Canada has recorded a surge in refugee claims from U.S. citizens this year, with more applications filed in the first half of 2025 than in all of 2024, reaching the highest level since 2019. According to Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board, 245 claims have been submitted so far — a small fraction of the roughly 55,000 total refugee applications nationwide — but immigration lawyers say a growing number are from transgender Americans.
Lawyers point to mounting concerns over restrictions in the United States on gender-affirming care, participation in sports, access to bathrooms, and military service. The Immigration and Refugee Board has recently updated its country conditions documents to include reports from human rights organizations detailing challenges facing LGBTQ Americans.
Applicants seeking asylum must show that no part of the U.S. can be considered safe for them — a high bar that has limited overall acceptance rates. Still, the increase echoes a similar rise in claims during Donald Trump’s first presidency, when fears about shrinking legal protections drove more Americans north to file for asylum.
U.S. officials have responded by stressing that refugee systems should prioritize those “facing actual fear and persecution.” Canadian advocates, however, say the claims underscore deeper concerns about human rights and protections south of the border, reflecting what they call a troubling shift in the social and political climate for transgender individuals in the U.S.