US President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025, prompted a massive number of Americans to seek refugee status in Canada, according to new data published by Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board recently. New data has revealed that in the first half of 2025, more American citizens applied for the refugee status in neighbouring Canada than all of the previous year 2024.
Americans flocking to Canada because of Trump?
The Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board data published on Thursday (Aug 21) shows that 245 Americans have applied for refugee status in Canada between January and June 2025.
Even though 245 may seem like a small figure, this number is double the number of people who applied for refugee status in all of 2024. As per the Canada immigration website, in 2024, from the United States, Canada received only 204 applications from people seeking a refugee status.
The growing number of refugee applications represents the growing fear experienced by Americans in the face of Donald Trump’s many aggressive policies on immigration, healthcare and LGBTQ+ rights.
How many of these have been given refugee status in Canada?
To gain asylum in Canada, a refugee must convince the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board that nowhere in their home country — for Americans in the US — is safe for them.
As per the Canada immigration website, none of the 245 refugee applications have been accepted. The Mirror reports that historically, Canada’s acceptance of refugees from the US has been historically low.
The report reveals that the same phenomenon of an increase in US citizens applying for refugee status in Canada, with the United States as their country of alleged persecution, was experienced during Trump’s first stint in the White House.
Reuters, citing eight immigration lawyers, reported that more and more trans Americans want to leave the US because of Trump’s aggressive anti-trans policies.
Since taking over as the President of the United States, Trump has rolled back several protections granted to trans individuals. This includes placing restrictions on who can access gender-affirming care, individuals who can serve in the military, who can use which washroom, and restrictions on sports.