The number of asylum claims filed in Canada has significantly decreased since the passage of an updated immigration law in March, according to a recent report.
The legislation, known as An Act Respecting Certain Measures Relating To The Security Of Canada's Borders, allows officials at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada to deny a large number of asylum claims tied to study permits, work permits, or tourist visas.
In the three months since the law was passed, only 13,710 asylum claims have been filed, compared to 27,838 in the same time period last year.
Immigration officials have noted that Canada's asylum system is not a shortcut to permanent immigration, and that many asylum claims have been found ineligible since the Act received Royal Assent.
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.
The report also notes that Canada has not experienced any significant surges of northbound migration to date, and that officials are effectively managing the relatively small spikes in asylum claims at the land border.
The U.S. Office of Homeland Security Statistics reported that the country is home to 10,990,000 illegal immigrants, while the Migration Policy Institute estimates that the unauthorized immigrant population reached a new peak of 15.8 million as of mid-2024.
The Immigration and Refugee Board is still dealing with a large backlog of asylum cases, with approximately 300,000 cases pending.
Chair of the Immigration and Refugee Board, Manon Brassard, estimates that the current year will see between 95,000 and 105,000 asylum claims, following on from historically high intake levels in previous years.
