Ottawa, ON – The Hon. Pierre Poilievre, Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada and the Official Opposition, released the following statement calling on the Trudeau Government to reimpose visa requirements on Mexico:

“After eight years of Justin Trudeau, Canada’s immigration system is broken. Before Trudeau was elected, Canada had one of the best immigration systems in the world, but now, even Trudeau’s own immigration minister has admitted that the system they created ‘has gotten out of control.’

“In 2016, the Trudeau Government lifted visa requirements on Mexico that the previous Conservative Government introduced, leading to increasing fraud and abuse in the asylum system, straining Canada’s ability to provide services and creating long processing delays legitimate asylum seekers before the Immigration and Refugee Board.

“In just over a year, the Immigration and Refugee Board has reported a huge surge in claims by Mexican visitors, from only 250 claims in 2016 to 17,490 claims in 2023, with only 11 percent of the 2023 claims resulting in the granting of asylum. Moreover, there are serious concerns about the involvement of organized crime, using the system to engage in human trafficking.

“It’s clear the Trudeau Government created this problem, and now they must take action to fix it. Common sense Conservatives are calling on the Trudeau Government to reintroduce the visa requirement in order to prevent further abuse of the asylum system,

which strains resources that should be helping those with legitimate asylum claims.

“A common sense Conservative Government will bring home fairness to our immigration system and ensure security at our borders.”