Liberals fail border targets third year in a row

The Liberal government is facing heavy fire from federal Conservatives after Canada’s border security agency failed to meet its key performance targets for the third year in a row.

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The Liberal government is facing heavy fire from federal Conservatives after Canada’s border security agency failed to meet its key performance targets for the third year in a row, raising serious concerns about the state of immigration enforcement.

The Conservative Party on Friday blasted the Liberals for “failing to deliver” on Prime Minister Mark Carney’s promise to “secure our border,” citing CBSA departmental results that show a sharp decline in national security screening and enforcement outcomes.

“The Immigration National Security Screening Program is facing pressures due to increasing volumes and new demands,” reads the CBSA report. In 2024–25, only 12.9 per cent of national security recommendations were completed within the service standard—down from 27 per cent the previous year and far short of the 80 per cent target.

According to the Conservatives, this failure allows “bad actors to remain in Canada” while border officials struggle with growing caseloads. The number of foreign nationals flagged for removal has jumped by 77 per cent, yet only 71 per cent of those deemed inadmissible and without known impediments were actually removed—the third consecutive year the Liberals missed their removal target.

On trade enforcement, CBSA also fell behind. Just 51 per cent of importers potentially subject to anti-dumping duties were verified for compliance, well below the 80 per cent standard. Only 48 per cent of trade appeals were resolved within the service standard, compared to 70 per cent two years earlier.

“By failing to meet security screening targets and ensure bad actors are deported, the Liberals’ reckless immigration system and broken border make Canadians less safe,” the Conservatives said.

The party also criticized the government’s priorities, pointing to the $742 million budgeted for the Liberals’ gun confiscation program—money they say could have been used to hire new CBSA officers.

That promise, to hire 1,000 new border agents, faced serious credibility issues last month when Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree admitted the government had not completed a staffing plan or identified a timeline for hiring the officers.

“We don’t have a specific hiring schedule,” Anandasangaree said when pressed repeatedly by Conservative MPs, adding the government is “working on it.”

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre responded to Anandasangaree’s comments by calling for the minister’s firing.

The admission directly undercuts Carney’s pledge to boost border enforcement and is fueling opposition accusations that the hiring promise was more political messaging than an operational plan.