Immigration Minister Jason Kenney said most of those people were counseled by crooked immigration consultants on how to concoct fake proof of residency.
To become a citizen a person is supposed to have lived in Canada for three out of four years.
“Sadly, there is an industry of what we call unscrupulous agents operating around the world who sell advice on how to take advantage of Canada to break our laws,” Kenny said.
Up to now, Canada has successfully revoked citizenship status — usually an arduous process involving lengthy court appeals — from only 66 people.
But Kenney suggested most of the 1,800 won’t contest the revocation since the evidence of fraud is strong and most don’t live in the country full-time.
Kenney said scamming the citizenship system appeals to foreigners who don’t want to live in Canada but want to take advantage of the country’s free health care, subsidized university tuition fees and the security of the Canadian passport.
“I’m here to tell those people that Canadian citizenship is not for sale,” Kenney declared.
The government conducted a two-year investigation into citizenship fraud and the government is in the process of notifying those whose citizenship will be revoked.
While there is public support for immigration, polling shows a limited appetite for increasing immigration levels. An Angus Reid poll published last year reported that in an online survey of a representative sample of 1,007 Canadian adults, 46 percent of respondents believed immigration is having a negative effect in Canada, while 34 percent believed it is having a positive effect.
The nation of 34 million accepted more than 280,000 immigrants last year — the highest total in more than 50 years. For the past decade the country had accepted roughly 250,000 new permanent residents annually. As Canada’s population ages, some have suggested Canada should take in more immigrants. But some argue that immigrants weigh on Canada’s social system and require greater resources to succeed in the country, such as language courses.
