End Safe Third Country Agreement
Petitioners ask the House to have the Minister of Immigration declare the U.S. no longer a safe third country, notify the U.S. of termination under Article 10, and order CBSA to stop enforcing the Safe Third Country Agreement. The government responds that the U.S. remains designated and Canada monitors U.S. developments under IRPA.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would stop returns to the U.S., addressing petitioners' claim that U.S. practices can deny asylum seekers due process.
- It would trigger the IRPA review and use Article 10 to formally end the agreement, forcing a reassessment of the Safe Third Country designation.
- It would require CBSA to stop applying the agreement, providing immediate protection to claimants who would otherwise be returned under the STCA.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Ending the agreement could disrupt cooperative border management and complicate orderly processing of asylum claims along the shared land border.
- The petition rests on claims about U.S. practices; if Canada’s monitoring finds the U.S. still meets IRPA criteria, termination may be unwarranted.
- An immediate policy change could create operational gaps; a targeted review, negotiated reforms, or phased approach might better protect claimants while managing system impacts.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled Canada is a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol; Canada has a Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States. Under that agreement, it returns to the United States anyone who has requested asylum in the United States; Currently, refugee claimants in the United States, including those who entered the country regularly, are being arrested, detained and deported without due process of law; Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act offers safe haven to persons with a well-founded fear of persecution. The IRPA also requires the continual review of all countries designated as safe third countries to ensure that the conditions that led to that designation continue to be met; and In his recent speech to the World Economic Forum, Prime Minister Carney called for creating "agreements that function as described". However, by implementing the Safe Third Country Agreement, Canada is violating the UN Refugee Convention and its own Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. We, the undersigned, residents and citizens of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to instruct the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship to immediately: 1. Report to the Governor in Council that the United States no longer meets the requirements for designation as a safe third country; 2. Notify the United States in writing that Canada intends to terminate the Safe Third Country Agreement in accord with Article 10 of the agreement; and 3. Instruct the Canada Border Services Agency to change its policy so that it no longer enforces the Safe Third Country Agreement, and to stop returning anyone making a refugee claim in Canada to the United States under that agreement.
Government response
Response by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Signed by Peter Fragiskatos, M.P. As a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, Canada is strongly committed to upholding its obligations with respect to international law and refugee protection. We continue to maintain our humanitarian commitments, while working to restore balance to our immigration system by strengthening integrity and sustainability. The Canada–United States Safe Third Country Agreement, and its Additional Protocol, remain important tools for the orderly management of asylum claims made along our shared land border. Section 102(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) permits the designation of safe third countries for the purpose of sharing the responsibility for refugee claims. The United States (U.S.) is the only country designated under IRPA. Per its obligation under section 102(3) of the IRPA, Canada continually monitors developments in the U.S. and the impact that changes in policies and practices may have with respect to the factors that must be considered in designating a third country as listed in s.102(2): whether it is party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1984 Convention Against Torture; its policies and practices with respect to claims under the 1951 Refugee Convention, and its obligations under the 1984 Convention Against Torture; its human rights record; and whether it is party to an agreement with the Government of Canada for the purpose of sharing responsibility with respect to claims for refugee protection. To date, the U.S. remains the only designated safe third country. The Government of Canada uses a robust framework to monitor developments in the U.S. and the impact change in policies and practices may have on its refugee protection system.