Border law to face constitutional challenge over new refugee claim rules

The Peace Tower is framed between tulips on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, on Monday, May 11, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

OTTAWA — The stage is being set for a constitutional challenge of the federal government’s new immigration law which puts timelines on how long someone can be in Canada before making a refugee claim.

The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers says it received notice Wednesday that judicial reviews of refugee claims denied under C-12 have been approved for case management, meaning one Federal Court judge will oversee all related matters.

The government estimated about 30,000 refugee claims would be thrown out under the new law, which says claims must be made within a year of the claimant’s first arrival in Canada.

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Aisling Bondy, a Toronto-based immigration lawyer, says one of the key questions facing the court is whether the law is constitutional, since it could leave some newly ineligible refugee claimants in legal limbo if they come from countries with which Canada does not have deportation arrangements.

The law is retroactive to June 24, 2020 and the one-year rule applies to all claims made on or after June 3, 2025.

The government has said the law offers legal protections for newly ineligible refugee claimants, such as pre-removal risk assessments.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2026.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press