CIMM – Strengthening Canada’s Immigration and Border Systems Act – October 30, 2025

Key Messages

• The proposed document control authorities will strengthen Canada’s immigration system and ensure that the government has the tools needed to manage migration integrity.
• Canada is not effectively equipped to respond to certain urgent or unforeseen events that threaten the security of our border and managed migration to Canada. Gaps were identified in authorities and these amendments will close these gaps.
• The new legislation would expand the Government of Canada’s ability to cancel, change or suspend immigration documents and cancel, suspend or stop accepting new applications on a large scale. This would help us better respond to emergency situations while having strong safeguards in place to protect people’s Charter rights and due process.
• These powers would only be used in exceptional circumstances when determined by the Governor in Council to be in the public interest. These could include another pandemic or other regional health crisis; a safety or national security threat; or even to respond to large-scale fraud.
• They are not designed to block people in need of protection from accessing the asylum system, and they don’t give the government new powers to cancel asylum claims or affect a person’s status.

Key Figures and Objectives of Legislation

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) receives a high volume of applications and issues millions of immigration documents each year.
• Most foreign nationals are required to obtain either a temporary resident visa (TRV) or an electronic travel authorization (eTA) for travel to Canada. These documents are issued for up to five or ten years, or until passport expiry. With the view to reducing operational burden and facilitating genuine travel to Canada, IRCC typically issues documents for multiple entries.
• In 2025, as of August 31, 2025, IRCC has received 5.6M applications for temporary residence (TRVs, eTAs, study and work permits) and has issued more than 5M immigration documents.

Strengthening Document Control (Mass Authorities)

• In recent years, IRCC has seen increasingly sophisticated fraud and a significant rise in the number of travellers arriving in Canada for reasons contrary to those stated on their immigration application. This rise in exploitation, alongside lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic, points to key gaps in the authorities governing Canada’s immigration program.
• These gaps prevent the government from effectively responding to emerging threats and changing world conditions. Closing them will strengthen managed migration to Canada, and reinforce Canada’s commitment to a stronger Canadian border and to protecting Canadians.
• IRCC currently does not have authority to cancel, suspend or change groups of active immigration documents or groups of applications in its inventory. Therefore, Canada is not well equipped to effectively respond to large-scale emergencies, safety and security threats, or other scenarios that could undermine the integrity and orderly management of migration and the security of its border.
• The proposed legislative amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act contained in Bill C-12 aim to close these gaps. These authorities will strengthen our control over the immigration documents we issue and the applications we process for reasons determined by the Governor in Council to be in the public interest. They are key to improving the integrity of the immigration system.
• The proposed amendments would:
  • Authorize the Governor in Council to make two types of orders when needed to protect the public interest:
    (1)orders managing application intake, and suspension and cancellation of groups of immigration applications, and
    (2)orders relating to the cancellation, suspension or variance of any number of active immigration documents;
  • Provide officers the authority to examine document holders outside Canada for the purposes of carrying out the terms of an Order; and,
  • Include authorities to make regulations that would allow an officer, on a case-by-case basis, to cancel, suspend or vary an immigration document or cancel an immigration application in prescribed circumstances. This would also include authorities for officers to examine document holders outside of Canada, in prescribed circumstances.
• To allow for flexibility, the legislation does not predetermine scenarios for use nor does it define the term “public interest,” however, any future use could be envisioned to address threats to Canada’s national security, safety or public health, to safely manage the flow of people coming into the country, to protect relationships with key partners, or other matters of public interest.
• Given potential impacts that the use of such authorities could bring beyond the immigration space, the Governor in Council would determine which situations require action based on public interest grounds, rather than leaving the decision to a single minister. This ensures a strong level of oversight and rigor commensurate with their impact.
• The use of these authorities would be limited to interventions on immigration documents and applications for those documents. They could not be used to block access to the asylum system or affect a person’s status. Any proposed use of these authorities will carefully consider the impacts, including on vulnerable populations, international relations and stakeholders, as well as any relevant considerations such as Charter considerations.
• No immigration documents would automatically be cancelled as a result of this bill becoming a law. The use of these authorities would be a separate and subsequent process.

Existing Authorities to Cancel Immigration Documents

• The Canada Border Services Agency sought amendments to the provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations that came into force on March 15, 2024, and that provide for the automatic cancellation of eTAs, TRVs, and temporary resident permits after a foreign national who is in Canada is found inadmissible and is issued a removal order. This ensures that these documents are not re-used for entering Canada after receiving the removal order.
• IRCC also sought regulatory amendments that came into effect on January 31, 2025, that strengthened immigration and border officers’ authority to cancel TRVs and eTAs, and, in more limited circumstances, study and work permits on a case-by-case basis. However, these individual cancellation authorities are limited in nature as they can only be carried out on a case-by-case basis and in prescribed circumstances.
• The Authorities to Strengthen Control over Immigration Documents would allow more flexible action when necessary in the public interest and help us better manage applications that are still being processed.