(CANADA) — Canada brought Bill C‑12 into law on March 26, 2026, tightening asylum eligibility, changing how refugee claims move through the system, expanding domestic information-sharing and giving Cabinet new powers over immigration documents and application processing.

The law, formally titled the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act, took effect immediately for the measures now in force. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in a March 27, 2026 backgrounder that the bill received Royal Assent and “has become law.”

Among the broadest changes, Bill C‑12 bars some asylum claims from referral to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, requires claims to be complete before referral, and allows the government to cancel, suspend or change groups of immigration documents through Governor in Council orders. It also authorizes broader data sharing within IRCC and with federal, provincial and territorial partners, subject to written agreements and privacy safeguards.

New asylum rules and retroactive reach

The new asylum rules reach back to claims made on or after June 3, 2025. That retroactive effect places some people under rules that became law this week but apply to claims filed months earlier.

One rule covers people whose first entry to Canada came after June 24, 2020. If they file an asylum claim more than one year after that first entry, the claim is ineligible for referral to the IRB, even if they later left Canada and re-entered.

Another rule targets irregular crossings from the United States. People who cross between ports of entry along the Canada-U.S. land border and make an asylum claim more than 14 days after entry are ineligible for IRB referral.

Those two restrictions do not end all protection avenues. IRCC said people found ineligible under them can still seek a Pre-Removal Risk Assessment, which the department said preserves protection against return to risk, including persecution, torture and cruel or inhuman treatment.

The law leaves one border framework unchanged. Safe Third Country Agreement exceptions remain in place, and the agreement still applies at ports of entry and to irregular entrants within 14 days unless an exception or exemption is met.

Changes to how claims move through the system

Bill C‑12 also changes the way claims move through the asylum system. Under the new approach, only complete, “schedule-ready” claims will go to the IRB, a step the government said is meant to speed hearings and reduce bottlenecks.

Claimants must also remain in Canada while the IRB decides their cases. If a claimant voluntarily returns to a country where they allege persecution before a decision, the claim is deemed abandoned.

Withdrawals now trigger faster enforcement. When a claimant withdraws a claim, the removal order takes effect the same day.

The law adds procedural support for some claimants as well. It allows for appointing a representative to assist minors or people who do not understand the process in certain proceedings involving IRCC or the Canada Border Services Agency.

Some elements of that modernized process will come through regulations in the coming months. Housekeeping changes to remove inactive cases from the system fall into that category.

Expanded information-sharing powers

Beyond asylum, the law gives IRCC new authority to use immigration information across programs. The department can now share client information internally, including using permanent residence data to process citizenship files, provided Privacy Impact Assessments cover new uses.

Cross-government sharing also expands. IRCC may share identity, status and IRCC-issued document information with federal, provincial and territorial partners through written agreements.

Those agreements carry limits. Partners cannot disclose the information to foreign states without IRCC’s written permission, and any disclosure must respect Canada’s anti-mistreatment obligations.

IRCC said privacy and Charter safeguards apply to the new data-sharing powers. Only entities legally permitted to collect such information and bound by written agreements may receive it.

New Cabinet powers over immigration documents and applications

Another part of Bill C‑12 creates new public-interest powers over immigration documents and applications. Through a Governor in Council order, meaning a Cabinet-approved order, the government may cancel, suspend or change large groups of immigration documents such as visas, eTAs, work permits and study permits.

Cabinet can also pause the intake of applications or cancel or suspend the processing of groups of applications. The grounds listed in the law include fraud, administrative errors, and concerns related to public health, public safety or national security.

Those powers come with procedural conditions. Each use requires Governor in Council approval, publication in the Canada Gazette and a report tabled in Parliament.

IRCC drew a line around those authorities in its backgrounder. The powers “don’t affect asylum claims” and do not authorize the granting, changing or revoking of temporary or permanent immigration status.

Parliamentary path and timeline

The law’s path through Parliament stretched from the fall of 2025 into this month. Gary Anandasangaree, Minister of Public Safety, introduced Bill C‑12 on October 17, 2025 after the government replaced the broader June 2025 Strong Borders Act, known as C‑2, with the narrower bill.

The House of Commons passed Bill C‑12 at third reading on December 11, 2025. It then moved to the Senate, where Senator Tony Dean sponsored it.

Dean led second reading on February 5, 2026. Senate committee study reported the bill without amendment on February 25, 2026, and senators held third-reading debates from March 10 to March 12, 2026.

Royal Assent followed on March 26, 2026. IRCC’s backgrounder the next day set out the law’s effective date and operational details.

The ministers tied to the bill’s rollout are Lena Metlege Diab, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, and Anandasangaree at Public Safety. Diab is named on IRCC’s March 27 backgrounder, while Anandasangaree introduced the legislation in October.

What the new asylum rules mean in practice

The retroactive reach of the asylum provisions is one of the law’s sharpest features. IRCC said, “Asylum claims made more than one year after someone’s first entry into Canada after June 24, 2020, won’t be referred to the IRB,” and said the 14-day rule for irregular entry also applies to claims made “on or after June 3, 2025.”

That means the date a claim was made now matters as much as the date the law received Royal Assent. For some claimants, the legal change arrived this week but governs claims already filed.

The one-year bar also turns on first entry, not most recent arrival. Under the text now in force, leaving Canada and coming back later does not restart the clock.

The 14-day measure applies to people who cross between ports of entry along the land border with the United States. If they wait more than 14 days to make an asylum claim, they cannot have that claim referred to the IRB.

For claimants who remain eligible, the system now puts more weight on front-end completeness. By sending only “schedule-ready” files to the board, the government aims to reduce delays before a hearing can be set.

For people who leave Canada during the process, the consequences can be immediate. The IRB will decide claims only while the claimant is physically present in Canada, and a voluntary return to the country of alleged persecution before a decision means the claim is abandoned.

The same-day activation of removal orders after withdrawal also shortens the timeline between a claimant’s decision to stop pursuing asylum and the start of enforcement. That provision took effect with the law.

Broader impact and implementation

Bill C‑12 reaches further than refugee claims. The internal data-sharing measures let IRCC connect information across different parts of the immigration system, while the cross-government rules let it share certain information with other Canadian jurisdictions under set conditions.

Those changes place privacy compliance at the center of implementation. IRCC said new uses require Privacy Impact Assessments, and only legally authorized entities covered by written agreements may receive the information.

The new public-interest powers give Cabinet a broader management tool for immigration administration. In cases involving fraud, administrative errors or safety and security concerns, the government can act on groups of documents or applications rather than handling them one by one.

But the government also drew limits around that authority. The powers do not directly change refugee protection decisions, and they do not let the government grant or revoke immigration status through those orders alone.

Some pieces of the law are now fully operative, while others depend on regulatory updates still to come. That split leaves the asylum system under a new legal framework immediately, even as parts of the administrative machinery continue to take shape.

For now, the message from Ottawa is that Bill C‑12 is no longer a proposal. With Royal Assent granted on March 26, 2026, Canada has recast parts of its asylum system, moved more decision-making to the front end of refugee claims, and handed Cabinet new powers over immigration documents and applications that take effect now.