Immigration Act, 1976

The Immigration Act, 1976 (the Act) in Canada was insured in 1978 by the Parliament of Canada. It focused on who should be allowed into Canada, not on who should be kept out. The Act came into force in 1978, along with new immigration regulations. The Act gave more power to the provinces to set their own immigration laws and defined "prohibited classes" in much broader terms. Individuals who could become a burden on social welfare or health services would now be refused entry, rather than specific categories of people, e.g., those who identified themselves as homosexual, the disabled, and so on. Further, it created four new classes of immigrants who could come to Canada: refugees, families, assisted relatives, and independent immigrants. While independent immigrants had to take part in the points system, other classes did not have to take part in this test so long as they passed basic criminal, security, and health checks. The Act also created alternatives to deportation for less serious criminal or medical offences, since deportation meant the immigrant was barred from entering Canada for life. After 1978, the government could issue 12-month exclusion orders and a departure notice, if the cause for a person's removal was not serious, but in some cases, it could be severe.

Canadian citizenship
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Immigration
Immigration to Canada History of immigration to Canada Economic impact of immigration Canadian immigration and refugee law Immigration Act, 1976 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act Permanent residency Temporary residency Permanent resident card
Canadian nationality law
History of nationality law Citizenship Act 1946 Citizenship Test Oath of Citizenship
Agencies
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Citizenship classes
Honorary citizenship Commonwealth citizen
Issues
Lost Canadians "Canadians of convenience" Quebec values test & deportation Immigration delay in Quebec Cancellation of immigration applications
Demographics of Canada
Canadians Population by year Ethnic origins

The 1976 Immigration Act was replaced by the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) in 2002.[1]

The enforcement team with the Department of Citizenship and Immigration Canada was responsible for enforcing the Act at border crossings with the United States as well as checkpoints at international airports in Canada.