Canada announced Thursday that it will require visas for Mexican citizens to enter the country, a move that comes amid an increase in asylum claims from Mexicans arriving in Canada.
The rule follows months of discussions between the two countries over the increase in the number of Mexicans entering Canada, including repeated attempts by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to address the issue with Mexico’s president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Some provincial officials say the surge in asylum seekers has strained their resources and ability to provide social services.
“We needed to give Mexico, through our friendship, a chance to correct things,” Marc Miller, Canada’s immigration minister, said at a news conference.
“This was clearly not done,” he added, “so we had to make a decision.”
The visa requirement, which comes into force on Thursday evening, was lifted by Trudeau in 2016 to boost tourism and as a sign of the close ties between the two countries.
The number of Mexican asylum requests has since risen dramatically, reaching about 24,000 last year from 260 eight years ago. About 17 per cent of all Canadian asylum claims last year were made by Mexican citizens.
Most asylum claims from Mexico are rejected, withdrawn or abandoned, Miller said, clogging an immigration system that already faces challenges trying to deal with a growing backlog of refugee claims. “It has ripple effects,” he said.
For some Mexicans who can afford plane tickets, flying to Canada has become an alternative route to the United States, allowing them to avoid smugglers who control routes to the southern U.S. border.
U.S. immigration officials have reported a sharp increase in the number of migrants, including Mexicans, entering the United States from Canada, though nowhere near the huge numbers at the southern border.
“But they are significant,” Miller said. “And that’s something we need to manage as a partner of the United States.”
Immigration has become a major issue in the United States ahead of the November elections, and the Biden administration has made tightening the country’s borders a top policy priority.
President Biden and Donald J. Trump, who will almost certainly be his Republican rival for the White House, were expected to appear in South Texas on Thursday to discuss migration.
López Obrador told reporters Thursday that his government respects Canada’s decision, but said Canada could seek “other alternatives,” without providing details.
He also issued a “small, respectful and brotherly rebuke” to Trudeau, although he said his government’s response will be “to act with prudence, with serenity.”
Not all Mexicans will require a visa to travel to Canada. The rule excludes Mexicans who have obtained a Canadian visa within the last 10 years or who currently have a temporary U.S. visa. Travelers in this category require an electronic travel authorization, valid for up to five years.
Canada’s decision on visas is the latest step in the country’s attempt to address asylum claims made from regular ports of entry, such as airports, and unofficial border crossings.
Canadian authorities in January also imposed restrictions on foreign students, doubling the savings threshold new applicants must have to qualify for a study permit, after a surge raised concerns about housing pressures.
After an agreement with the United States, Canada last year closed a popular land border crossing between New York state and Quebec, called Roxham Road, following a spike in migrants entering Canada from there.
Some provincial leaders, including François Legault, the premier of Quebec, have criticized the federal government’s response and say more financial help needs to be provided to cover the costs of absorbing thousands of migrants.
About half of Canada’s 290,000 asylum seekers are in Quebec, the province’s immigration minister said, and Quebec is asking the government for C$1 billion in assistance.
Emiliano Rodríguez Mega contributed reporting from Mexico City.
