Based on coverage from The Star and The Peterborough Examiner.
Conservatives in Ottawa are set to table a motion that would tighten who can make a refugee claim in Canada, with a specific focus on non-citizens convicted of serious crimes. The pitch is blunt: if you are not a citizen and you commit a serious offence, you should not be able to use the refugee system to stay in Canada.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre framed it the same way on social media Monday, saying non-citizens who commit serious crimes “must be forced to leave our country.”
Conservative motion targets refugee claim rules
According to The Canadian Press, the motion would bar non-citizens convicted of serious crimes from making refugee claims. It also calls on the federal government to prevent asylum claims from people whose cases are still moving through the courts.
That second piece matters because it suggests the Conservatives want limits not just based on criminal convictions, but also based on a person’s legal status while court proceedings are ongoing.
The Conservatives are tying the proposal to public safety and confidence in the immigration system, arguing the current setup leaves room for abuse.
Extortion violence and bail debate fuel push
The motion points to an increase in extortion cases and what Conservatives describe as lax bail laws as reasons to act now.
The Canadian Press report does not lay out specific numbers for extortion complaints, but it does connect the Conservative argument to a broader political debate already happening across the country: whether Canada’s justice system, including bail, is doing enough to keep repeat and violent offenders off the street.
By linking refugee claim rules to extortion and bail, Conservatives are positioning the motion as part of a wider crackdown, rather than a narrow immigration tweak.
BC Premier David Eby calls for “loopholes” closed
This is not just a federal opposition talking point. BC Premier David Eby and several big city mayors have also been pressing Ottawa to close what they call loopholes around asylum claims.
That push follows what the report describes as a significant rise in extortion violence in British Columbia and other places. Eby’s involvement gives the issue more political weight, since it suggests concern is coming from provincial and municipal leaders dealing with day-to-day public safety pressures, not only from Parliament Hill.
The motion appears to align with that message, even if the Conservatives and provincial leaders may frame the problem differently.
Conservative convention signals tougher immigration stance
The motion also fits with where the party grassroots have been heading. Delegates at the Conservatives’ recent convention in Calgary voted in favour of a policy proposal saying Canadian taxpayers should not pay for the “rehabilitation of foreign nationals.”
That convention vote is not law, but it is a clear signal of the direction party members want the leadership to take on the overlap between immigration, criminal justice, and public spending.
Combined with Poilievre’s messaging, it suggests the Conservatives are trying to build a broader argument that the refugee and immigration systems should have sharper off-ramps for non-citizens involved in serious criminality.
What Canadians should watch next in Ottawa
Because this is a motion, the immediate question is whether it gains traction beyond Conservative benches and becomes a point of pressure on the Liberal government.
The other practical question is how “serious crimes” would be defined in any real policy change, and how proposed limits on claims from people with ongoing court cases would work in practice. For now, The Canadian Press report makes clear the Conservatives are aiming to put refugee eligibility and public safety in the same political frame, with provinces like BC adding their own pressure for Ottawa to act.
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