An Act respecting certain measures relating to the security of Canada's borders and the integrity of the Canadian immigration system and respecting other related security measures

Bill C-12 (Strengthening Canada's Immigration System and Borders Act) received royal assent on March 26, 2026 (S.C. 2026, c. 1). Government bill introduced by Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree on October 17, 2025 after the broader June 2025 Strong Borders Act (Bill C-2) was withdrawn for being too broad. House of Commons passed C-12 at third reading on December 11, 2025; Senate committee reported it without amendment on February 25, 2026; Senate third-reading debates ran March 10-12, 2026. Substantive provisions: bars most refugee claims made more than 12 months after the claimant's first entry into Canada after June 24, 2020; bars most claims made at a land port of entry more than 14 days after the claimant first arrived in the United States; expands CBSA inspection and asylum-claim-processing authority; provides new tools against transnational organized crime, illegal fentanyl, and illicit financing. Two new eligibility requirements apply to all claims made on or after June 3, 2025. Civil-liberties critics including the Canadian Council for Refugees argued the 14-day land-border rule conflicts with the 1951 Refugee Convention non-refoulement principle.

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