Acts and Regulations: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada

IRCC strengthens Canada’s economic, social and cultural prosperity by helping ensure Canadian safety and security while managing one of the largest and most generous immigration programs in the world.

We select foreign nationals as permanent and temporary residents. We offer protection to refugees. IRCC develops Canada’s admissibility policy, which sets the conditions for entering and remaining in Canada. IRCC also conducts, in collaboration with its partners, the screening of potential permanent and temporary residents to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians. Fundamentally, the Department builds a stronger Canada by helping immigrants and refugees settle and fully integrate into Canadian society and the economy, and by encouraging and facilitating Canadian citizenship.

IRCC’s mandate comes from the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Act. The Minister for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is responsible for the Citizenship Act of 1977 and shares responsibility with the Minister of Public Safety for the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

Jurisdiction over immigration is shared between the federal and the provincial and territorial governments under section 95 of the Constitution Act, 1867.

Effective July 2, 2013, primary responsibility for Passport Canada and the administration of the Canadian Passport Order and the Order Respecting the Issuance of Diplomatic and Special Passports moved from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.

Federal acts and regulations relevant to IRCC:

• List of Acts
• List of Regulations

What are we doing?

As a department, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is responsible for the following:

• The Red Tape Reduction Action Plan
  • The Administrative Burden Baseline provides a count of the requirements in federal regulations that impose an administrative burden on business.
  • The Red Tape Review Progress Report outlines IRCC’s immediate and forward-looking actions to reduce regulatory red tape. New
• The Forward regulatory plan
• The Policy on Providing Guidance on Regulatory Requirements
• Service Standards for High-Volume Regulatory Authorizations
• Ongoing and past consultations

All of the government’s Acts and Regulations can be found on the Justice Laws website.

For more information

• Government-Wide Forward Regulatory Plans
• The Cabinet Directive on Regulatory Management

To learn about upcoming or ongoing consultations on proposed federal regulations, visit the Canada Gazette and Consulting with Canadians websites.