❓WHAT HAPPENED: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney introduced a sweeping immigration bill after U.S. pressure on border security and fentanyl trafficking.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, U.S. President Donald J. Trump, Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree, Amnesty International, Migrants Rights Network.
📍WHEN & WHERE: Canada, June 2025.
💬KEY QUOTE: “There were a number of elements in the bill that have been irritants for the U.S., so we are addressing some of those issues.” – Gary Anandasangaree
🎯IMPACT: Bill C-2, a.k.a. the Strong Borders Act, could revoke refugee hearings for thousands, empower mass document cancellations, and realign Canada’s immigration with U.S. demands.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has introduced the Strong Borders Act (Bill C-2), a 127-page bill poised to overhaul Canada’s immigration framework. The bill includes measures to deny refugee hearings to migrants who have already been in the country for over a year, retroactive to June 2020, and requires asylum seekers arriving between official ports of entry to file within 14 days.
These changes come after U.S. President Donald Trump expressed displeasure over illegal immigrants and fentanyl crossing America’s northern border due to lax Canadian policies. Despite fighting the recent Canadian federal elections on a platform of “standing up” to Trump, Carney’s governing is seemingly being brought to heel by him—having already agreed to suspend a digital sales tax that the America First leader took issue with.
Canadian Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree admitted in a press conference that Bill C-2 was shaped in part by Trump’s expectations. “There are elements that will strengthen [our] relationships with the United States,” he said. “There were a number of elements in the bill that have been irritants for the US, so we are addressing some of those issues.”
Carney’s immigration bill has been met with strong opposition from Amnesty International, the Migrants Rights Network, and other pro-migration NGOs, who complain it will undermine Canada’s pro-migration reputation. Some critics suggest it could invites mass deportations, giving the government’s immigration minister authority to cancel legal documents largely unchecked.
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