Immigration law update led to fewer asylum claims in Canada
· Toronto Sun
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An update to an immigration law earlier this year appears to have cut in half the number of asylum claims filed in Canada, according to a report.
The passing of Bill C-12 in March , An Act Respecting Certain Measures Relating To The Security Of Canada’s Borders, now allows officials at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to deny a significant number of asylum claims tied to study permits, work permits, or tourist visas.
That has led to only 13,710 asylum claims filed in the three months since the legislation was passed, compared to 27,838 in the same time period last year.
‘Not a shortcut to permanent immigration’
“Canada’s asylum system is not a shortcut to permanent immigration,” immigration briefing note titled Responding To Current Asylum Volumes And Safe Third Country Agreement said in mid-June, according to Blacklock’s Reporter .
“While it is still too early to assess trends, we can confirm that since the Act received Royal Assent there has been an increase in asylum claims that have been found ineligible.”
The legislation affects all asylum claims made on or after June 3, 2025, and also applies to those made more than one year after someone’s first entry into the country after June 24, 2020, which won’t be referred to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, regardless of whether the person has since left and returned.
Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House as U.S. president in January 2025 and his crackdown on migrants who are illegally in the country, immigration officials in Canada said there hasn’t been an influx of people at the border seeking asylum.
No significant surges from U.S.
“Canada has not experienced any significant surges of northbound migration to date,” the report quoted Asylum Volumes . “The only notable spikes in land border claims last year were relatively small and largely limited to the port of entry in Lacolle, Que. These were effectively managed.”
The U.S. Office of Homeland Security Statistics said in 2024 that the country is home to 10,990,000 illegal immigrants. However, the Migration Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, estimates that the unauthorized immigrant population reached a new peak of 15.8 million as of mid-2024.
Manon Brassard, chair of the Immigration and Refugee Board, said at a Senate social affairs committee hearing in February that officials were inundated with asylum claims, with 300,000 cases still pending.
“How did we arrive there? Three years of historically high levels of intake: 156,000 in 2023, 176,000 last year, and this current year, by the time the fiscal year ends, we estimate it will be between 95,000 and 105,000,” Brassard said.