Question Period Note: Responding to Current Asylum Volumes + STCA

Canada is experiencing shifting trends in asylum claims, with overall volumes decreasing. The Government continues to monitor these developments, including the impact of the expanded Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States, while ensuring protection for those in need.

• The Government is committed to rebuilding Canadians’ trust in the immigration system.

• We’re making our borders stronger and making sure the system is more resilient and responsive to emerging pressures.

• These efforts are working — 33% fewer people submitted an asylum claim between January 1 and September 30, 2025, compared to the same period in 2024.

• Our actions and message are clear and effective: the asylum system should not be seen as a shortcut to immigrate to Canada.

If pressed:
• The number of asylum claims from people crossing between ports of entry has dropped from an average of 165 people a day in March 2023 to 13 people a day.
Increased scrutiny of temporary resident visa (TRV) applications has led to a 56% drop in asylum claims from TRV holders in September 2025 compared to the same time last year.

Asylum Claims at the Canada-U.S. border
• Land border volumes have seen a notable increase since the Spring. This is largely due to Haitian nationals making claims at the Lacolle POE in Quebec who have family ties in Canada. Though individual drivers to migration vary, the timing does align with the U.S. administration’s decisions regarding temporary status programs in the U.S., as well as seasonal changes following the end of school year and increased travel.
• Through the investments made under Canada’s Border Plan, law enforcement officials have been better able to respond to irregular migration from the U.S. to Canada. RCMP and CBSA continue to work closely with U.S. counterparts to detect, investigate and disrupt cross-border smuggling ventures, as well as monitor volumes of irregular migration in both directions.
• IRCC continues to work with CBSA and the RCMP to monitor claim volumes at the land border and support their operational contingency planning and work with other levels of governments to respond to any future increases.
Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA)
• In effect since 2004, the STCA is a mutually beneficial bilateral Agreement that enables Canada and the United States to collaborate on the orderly management of asylum claims made along the shared border.
• It also serves to strengthen public confidence in the integrity of our refugee systems, help reduce abuse of the asylum systems of both countries, and share responsibility for providing protection to refugees.
• The STCA requires that asylum claimants seek protection in the first country they enter, either in Canada or in the U.S, unless they qualify for an exception or exemption to the Agreement.
• Exceptions include:
o Family member exception (N.B. they must be over 18 and legally in Canada)
o Unaccompanied minor exception
o Document holder exception
o Public interest exception
• Canada applies the public interest exception to render eligible under the STCA persons charged or convicted with an offence for which they could receive the death penalty in the U.S. or in another country.
• In March 2023, Canada and the U.S. expanded the application of the STCA to crossings along the entire Canada-U.S. land border (incl. internal waterways); prior to that it only applied to claims made at land ports of entry (POE).
• Since then, the requirements to meet the exceptions or exemptions of the Agreement apply not only to individuals who make a claim at a land POE, but also to those who make a refugee claim within 14 days of crossing between ports of entry (i.e. irregularly). This led to a 77% reduction in irregular claims in Canada (2024 v. same period in 2023).

Designation of the U.S. as a safe third country under IRPA
• Section 102(1) of IRPA permits the designation of safe third countries for the purpose of sharing the responsibility for refugee claims. The U.S. is the only country designated under IRPA.
• As per its obligation under section 102(3) of the IRPA, Canada continuously monitors developments in the U.S. and the impact that changes in policies and practices may have with respect to the factors that must be considered in designating a third country as listed in s.102(2).
o whether the country is a party to the Refugee Convention and to the Convention Against Torture;
o its policies and practices with respect to claims under the Refugee Convention and with respect to obligations under the Convention Against Torture;
o its human rights record; and
o whether it is party to an agreement with the Government of Canada for the purpose of sharing responsibility with respect to claims for refugee protection.
• IRCC uses a robust framework to monitor developments in the U.S. and the impact that changes in policies and practices may have with respect to the integrity of the U.S.’ refugee protection system

Key STCA Litigation
• In June 2023, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) ruled that the designation of the U.S. as a safe third country (s. 159.3 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR)) complies with s. 7 of the Charter.
• However, the SCC concluded that it was not well placed to make the factual findings necessary to assess whether section 159.3 of the IRPR infringes section 15 of the Charter, which deals with equality rights, as this was never assessed by the lower Courts. The SCC returned the matter back to the Federal Court for determination. Currently, the litigation is ongoing.
• In January 2024, new litigation was filed challenging the process used for the continuing review of the designation of the U.S. as a safe third country. This litigation is ongoing.
• There are also judicial review applications before the Federal Court challenging STCA ineligibility decisions, which include arguments alleging violations of s. 7 Charter rights and s.15 of the Charter.

Temporary Residents (TR) and Integrity Measures
• IRCC is taking important steps to improve migration integrity in the temporary resident program. This has resulted in a drop in asylum claims at airports and inland.
• The proportion of refugee claims made within a year of TR approval has declined – from roughly 88% in 2023 to 80% in 2024, and reduced further to roughly 53% in the first half of 2025.
• This downward trend likely reflect the impact of IRCC’s enhanced program integrity efforts, which is deterring misuse of permits and resulting in more legitimate use with fewer individuals now using permits as quick pathway to claim asylum.
• Enhanced program integrity measures since June 2024 have resulted in a significant drop in overall southbound apprehensions that continue to decrease; actions taken so far have decreased southbound apprehensions in October 2025 by approximately 98% from peak levels in June 2024 (down to 72 persons apprehended from 3,437 persons apprehended).

• The Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) remains an important tool for our two countries to work together on the orderly management of asylum claims along our shared border.
• Section 102 of Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) permits the designation of safe third countries for the purpose of managing asylum claimants. The US is the only such designated country under IRPA.
• My department continuously monitors US designation in accordance with our legal obligations under the IRPA.
• We cannot speculate on future policy decisions and we do not comment on internal measures of other countries.

If pressed on STCA litigation before the Federal Court on the process to Review U.S. designation, or gender-based impact of the STCA
• We do not comment on matters before the Court.

If pressed on AIP
• The Asylum Interoperability Project was a joint effort between government partners (IRCC, the CBSA, and the IRB, with support from Shared Services Canada).
• The goal was to make Canada’s asylum work better and faster by improving how the different systems talk to each other, sharing data automatically, and speeding up digital processing.
• While the project delivered important advancements, Canada continues to face significant migration pressures and increasing volumes of asylum claims.
• We have introduced new reforms and legislative measures, including Bill C-2, that build on the foundation laid by the project, and reflect the government’s ongoing commitment to a fair, efficient, and rules-based asylum system that meets today’s migration challenges.