Is your marriage “legitimate?”: a critical discourse analysis of Canada's policy on marriage fraud

As of 2012, Canada has implemented a “conditional probationary period” for sponsored spouses or partners through immigration, influenced by a similar policy in the United Kingdom, geared to prevent fraudulent marriage. I will present a critical discourse analysis of the current policies in both the UK and Canada by reviewing the policies, parliamentary debates, media representations, and official statistics. A major finding is that defining a “genuine” or “legitimate” relationship requires such extensive knowledge of all cultures and traditions by immigration officials, that it can become problematic. I use the theoretical frameworks of biopower by Foucault (1978) and orientalism and othering by Said (1978), to explain government control on immigration as well as the control of relationships between spouses and partners, aimed at creating a specific desired population for Canada and the UK.