The COVID-19 pandemic provided the perfect natural experiment to assess the extent of birth tourism in Canada.

Dramatic declines of 50 per cent compared with the pre-pandemic 2016-20 average occurred in 2020 and 2021 in the number of “non-resident, self-pay” births. That was followed by an overall increase of 53 per cent in 2022 compared with the 2020-21 average, although the 2022 figure is still far below the 2019 peak.

This partial return to growing numbers highlights the need for the government to make good on its 2018 commitment to get a better handle on the extent of birth tourism, and to go so far as to consider an amendment to the Citizenship Act.

Figure 1 captures the steady increase prior to the pandemic and the sharp fall thereafter. Last year’s increase to 3,575 non-resident births from the pandemic average of 2,339 occurred in all provinces.

Table 1 compares non-resident births in 2011-15 and 2016-20 with those in subsequent years. The increase over these five-year periods contrasts with the sharp decline in 2020-21 and the sharp reversal in 2021-22, both of which were particularly notable in British Columbia. Compared to the 2019 high, the number of non-resident births has rebounded to 63 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

There is no comparable U.S. post-pandemic data because since January 2020, the U.S. no longer issues visas “for birth tourism (travel for the primary purpose of giving birth in the United States to obtain U.S. citizenship for their child).”

Because there is no health-specific code for women travelling to Canada on visitor visas for birth tourism, the broader non-resident self-pay code is used. However, this includes international students, about half of whom are covered by provincial health plans, and other temporary residents.

Overall visitor visas in 2022 largely rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. The number of temporary workers has increased significantly. However, this varies by country.

Overall visitor visas........

© IRPP - Policy Options