted around 30,000 letters to refugee claimants informing them that their claims might be deemed invalid, potentially diverting them into a higher risk assessment process, which is known to challenge decisions frequently.
Overall, while the IRCC continues to implement technological means to handle increasing application volumes, immigration lawyers argue that these measures may ultimately be creating a less effective and more congested system that places increased pressure on both applicants and the legal framework surrounding immigration in Canada.
