By Harinder Mahil

The “Strong Borders Act” introduced by Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government on June 4, 2025, is an attack on refugees’ right to seek asylum. The bill would not only restrict access to asylum but would give intelligence agencies the ability to collect data and share information with US security agencies, permit border officers to inspect exports and restrict cash transactions over $10,000.

The bill appears to be the one out of Trump’s playbook. If passed into law, it could pave the way for mass deportations, threaten immigration status of thousands, and increase surveillance powers in Canada.

The bill will allow mail providers to open any mail based on vague criteria, and police will be able to ask digital service providers to hand over data about any resident of Canada without a warrant.

The Bill would do the following:

·        Block refugees who have been in Canada for over a year from applying for asylum, even if their home country becomes dangerous after they’ve arrived.

·        Removes privacy protections, giving unchecked power to the government and law officials to access private information.

·        Allow governments to cancel or suspend immigration documents for entire groups of people without court approval.

·        Makes it extremely difficult for refugees from the US to apply for refugee status, trapping people living under Trump’s reign.

Currently, if you cross from the US between official border crossings and avoid detection for 14 days, you can then apply for refugee status in Canada. Bill C-2 eliminates this exception completely – meaning people fleeing Trump’s persecution will be even more trapped.

Although the bill has been framed as a “border security” law, it is a guidebook for Canada to abandon its legal and moral obligations to refugees and migrants and open the door to violating everyone’s privacy rights.

The bill is the latest in a series of measures taken by the government of Canada in response to US president Donald Trump’s complaints about illegal immigration and drugs like fentanyl coming across the Canadian border.

The bill is an attempt to appease President Trump who is not likely to be appeased. He is someone who cannot be appeased unless he can claim a total victory. He is unlikely to roll back his tariffs on Canadian exports because of the bill.

Civil rights groups are raising the alarm about the bill. Blaming, excluding, and criminalizing migrant communities, who sustain our economy and are critical members of our community, isn’t the answer.

In Canada, migrants are the backbone of our communities — from healthcare to agriculture to service industries. Immigration was responsible for 50% of Canada’s GDP growth from 2016 to 2019. Without migrants, our economy would collapse.

Prime Minister Carney ran a campaign on leading Canada through Trump’s tariffs and attacks on sovereignty, and a cost-of-living crisis. This Bill doesn’t address either of these. It threatens the rights of everyone in Canada and will weaken our social fabric and economy.

The Canadian Council for Refugees said the proposed asylum changes mirror the American approach, where borders are militarized and securitized as refugees and migrants are viewed as a security threat. “Under international law, there is no time limit on the right to seek protection. Where we do find this precedent is in the US,” said Gauri Sreenivasan, the Council’s co-executive director.

Bill C-2 isn’t law yet — together, we have the chance to stop it. We should all contact our members of parliament and demand they oppose this bill. 

Harinder Mahil is a human rights activist and is secretary of Dr. Hari Sharma Foundation.