Canada’s new Strong Borders Act is poised to tighten immigration controls and reform the asylum process, likely to pass soon. While the Act’s official focus is bolstering security and modernizing immigration, its reforms include broader data sharing across governmental bodies. This extends to using information from various immigration streams, such as permanent residence, to inform decisions on others, like citizenship applications. The legislation also grants Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) more power to respond to national emergencies, including suspending or canceling immigration documents, halting new applications, and freezing existing ones. The Act aims to modernize and expedite the asylum system while setting new limits on eligibility, particularly for delayed or irregular entries. More information is available on the government’s website. We will continue to monitor the implementation of these changes.
My insight:Â Business visitors will likely face increased scrutiny at borders, a trend already being observed.