Updated July 2026. Bill C-12 — the Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act — passed the Senate with amendments in March 2026 and has since received Royal Assent, becoming law on March 26, 2026. Here’s what the Senate actually changed, in plain language.
What Bill C-12 Is
Bill C-12 is formally titled “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.” You can read the official bill text and status on LEGISinfo, Parliament of Canada.
Privacy Protection Amendment
Introduced by Senator Paulette Senior, this amendment exempts Canadian citizens and permanent residents from certain expanded information-sharing provisions in the bill — meaning the new data-sharing authorities apply more narrowly than originally drafted, specifically to non-citizens and non-permanent residents rather than everyone.
Asylum Reporting and Future Review Amendment
Introduced by Senator Tony Dean, this amendment requires the immigration department to report annually to Parliament, starting five years after the relevant sections come into force, on specific asylum metrics — including the average number of days between a claimant’s entry into Canada and when they made their asylum claim, how many post-one-year claimants were found ineligible under the bill’s new rules, how many of those claimants applied for Pre-Removal Risk Assessments (PRRAs) and their outcomes, and any recommendations for changing the ineligibility criteria. The same amendment also requires a broader parliamentary review of the Act’s overall operation and effects on the same five-year timeline.
What Didn’t Change
A separate Senate committee had recommended removing the bill’s most contested sections entirely — including Part 7’s authority allowing the Governor in Council to cancel, suspend, or vary immigration documents in the “public interest.” That recommendation was not adopted; those provisions became law largely as originally drafted, with only the privacy and reporting amendments above layered on top.
Where to Track Official Changes
For the authoritative, current text of the law and any future amendments, check IRCC’s official announcement rather than relying on any single news summary, since implementation details continue to roll out as different sections come into force.
Sources: CIC News; Senate of Canada.
