SECU – Q-949―With regard to immigration and border security – April 30, 2026

Inquiry of Ministry

Question NO.: Q-949

By: Adam Chambers (Simcoe North)

Date: March 11, 2026

Peter Fragiskatos, M.P.

Question

With regard to immigration and border security: (a) what is the government's estimate of the "exit gap", including the number of foreign nationals whose visas expired in 2024 and 2025 but for whom the government has no record of their departure; (b) how is the government currently tracking the exit gap; (c) under what specific legal authority does the minister plan to grant permanent status to individuals who have violated the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act by overstaying their visas; (d) what are the estimated cost increases (i) to the federal government, (ii) to provincial and municipal governments, projected to be associated with granting the individuals in (c) permanent status; (e) how

many permanent residency spots will be taken away from law-abiding applicants who didn't overstay their visas as a result of the policy change in (c); (f) what internal data was used to justify the policy change in (c); (g) how many foreign nationals currently in Canada on expired visas are currently the subjects of removal orders or similar types of warrants for non-compliance with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act; and (h) how many foreign nationals which were issued a removal order for having an expired visa were removed from Canada in the past year? In accordance with the relevant procedures and guidelines, I hereby confirm that the publishable format (HTML) of the response to this question has been reviewed and approved by the Minister or the Parliamentary Secretary and will be provided to the Office for the Coordination of Parliamentary Returns at the Privy Council Office for tabling in the House of Commons.

In accordance with the relevant procedures and guidelines, I hereby confirm that the publishable format (HTML) of the response to this question has been reviewed and approved by the Minister or the Parliamentary Secretary and will be provided to the Office for the Coordination of Parliamentary Returns at the Privy Council Office for tabling in the House of Commons.