September 12, 2025
The Strong Borders Act: How Canada Is Strengthening Border Security
Canada is confronting increasingly complex challenges from organized crime, illegal fentanyl trafficking, and sophisticated money laundering schemes. The Strong Borders Act, released by Public Safety Canada in June 2025, proposes a series of legislative updates designed to give law enforcement and federal agencies the modern tools they need to secure the border, disrupt criminal networks, and strengthen Canada’s immigration system.
What Does the Strong Borders Act Propose for Border Security?
The bill introduces several measures aimed at improving how Canada protects and monitors its borders:
- Expanded Coast Guard Mandate: The Oceans Act would be amended to give the Canadian Coast Guard authority to conduct security patrols, gather and analyze intelligence, and strengthen maritime domain awareness – particularly in Arctic waters.
- Enhanced Sex Offender Monitoring: The Sex Offender Information Registration Act would be amended to allow the RCMP to share registry information with Canadian and U.S. partners more efficiently.
- Improved Information Sharing: Amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Act would authorize Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to share client information with other federal, provincial, and territorial partners through formal agreements. IRCC would also be able to share information across its own programs, which would help prevent fraud and improve processing efficiency.
- Stronger Control Over Immigration Documents: The bill proposes new powers to cancel, suspend, or amend groups of immigration documents in the public interest – for reasons such as public health or national security. Authorities would also be able to pause acceptance of new applications or stop processing those already in the system when necessary.
How Would It Modernize the Asylum System?
The bill proposes several changes to make the refugee and asylum process faster and easier to navigate:
- Streamlined Applications: A single online application process would apply regardless of whether the claim is made at a port of entry or at an inland office.
- Faster Decisions: Completed claims would be referred directly to the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (IRB), reducing wait times.
- Support for Vulnerable Claimants: Minors and others who have difficulty navigating the process would have a representative assigned to help them.
- Efficient Case Management: Inactive cases would be removed from the system, and when a claim is withdrawn, the resulting removal order would take effect immediately to speed voluntary departures.
To protect the asylum system from sudden surges in claims, the bill proposes two new ineligibility measures:
- Claims made more than one year after arriving in Canada (for arrivals after June 24, 2020) would no longer be referred to the IRB.
- Claims made more than 14 days after entering Canada between official ports of entry from the United States would also not be referred.
Those affected by these measures would still be able to apply for a pre-removal risk assessment to ensure they are not returned to a country where they could face harm.
How Would It Address Illegal Fentanyl and Organized Crime?
The bill proposes a faster process for controlling precursor chemicals used to produce illicit drugs, giving Health Canada and border enforcement agencies the ability to act quickly when new threats emerge. It also includes amendments to the Criminal Code, Customs Act, and CSIS Act to strengthen the collection of digital evidence, clarify urgent seizure powers, and require transporters and port operators to provide facilities for export inspections.
The new Supporting Authorized Access to Information Act (SAAIA) would ensure electronic service providers have the technical capacity to comply with lawful requests for information or communications interception. Amendments to the Canada Post Corporation Act would remove barriers to mail searches when authorized by law and expand inspection powers.
How Would It Strengthen Anti-Money Laundering Efforts?
The bill includes several measures designed to disrupt illicit financial activity:
- Increasing civil and criminal penalties for money laundering offenses.
- Restricting large cash transactions and third-party cash deposits.
- Requiring all businesses subject to anti-money laundering regulations to register with the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).
- Allowing FINTRAC to share disclosures with the Office of the Commissioner of Canada Elections and to exchange information with the Financial Institutions Supervisory Committee (FISC).
These updates are intended to enhance detection of financial crime and strengthen cooperation between government agencies, law enforcement, and the private sector.
Hannah Cho
Hannah graduated from the J.D. program at Western Law in 2023. While in law school, Hannah was the Vice-President of the Western Law Charter Society, where she organized and moderated panel discussions on pressing legal issues concerning the Canadian Constitution and Charter rights. She also volunteered as a Student Clinician at the Law Student Legal Advice Program in British Columbia, where she gained experience handling a wide range of legal matters, including residential tenancy, employment and human rights law Before law school, Hannah received her B.A. (Hons.) with distinction from the University of Toronto, St. George, in Criminology and Book and Media Studies.
Prior to joining Bellissimo Law Group PC, Hannah worked as a student-at-law at a private immigration law firm, where she gained experience in Canadian immigration law by working on a range of matters including temporary residency applications, work permit applications, applications for permanent residence based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds, and she has also co-written several articles on immigration law for platforms such as Law360 and International Law News.