After falling precipitously during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of births in 小蓝视频 from non-residents rebounded significantly in 2024, suggesting a resurrection of the birth tourism cottage industry, says immigration analyst Andrew Griffith.
And, said Griffith, the newly released health data, comes as U.S. President Donald Trump vows — not without controversy — to curb the practice south of the border, raising questions about a likewise response here in Canada.
“The effect on Canada of Trump’s executive order prohibiting birth tourism is unclear but may result in an incoming Conservative government to re-examine the issue,” said Griffith.
The former director general for the Citizenship and Multiculturalism branch of Citizenship and Immigration Canada released this week, , new annual figures on non-resident births across Canada showing 5,219 such births in 2023-24.
That is nearly as many as the record 5,698 seen in 2019-20 and more than double the short-term low of 2,245 experienced in 2021-22.
Between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, 868 non-residents of Canada, excluding temporary foreign workers, refugees and international students, .
Last year 513 such births occurred in 小蓝视频, up from an average of 152 during the two pandemic-impacted years. 小蓝视频 provides public health care (Medical Service Plan) to international students, temporary foreign workers and refugees, who do not factor into the data.
Unique to 小蓝视频 was the birth tourism industry in Richmond, as 24 per cent of all births there in 2019-20 were to non-residents on account of a burgeoning birth tourism cottage industry, such as birthing hotels run out of homes for pregnant Chinese nationals on tourist visas.
But that phenomenon appears to have disappeared.
“ nationals is reflected in British Columbia’s Richmond Hospital, once the epicentre of birth tourism, declining from 24 per cent pre-pandemic and only recovered partially to sevent percent in 2023-24,” said Griffith.
Last year the top 小蓝视频 hospitals for such births were Richmond (102), Surrey Memorial (99), St.Paul’s/Mount Saint Joseph (97) and Children’s (85).
At issue is the fact birth tourism has raised around delivery of health-care services for Canadian women.
As well, these infants immediately obtain Canadian citizenship despite their parents having no ties to Canada.
Seven in 10 Canadians (71 per cent) believe that “birth tourism” can be unfairly used to gain access to Canada’s education, health care and social programs, .
Some experts have also suggested the practice poses .
The issue also sparked a in 2018.
Canada and the U.S., plus a number of South American nations, remain the only countries to allow birthright citizenship (jus soli, or right of the soil).
Concerns about the rise of birth tourism were recently addressed in the U.S. via regulations under Trump’s first term as U.S. authorities investigated birth tourism operations for immigration fraud.
Late last year U.S. Immigration and Customs obtained convictions of and against several California residents who “catered to wealthy pregnant clients and Chinese government officials.”
In 2020 the U.S. imposed restrictions on pregnant visitors, requiring them to prove unique medical reasons to give birth in the U.S., .
On Jan. 20 Trump signed an executive order called Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship.
The order argues “the Fourteenth Amendment has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States.”
Rather the amendment allows birthright citizenship to persons who were born in the U.S. and who are “subject to the jurisdiction thereof.”
Trump is thus targeting illegal immigrants who are arguably not subjects of the jurisdiction.
As well, the order states, citizenship is not to be granted “when that person’s mother’s presence in the United States at the time of said person’s birth was lawful but temporary,” as in the case of a tourist visa.
The order is applicable in instances when the newborn’s father was “not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident at the time of said person’s birth.”
The order was immediately met with legal challenges on Jan.21 from 22 states and civil rights groups, the Washington Post reported.
In Canada it remains legal to come to Canada on a tourist visa while pregnant.
“There is no provision in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to refuse a temporary resident visa [TRV] solely on the basis of the intent of the applicant to give birth in Canada,” notes .
Griffith suggests the fix in Canada can be much simpler than an amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
“Unlike the U.S.A. with its 14th Amendment, Canada has no such constitutional or legal restriction. While policy and operational questions remain, the ‘cleanest’ approach would be an amendment to the Citizenship Act that would require one parent to be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada, comparable to the situation in Australia, should the expected incoming Conservative government choose to do so,” said Griffith.
In fact, changes are expected to the Citizenship Act to broaden the citizenship rights of some people.
Bill C-71 is a proposed amendment to the Act that intends to allow Canadian citizenship to be continuously passed down by citizens who were born abroad to their children who are also born abroad, as opposed to the current first-generation limit.
The bill was prompted by Ontario Superior Court ruling deeming the Act unconstitutional to those individuals.
Those proposed changes to the Act have of a “never-ending chain of citizenship” for Canadians choosing to live abroad, including for the children of so-called birth tourists.
