Mexican nationals will soon need a visa or travel pass to come to Canada
Some Mexican nationals will soon need a visa to come to Canada under a change in policy aimed to curb rising numbers of asylum claims, which are mostly rejected or abandoned, according to the immigration minister.
Travellers can also obtain a travel authorization if they already hold a U.S. non-immigrant visa, or if they had held a Canadian visa within the last 10 years, and are travelling by air with a Mexican passport.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller made the announcement during a Thursday morning news conference, speaking in English, French, and Spanish. The changes take effect at 11:30 p.m. ET.
- Download the 麻豆传媒 App for breaking news alerts and video on all the top stories
- Sign up for breaking news alerts from 麻豆传媒, right at your fingertips
The announcement is in line with obtained by 麻豆传媒 from a senior government source on Wednesday. It also follows calls from Quebec Premier Francois Legault to Ottawa demanding the change, claiming the associated with welcoming refugees in that province now exceed $1 billion.
The visa requirement was lifted in December 2016, making it easier for people from Mexico to make asylum claims in Canada. Miller said that shift allowed Canada to 鈥渂oost business ties,鈥 鈥渋mprove trade鈥 between Canada and Mexico and 鈥渆nrich鈥 Canadian culture.
Since then, Canada has seen a significant rise in asylum claims from the region. Miller said on Thursday that Mexican nationals accounted for 17 per cent of all asylum claimants in 2023, and most of their claims are either rejected by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or withdrawn by the applicants.
A vast majority of the 25,236 asylum claims received by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) from Mexico last year have not been decided. Of the cases that were, 2,894 were accepted and 2,424 were rejected. Another 560 people abandoned their claims and 1,240 withdrew.
鈥淲e need an effective visa system,鈥 he said, adding 鈥渁 change was needed.鈥
Mexico 'regrets' the change
In a media release posted online shortly after the minister鈥檚 announcement, Mexico鈥檚 foreign affairs department wrote that it 鈥渞eserves the right to act in reciprocity.鈥
鈥淢exico has sent two high-level missions to Canada in recent weeks to reiterate the importance of protecting people who are victims of fraud, trafficking, smuggling and disinformation,鈥 reads the press release.
It wrote that it 鈥渞egrets鈥 Canada鈥檚 decision, adding that it 鈥渂elieves that there were other options available.鈥
Canada grants asylum to people whom it believes cannot safely live in their home country.
Human Rights Watch says rates of violence in Mexico have reached historic highs in recent years.
The organization says that it's one of the deadliest countries in the world for journalists and human-rights defenders.
Most people travelling from Mexico will be able to do so visa-free because many of them have a U.S. visa already, Miller said. The application process for Mexican citizens seeking a work or study permit will not change.
Miller also said Mexican immigrants account for a 鈥渒ey workforce鈥 in Canada.
With files from The Candian Press
IN DEPTH
Jagmeet Singh pulls NDP out of deal with Trudeau Liberals, takes aim at Poilievre Conservatives
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh has pulled his party out of the supply-and-confidence agreement that had been helping keep Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's minority Liberals in power.
'Not the result we wanted': Trudeau responds after surprise Conservative byelection win in Liberal stronghold
Conservative candidate Don Stewart winning the closely-watched Toronto-St. Paul's federal byelection, and delivering a stunning upset to Justin Trudeau's candidate Leslie Church in the long-time Liberal riding, has sent political shockwaves through both parties.
'We will go with the majority': Liberals slammed by opposition over proposal to delay next election
The federal Liberal government learned Friday it might have to retreat on a proposal within its electoral reform legislation to delay the next vote by one week, after all opposition parties came out to say they can't support it.
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government鈥檚 three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party鈥檚 popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn鈥檛 be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Tensions run high on the Hill as MPs debate second Conservative motion of non-confidence
Members of Parliament debated the second Conservative motion of non-confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government of the week on Thursday, amid simmering tensions.
WATCH LIVE Helene strengthens to a Category 4 hurricane as it nears Florida's Gulf Coast
Helene strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane hours ahead of its expected landfall on Florida's northwest coast Thursday night, and forecasters warned that the enormous storm could create a 'nightmare' surge in coastal areas and bring dangerous winds and rain across much of the southeastern U.S.
Canadian singer K'naan has been charged with sexual assault after being arrested by police in Quebec City.
Cold case arrest: Nunavut RCMP charge man with murder in 1986 death of teenage girl
Mounties in Nunavut have made an arrest in the murder of a 15-year-old girl almost 40 years ago.
An Air Canada flight headed to Toronto from Frankfurt diverted to Edinburgh due to an emergency Thursday, the airline says.
Scammers are increasingly using emails to extort money from victims by threatening to reveal compromising photos, videos and personal information to their friends and family members, according to a new warning from Mounties in Metro Vancouver.
A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.
Montana man arrested for intentionally running a motorcycle off the road and killing the driver
A Montana man has been arrested after witnesses said he intentionally and repeatedly swerved his car at three motorcycles in south-central Montana, running one off the road and killing its driver, officials in Carbon County said.
Alabama puts man convicted of killing 3 to death in the country's second nitrogen gas execution
Alabama used nitrogen gas Thursday to execute a man convicted of killing three people in back-to-back workplace shootings, the second time the method that has generated debate about its humaneness has been used in the country
Local Spotlight
A pizza chain in Edmonton claims to have the world's largest deliverable pizza.
Sarah McLachlan is returning to her hometown of Halifax in November.
Wayne MacKay is still playing basketball twice at Mount Allison University at 87 years old.
A man from a small rural Alberta town is making music that makes people laugh.
An Indigenous artist has a buyer-beware warning ahead of Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
Police are looking to the public for help after thieves broke into a Lethbridge ice creamery, stealing from the store.
An ordinary day on the job delivering mail in East Elmwood quickly turned dramatic for Canada Post letter carrier Jared Plourde. A woman on his route was calling out in distress.
Fire has destroyed a barn and 17,000 plants at a family-owned business in Lower Coverdale, N.B.
Before influencers on social media, Canada鈥檚 Jeanne Beker was bringing the world of high fashion down to earth and as Calgary鈥檚 Glenbow Museum gets a major make-over, it will include a new exhibition showcasing the pop culture icon.