Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, Gets Royal Assent

(CANADA) — Canada enacted Bill C-12, the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, after it received royal assent on March 26, 2026, bringing in broad changes to the country’s immigration and asylum systems and new limits on refugee claims that rights groups say weaken protections.

The new law creates two new grounds that make some asylum claims ineligible for referral to the Immigration and Refugee Board, or IRB. Those rules apply retroactively to claims made on or after June 3, 2025, the introduction date of precursor Bill C-2.

Under one rule, claims made more than one year after a person’s first entry into Canada are ineligible for IRB referral for entries after June 24, 2020. Under the second, people who cross the Canada-US land border outside ports of entry and file after 14 days in Canada are ineligible for IRB referral.

In practice, that means some claimants will no longer have their cases heard by the IRB, the main tribunal that handles refugee matters. They may still seek a pre-removal risk assessment, or PRRA, before removal.

That assessment examines risks such as persecution or torture, but it does not offer oral hearings or full IRB appeal rights in most cases. Senate amendments require the government to report to Parliament on ineligible claims under the one-year rule and associated PRRAs.

Changes to the IRB process

Bill C-12 also changes how claims move through the IRB process. Claims are deemed abandoned if claimants voluntarily return to their country of alleged persecution or are absent from Canada.

Only “schedule-ready” complete claims will be referred to the IRB. Removal orders will take effect immediately when a claimant withdraws a claim.

The government has presented the changes as a way to reduce pressure on the system, close loopholes and deter misuse of asylum pathways. Ministers said the law is meant to preserve due process while giving officials more control over a strained system.

“These changes maintain access to protection and due process, while improving our ability to function effectively under sustained pressure,” Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, said.

Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Public Safety, said, “With the passage of Bill C-12, we’re strengthening the practical tools that keep our immigration and asylum systems fair, efficient and working as intended.”

Broader powers beyond asylum

The law reaches beyond refugee claims. Bill C-12 expands executive authority over immigration applications, documents and temporary residents, including powers to pause or cancel classes of work permits, study permits and permanent resident visas.

It also broadens domestic information sharing of personal data between Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and other agencies, including government-owned corporations. Those provisions have drawn separate concern from migrant and refugee advocates, who say they widen state power at the expense of applicants’ security and access.

Criticism from refugee groups and international bodies

Criticism came quickly from refugee groups, lawyers and international bodies. A joint statement from 28 refugee and migrant rights groups, including the Canadian Council for Refugees, Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, and Amnesty International Canada, called Bill C-12 “an attack on refugee and migrant rights.”

Those groups said the law limits access to protection, enables mass cancellations and risks returning thousands to persecution or violence. Their criticism did not focus only on the new asylum bars, but also on the broader powers over permits, visas and information-sharing.

UNHCR Canada raised similar concerns in Senate testimony on February 10, 2026. It urged full Refugee Appeal Division access for ineligible claimants, with removal stays, and said PRRAs were not an adequate substitute without appeals.

Its testimony pointed to possible human errors and pressure on Federal Court review as reasons to preserve a fuller appeal path. That argument goes to the center of the new law: whether a PRRA can replace a full refugee hearing and appeal for people shut out of the IRB process.

The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, identified in the material as CILA, also denounced the bill upon royal assent. Critics have highlighted the one-year bar in particular, saying it can operate harshly in cases where a person entered Canada long ago and only later faced danger if returned.

One example cited by opponents is that the rule could bar adult claims tied to childhood visits. They have also compared the approach to U.S.-style restrictions and linked the legislation to pressure from the United States under President Donald Trump, who threatened tariffs over border security.

The UN Human Rights Committee added to that criticism on March 23, 2026, warning that the bill weakens refugee protections and that ties to the US Safe Third Country Agreement could harm asylum seekers. That warning came days before royal assent on March 26, 2026.

Political and administrative context

Supporters inside government have placed the law in a wider political and administrative context. Bill C-12 stems from Bill C-2, introduced after Prime Minister Mark Carney’s May 2025 election, as Canada faced a period of rising displacement and political pressure over border management.

By June 2025, 117.3 million people were displaced worldwide. The government has used that figure to describe the broader pressure on asylum systems, while also pointing to domestic demands for faster screening and stronger control over claims.

Bill C-12 sits alongside border spending already announced in Budget 2025. That package included $1.3 billion in border investments and the hiring of 1,000 CBSA and 1,000 RCMP personnel.

Those enforcement and staffing measures form part of the same push that produced precursor Bill C-2 and then Bill C-12. Together, they reflect a post-election effort to tighten border administration while preserving, in the government’s words, a functioning asylum process.

Practical effects for asylum seekers

For asylum seekers, however, the practical effect may turn on timing and method of entry. Someone who first entered Canada after June 24, 2020 and waited more than one year to claim asylum may now be blocked from the IRB system entirely.

So may an irregular border crosser who entered from the United States outside a port of entry and filed after 14 days in Canada. Before this change, irregular crossers could claim after 14 days under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations.

The law’s retroactive reach is also central. Because the ineligibility grounds apply to claims made on or after June 3, 2025, some people who filed after that date may face consequences from a rule that became law only after royal assent on March 26, 2026.

That feature has sharpened objections from refugee lawyers and rights groups. They argue that retroactive limits can narrow access to protection for people who were already in Canada and navigating an asylum process that has now changed around them.

Process changes inside the IRB system could also affect people whose claims remain eligible. The requirement that only “schedule-ready” complete claims be referred to the board places added weight on filing a fully prepared case at the start.

The abandonment provision does the same. If a claimant voluntarily returns to their country of alleged persecution or is absent from Canada, the claim will be treated as abandoned.

Immediate effect for removal orders after a claim withdrawal adds another layer of pressure. Once a claimant withdraws, the removal order takes effect at once.

Advocates say those rules can have sharp consequences for vulnerable people with unstable housing, limited legal help or urgent family obligations outside Canada. Ministers, by contrast, have framed them as administrative tools aimed at moving cases more efficiently and reducing misuse.

The divide between those positions runs through nearly every part of the bill. Government ministers describe a system under sustained pressure that needs clearer controls and stronger enforcement tools. Refugee and migrant rights groups describe a legal shift that narrows access to protection and pushes more people into a weaker screening process.

Impact on temporary residents and data sharing

The dispute extends beyond refugees to temporary residents and applicants in other immigration streams. Because Bill C-12 allows the government to pause or cancel classes of work permits, study permits and permanent resident visas, critics say the law reaches far beyond asylum and could reshape how Ottawa manages immigration during periods of political or operational pressure.

Expanded data sharing between Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and other agencies, including government-owned corporations, has added to those concerns. Rights groups say wider information-sharing can raise risks for migrants and applicants whose cases already depend on sensitive personal details.

What affected applicants are advised to do

For people affected by the new restrictions, the immediate advice is practical rather than political. Ineligible claimants and affected applicants are advised to consult IRCC guidance or legal experts.

That matters because individual circumstances may still receive consideration, including cases involving unaccompanied minors. As Bill C-12 moves from legislation into day-to-day enforcement, those case-by-case outcomes may determine how far the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act reshapes access to protection in Canada.