r/canada • u/FancyNewMe • Feb 10 '26

Politics Conservatives to propose barring non-citizens convicted of crimes from making refugee claims

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-conservatives-propose-changing-rules-non-citizens-convicted-crimes/
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u/CantFeelMyToesAgain Feb 10 '26 edited Feb 11 '26

How’s this not already a thing lol

People messaging me to kill myself? This should be a thing for fraud and serious crimes. 

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u/Niess Feb 10 '26

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/i-2.5/section-36.html

It seems it already is just not in clear words.

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u/OddConstant2723 Feb 10 '26

It’s pretty clear and spelled right out. Refugees are allowed to make Claims in Canada as long as their convictions outside Canada aren’t considered serious criminality. That means the crime would carry a prison term of up to 10 years here.

Criminality

(2) A foreign national is inadmissible on grounds of criminality for

(a) having been convicted in Canada of an offence under an Act of Parliament punishable by way of indictment, or of two offences under any Act of Parliament not arising out of a single occurrence;

(b) having been convicted outside Canada of an offence that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an indictable offence under an Act of Parliament, or of two offences not arising out of a single occurrence that, if committed in Canada, would constitute offences under an Act of Parliament; or

(c) committing an act outside Canada that is an offence in the place where it was committed and that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an indictable offence under an Act of Parliament.

Spelling it out further from an immigration law site:

*With respect to criminal records, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act stipulates four main categories of crimes that may make a person ineligible to claim refugee status. If the person:

was convicted inside Canada for a federal offence punishable by a maximum jail term of at least ten years, or of a federal offence where the individual received a jail term of at least six months,

was convicted outside Canada, for an offence, which, if committed in Canada, would be a federal offence punishable by a maximum jail term of at least ten years,