'Generic tourism' in Canada is 5 times the official statistics

Canada's most popular hospital for international women in labour is located in Richmond, British Columbia. In recent years it has experienced a real boom in maternity tourism. Analysis of hospitals' financial data shows that baby tourism is booming in major Canadian cities, and these figures diverge from official figures.

The term "birth tourism" or "citizenship at birth" refers to non-resident women who give birth in the country in order to obtain citizenship for their children. Discussions about this issue began in Canada in late 2018, when a Richmond MP filed a petition, and members of the Conservative Party supported it and proposed denying citizenship to any child whose parents are not Canadian or permanent residents. In the United States, President Donald Trump has also promised to "close the shop" for birthright citizenship.

Statistics Canada reported 313 non-resident births in 2016. However, the Richmond hospital data exceeded not only Statistics Canada's overall figures for British Columbia, but also those for Canada as a whole, raising serious doubts about their reliability.

Hospitals' financial data show that there are at least 5 times as many women coming to Canada for the purpose of childbirth and citizenship. Hospitals code services covering baby tourism as "self-pay by a resident of another country". Refugee applicants and newly arrived residents are coded separately. However, data for non-residents also include births with temporary resident status (international students or those on business trips). This means that totals based on financial statements are slightly higher than for birth tourism alone.

Nevertheless, there is no doubt that birth tourism is increasing. In 2016, there were 3,323 such births. Figure 2 shows a steady increase in the number of children born to women residing in other countries: the total number of births and the percentage of total births in Canada (excluding Quebec, which did not provide hospital data).

Figure 3 shows the figures by province. So far, birth tourism in Canada accounts for just over 1% of all births in Canada.

According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the 25 hospitals with the highest number of non-resident births account for about 75% of all non-resident births outside Quebec (21 in Ontario, 2 in British Columbia and 1 each in Alberta and Nova Scotia). The remaining 25% is accounted for by 6 hospitals in Montreal.

The top 10 hospitals where non-residents give birth account for about 50 percent of all non-resident births. Among the most popular clinicsThe Richmond Hospital in British Columbia,Scarborough and Rouge Hospital — Birchmount site иMackenzie Health — Richmond Hill Hospital in Ontario,St. Mary's Hospital in Quebec,St. Paul's Hospital and Mount Saint Joseph Hospital in British Columbia.

Based on more accurate data, birth tourism is more prevalent than previously thought. Overall, the level is still low compared to the total number of births in English Canada (292,521 in 2017) or the number of new citizens (106,228 in 2017), but these numbers are no longer insignificant and continue to rise.

At first, the Conservative government was ready to take action to crack down on baby-tourism, but revised its plans when it became clear that the scale of the problem was still small. Now the federal government is considering three options for action:

Refusal of a visitor visa

Currently, an application for a visitor visa cannot be denied on the basis that a woman wants to give birth in Canada. There is nothing in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that prohibits a woman from receiving a Temporary Resident Visa solely on the basis of her intention to give birth in Canada.

Limitation of citizenship by birthright

Australia adopted a limited approach to citizenship by birthright in its Citizenship Act 2007. It is intended that the Canadian Citizenship Act will specify that a person born in Canada is a Canadian citizen only if the parent is a citizen or permanent resident of Canada and if the child has lived in Canada for 10 years after birth.

Financial measures

It is envisaged that "maternity hotels" will be banned, the cost of hospital births will be significantly increased, and birth certificates will not be issued unless the woman can show proof of payment for hospital services.

Many Canadians believe that birth tourism detracts from the importance of citizenship. In addition, there are concerns that non-resident birthing mothers are crowding out locals in hospitals: non-residents make up more than 20 per cent of women giving birth at Richmond Hospital. The government will soon make a final decision on this issue, based on the proposals put forward to regulate baby-tourism.