Bill C-12 and the Start-Up Visa Program — What It Could Mean Now

Nicholas Wu
Mar 2
4 min read

Updated: Mar 31

Canada’s Strengthening Canada’s Immigration System and Borders Act (Bill C-12) is advancing through Parliament and drawing a lot of attention from immigration professionals. What makes it significant for economic immigration, including the Start-Up Visa (SUV) program, is not simply that it reforms border security, but that it grants broad executive powers over immigration applications and documents that didn’t previously exist.

Update – March 2026: Legislative progress of Bill C-12

Since the original publication of this article, Bill C-12 has passed the Senate with amendments and has been returned to the House of Commons for review. The House must now decide whether to accept, modify, or reject those Senate amendments before the bill can proceed to Royal Assent. Until that process is completed, Bill C-12 is not yet law.

Importantly for immigration stakeholders, the Senate amendments did not remove or narrow the provisions allowing the federal government to pause, suspend, or terminate classes of immigration applications in the “public interest.” Those authorities therefore remain part of the legislative text as it currently stands.

However, it is also important to understand the practical timeline. Even if Bill C-12 ultimately becomes law, the government would still need to take additional steps before using those powers in practice, such as issuing Ministerial Instructions, Orders in Council, or other operational directives specifying how and where the authorities will be applied.

As of now, there has been no announcement, policy instruction, or operational signal indicating that the Start-up Visa (SUV) program is being targeted or affected. SUV applications continue to be processed under the existing framework.

For applicants and advisors, the most meaningful signals to watch will be Royal Assent of the bill and any subsequent Canada Gazette publications or IRCC operational updates that would indicate how these authorities may actually be implemented.

What Bill C-12 Would Do to Immigration Powers

Bill C-12 would give the federal government the authority to suspend, end, or cancel immigration applications and documents across many categories if it determines doing so is in the public interest. That includes temporary and permanent resident visas, work permits, study permits, and potentially SUV applications. The legislation also gives cabinet discretion to stop intake or processing of applications in a class, again for reasons that are broadly defined as “public interest.”

Importantly, legal commentators and civil liberties organizations have noted that the term “public interest” is vague and undefined in the legislation, creating uncertainty around when and how these powers could be applied.

Why This Matters for Start-Up Visa Clients

While the SUV program itself currently continues to operate, the introduction of these new powers raises particular concerns for entrepreneurs and advisors:

Pending SUV applications could, in theory, be affected if cabinet invokes public-interest cancellation authority. Experts have pointed out that Bill C-12’s powers could be used to terminate processing of applications in entire categories where there are compliance issues or backlogs that the government wants to manage.
Industry reporting suggests thousands of SUV applications — especially those associated with business incubators that do not meet recent Ministerial Instructions — could be vulnerable if these powers are used to address systemic backlog challenges.
Practitioners should be aware that although these powers have not been used yet, the very existence of this tool changes the compliance landscape and potential risk calculations for pending clients.

How It Might Play Out in Reality

(A Practical Walkthrough of Possible Application of Public-Interest Powers)

Bill C-12 becomes law in its current form, with public-interest authority unchanged.
IRCC assesses its SUV backlog and identifies a large cohort of pending applications linked to non-compliant designated organizations (e.g., business incubators not meeting strict program criteria). Another part of the backlog might involve other economic streams.
Cabinet or the Governor in Council issues a public-interest order under the new legislation that targets a specific class of applications, such as SUV submissions tied to certain incubators or jurisdictions where processing is costly or slow.
IRCC implements the order, suspending further intake or cancelling processing for that class of applications.
Applicants receive status changes in the system indicating their files have been cancelled or suspended.
Practitioners then must advise on legal remedies (e.g., judicial review challenges alleging misuse of discretion) or alternative pathways such as PNP or other entrepreneur programs.

This is a hypothetical sequence that demonstrates how the concept might be operationalized once the authority exists as law.

Flowchart of how Bill C-12 might affect visa applications

What the News Is Saying Now

Recent reporting confirms that Bill C-12 has been reported back to the Senate for third reading with its public-interest powers intact, and no amendments have yet been adopted that would soften those authorities.

The Canadian Immigration Lawyers Association has publicly warned that Bill C-12’s proposed expansion of discretionary public-interest powers — including the ability to cancel, suspend or vary immigration documents on broad grounds — poses a serious threat to the rule of law, fairness and transparency in Canada’s immigration system.

At the same time, policy commentary shows that Bill C-12’s proponents frame these authorities as modernizing tools that give government flexibility to respond to emergencies or operational strains — justifying them in terms of efficiency and public safety needs.

So What Should Clients and Practitioners Do Now?

Monitor Bill C-12’s parliamentary progress closely. Its next significant milestone is the Senate’s third reading, after which the bill could proceed to Royal Assent.
Review compliance and filing quality for SUV cases, especially for those supported by designated organizations that may not fully meet Ministerial Instructions.
Prepare alternative strategies, including other immigration pathways such as entrepreneur streams through provinces, federal economic classes, or restructuring business plans if SUV timelines remain uncertain.
Communicate transparently with clients about the existence of these authorities, emphasizing they are currently potential risk signals, not changes already in force.

Bottom Line: Bill C-12’s broad “public interest” powers represent a meaningful shift in how Canada could manage immigration intake and backlog. For the SUV program and pending portfolios, this isn’t an immediate cancellation order — but it does change the risk landscape and demands proactive risk-management planning from practitioners and their clients.