Ottawa will announce the return of visas for Mexican nationals on Thursday

(Ottawa) The Trudeau government will announce Thursday that it will reimpose visas on Mexican nationals in order to curb the significant increase in the number of asylum seekers from Mexico.

The Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller, must confirm this new measure which, we recognize behind the scenes, risks greatly irritating an important trading partner, we have learned The Press.

To sweeten the pill, the Trudeau government intends to announce certain exceptions, notably for agricultural workers, who come in large numbers from Mexico and who represent an essential workforce for agricultural businesses.

In 2023, some 25,000 Mexicans claimed asylum after setting foot on Canadian soil. This is more than triple than in 2022 (7,483) and four times more than in 2019 (5,634). The increase is such that Mexico now ranks second among countries from which asylum seekers come, according to the Canada Border Services Agency.

In this election year in Mexico, Ottawa is expecting a strong response from the Mexican authorities.

According to Radio-Canada, which also reported the news on Thursday, the visa that the Canadian authorities will require will be valid for 10 years and will allow multiple entries. A national could stay in the country for a maximum period of six months at a time. This measure must come into force on Thursday at 11:30 p.m.

Strong pressure

For several weeks, the Trudeau government has been the subject of strong pressure from the Legault government, the Bloc Québécois and the Conservative Party to once again impose a visa on Mexican nationals. The United States also demanded a return of visas. U.S. officials have argued a few times in recent months that Mexican migrants are using the Canada-U.S. border as a gateway to the United States, avoiding the busier U.S.-Mexico border. and better guarded.

The Prime Minister of Quebec, François Legault, had also sent a letter to his federal counterpart Justin Trudeau to this effect at the beginning of the year. In his missive, Mr. Legault argued that the number of asylum seekers arriving in Quebec is “excessive” and that the situation has become “unsustainable,” such that the province is on the verge of reaching its “breaking point.” rupture”.

He called for a “fair” distribution of asylum seekers throughout Canada and said he expected Ottawa to reimburse the 470 million incurred for welcoming asylum seekers in 2021 and 2022, and that he does the same for subsequent years.

In Quebec, the Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration, Christine Fréchette, welcomed Ottawa’s intention to reimpose the visa. A visa was imposed by the Harper government on Mexican nationals, but Justin Trudeau’s Liberals abolished it shortly after coming to power in 2015.

“In 2023, Quebec received almost half of the asylum seekers arriving in Canada. Of these, 25% were Mexican nationals. This announcement from the federal government is proof that Quebec is able to make itself heard in Ottawa. This is an important step that has just been taken, but it will not solve everything,” the minister wrote on the X network.

“The number of asylum seekers welcomed by Quebec is far too high and our services are saturated. The federal government must distribute the DA [demandeurs d’asile] across Canada. Quebec assumes a disproportionate share of responsibilities in welcoming asylum seekers. The federal government must respond quickly to all of our requests,” she added.

“Turn of the screw”

During the federal cabinet retreat in Montreal in January, Minister Marc Miller recognized that a “turn of the screw” on the part of Ottawa was necessary to curb the increase in the number of asylum seekers.

“It is clear that we are looking at the measures that we can take as a country to ensure that we do our job. As for asylum seekers coming from Mexico, we have seen a huge flow of people coming from Mexico and claiming asylum status. It’s clear that a turn of the screw is necessary. Is it a quarter turn, a half turn or two turns? This is to be determined. We are still considering the approach to take,” Minister Miller commented at the time.

“Also know that when we talk about Mexico, it is one of our main economic partners and that a diplomatic approach is necessary, and it is a process that is not yet complete,” he also said. advance.

With The Canadian Press