Canada announced Thursday it would require visas for Mexican nationals to enter the country, a move that comes amid a surge in asylum claims from Mexicans arriving in Canada.
The rule follows months of discussions between the two countries over an increase in the number of Mexicans entering Canada, including repeated attempts by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to raise the issue with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.
Some provincial officials say the surge in asylum seekers has strained their resources and their ability to provide social services.
“We needed to give Mexico, because of our friendship, an opportunity to make things right,” Marc Miller, Canada’s immigration minister, told a news conference.
“That clearly didn’t happen,” he added, “so we had to make a decision.”
The visa mandate, which will take effect Thursday night, was lifted by Mr. Trudeau in 2016 to boost tourism and as a sign of close ties between the two countries.
Since then, the number of Mexican asylum applications has skyrocketed, to about 24,000 last year from 260 eight years ago. About 17 percent of all Canadian asylum claims last year were made by Mexican nationals.
Most asylum claims from Mexico are rejected, withdrawn or abandoned, Mr. Miller said, hampering an immigration system already struggling to deal with a growing backlog of refugee claims. “It has ripple effects,” he said.
For some Mexicans who can afford airline tickets, flying to Canada has become an alternative route to the United States, allowing them to avoid the smugglers who control the paths to the southern US border.
US immigration officials have seen a large increase in the number of migrants, including Mexicans, crossing into the United States from Canada, though nowhere near the huge numbers at the southern border.
“But they are important,” said Mr. Miller. “And that’s something we have to manage as a partner with the US.”
Immigration has become a major issue in the United States ahead of the November election, and the Biden administration has made tightening the country’s borders a top policy priority.
President Biden and Donald J. Trump, who is almost certain to be his Republican opponent for the White House, were both scheduled to appear Thursday in South Texas to discuss immigration.
Mr. López Obrador told reporters Thursday that his government respected Canada’s decision, but said Canada could have sought “other alternatives,” without offering details.
He also issued a “small, respectful, fraternal reprimand” to Mr. Trudeau, although he said his government’s response would be to “act wisely, calmly.”
Not all Mexicans will be required to have a visa to travel to Canada. The rule excludes Mexicans who have held a Canadian visa within the past 10 years or if they currently hold a temporary US visa. Travelers in this category need an electronic travel permit, which is valid for up to five years.
Canada’s visa decision is the latest step in the country’s effort to deal with asylum claims made at regular ports of entry, such as airports, and at unofficial border crossings.
Canadian officials also imposed restrictions in January on foreign students, doubling the savings threshold new applicants must have to get a study permit, after a boom that raised concerns about housing pressures.
Following an agreement with the United States, Canada last year closed a popular land border crossing between New York state and Quebec, called Roxham Road, after a surge in migrants entering Canada there.
Some provincial leaders, including François Legault, Quebec’s premier, have criticized the federal government’s response and say it must provide more financial aid to cover the cost of absorbing thousands of immigrants.
About half of Canada’s 290,000 asylum seekers are in Quebec, the province’s immigration minister said, and Quebec is asking the government for C$1 billion in aid.
Emiliano Rodríguez Mega contributed reporting from Mexico City.
