In a recent report published by Canada’s Immigration and Refugee board, it appears that Americans have been increasingly applying for refugee status in Canada.
In fact, the number of Americans applying in the first half of 2025 outnumbers the entirety of 2024’s applications.
ASYLUM CLAIMS
The Refugee Protection Division (RPD) of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada is the body that “hears and decides claims for refugee protection made in Canada.”
They grant refugee protection depending on a variety of reasons, specifically for those “who have a well-founded fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group.” The claimant must either meet the United Nations definition of a Convention refugee or is “a person in need of protection.”
In their 2025 statistics report, the RPD notes that of the around 55,000 claims made, the United States makes up only 245 of them. While this number is historically small, these 245 claims were made from January to June 2025. Yet, there is a clear spike in claims being made when comparing these numbers to 2024’s report. 2024 had only 204 claims the entire year.
Canada has historically had low acceptance rates for U.S. claims. As of now, 25 of the claims have been rejected.
WHY ARE THERE MORE CLAIMS?
The report does not specify why the claims were made– only the numbers. Although, the claims do come while U.S. President Donald Trump has his second term in office.
During his administration, President Donald Trump has decreased a number of rights for trans American citizens. This includes restricting who can access gender-affirming care and who can use what public bathroom. Amidst this, applications applying for refugee status in Canada have increased.
There are currently 519 pending claims from the United States. It will remain unclear if these numbers will continue to climb until the RPD releases its full-year report.
