Canada–United States Safe Third Country Agreement
The Canada–United States Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) (French: Entente sur les tiers pays sûrs , ETPS) is a treaty, entered into force on 29 December 2004, between the governments of Canada and the United States to better manage the flow of refugee claimants at the shared land border.
| Agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the United States of America for cooperation in the examination of refugee status claims from nationals of third countries | |
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| Type | Bilateral treaty |
| Signed | December 5, 2002 |
| Location | Washington, D.C. |
| Effective | December 29, 2004 |
| Original signatories |
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| Parties |
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| Citations | CTS 2004/2 |
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| Canadian citizenship and immigration |
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Under the agreement, persons seeking refugee status must make their claim in the first country in which they arrive, between either the United States or Canada, unless they qualify for an exception. For example, refugee claimants who are citizens of a country other than the United States who arrive from the US at the Canada–United States land border can only pursue their refugee claims in Canada if they meet an exception under the Safe Third Country Agreement.
In March 2023, the Safe Third Country Agreement was updated to enact tougher immigration policies, especially with regards to asylum seekers and border crossing at 'irregular' border crossings like Roxham Road.
The STCA has faced challenges in the Canadian courts alleging that Canada's participation violates the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. After success for the challengers in Federal Court in 2020, but overturn in the Federal Court of Appeal, in June 2023 the Supreme Court of Canada found no violation of section 7 of the Charter, but sent the case back to Federal Court for review of whether it might violate section 15.