Such platforms outline all the reasons Canada is the preferred destination: Birth tourism is permitted by law, medical expenses are relatively cheap, and Canadian citizenship comes with many social benefits.
Birth tourism can be harmful to the tourists themselves, she said, with some travelling at a late stage in pregnancy to save on accommodation costs. A lack of continuity in care and other elements of the practice can result in risks to mother and child.
Within Calgary’s health zone, any uninsured patients seeking prenatal care are triaged through the program, which acts as a sort of immigration screening to identify birth tourists.
“Birth tourists that come here have the ability to afford a flight, a place to stay, the living expenses. And their intention is really just to come and have a baby and then return,” Brar told The Epoch Times. They are different from those in more vulnerable populations who may not have provincial health coverage, she said.
Those identified as birth tourists must pay a deposit of $15,000 before receiving service in Calgary. Brar and her team are trying to discourage birth tourism as a practice—and at least make sure the tourists pay their medical bills—while ensuring all patients get needed care.
Taxpayer Pays
A standard birth costs some $10,000 for the delivery plus charges for the hospital stay, though the price balloons rapidly if there are any complications. Birth tourists are billed directly, but Canada’s public health-care system is ill-equipped for these private transactions, Brar said.The Numbers
Some birth tourists are also genuinely unprepared for the ballooning costs due to a lack of understanding about how the system works.That was a small sample that gives only a hint at what the costs are nationwide, Brar said. The data isn’t being collected systematically in Canada either, she said. The Epoch Times did not hear back from the Ontario Health Ministry regarding costs incurred for unpaid non-resident births in that province.
Even the number of birth tourists is not well-tracked.
The Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) compiled for The Epoch Times data regarding the number of hospital deliveries under the “Other country resident self-pay” category. This number also captures international students (who typically have private insurance) and others, so there is no data specifically regarding birth tourists.
Hospitals Canada-wide (excluding Quebec) handled 3,849 “other country resident self-pay” deliveries in fiscal year 2023–2024, according to CIHI. Most were in Ontario, which had 2,775 of these births. CIHI could not include the numbers from Quebec by press time, since an additional process is required to get that data.
CIHI provided data as far back as FY 2019–2020. That year, there were 4,400 such deliveries Canada-wide, excluding Quebec. The numbers dipped in subsequent years, presumably due to pandemic travel restrictions, before rising again recently.
Collecting Payment
Brar said immigration officials should impose consequences for birth tourists not paying their medical bills. Her latest idea is to start sending Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) a notification when a family hasn’t paid their bill.Brar said she’s going to start including a warning to that effect in an information package given to all birth tourists in Calgary.
CBSA told The Epoch Times, however, that it can’t do anything about unpaid medical bills.
Border agents cannot bar someone from leaving Canada. Police forces can work with CBSA to set up a “lookout” in advance if someone with a criminal warrant may try to leave. But if the police aren’t present, CBSA can only confirm that the departure happened.
“This applies to criminal warrants, not to civil matters,” CBSA spokesperson Jacqueline Roby told The Epoch Times. Civil matters, such as unpaid bills, are entirely beyond CBSA jurisdiction.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada is responsible for evaluating if foreign nationals applying for visitor visas can support themselves financially before a visa is issued. However, CBSA agents can also refuse admission at the port of entry if there are any concerns.
The user said the agent was satisfied with the couple’s responses and advised them to apply for the baby’s birth certificate and social insurance number before leaving Canada. The Epoch Times wasn’t able to confirm the validity of this encounter.
Strain on Health Care Resources
Brar’s concerns are not only related to the costs, however, but also to the strain on Canada’s limited health-care resources.For example, if a birth tourist’s baby ends up in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) bed, that’s one less NICU bed for local babies, she said.
“We are continually deferring deliveries, transferring babies, moving people around, because we don’t have access to that bed,” she said. “Our health-care system is falling apart, and I am one of those providers that strongly believes that there are layers of accountability lacking within our system.”
“Waiting time for uro-gynaecological service is more than 18 months in most of our centres. The thought that even ONE patient seeking birth tourism would potentially take either an obstetrical spot out of our allocated hospital quota, or even worse, a spot on the gynaecologic waiting list, should be enough to unite all in a position that anything that in any way facilitates this practice should be frowned upon,” he wrote.
He said refugees or non-residents who happen to be in Canada for work, study, or other reasons should be provided service without undue financial burden. But he suggests a “zero tolerance” policy for the “non-urgent planned and deliberate birth tourists in our hospitals.”
He is head of the of the maternal-fetal medicine program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, which does indeed reject birth tourists.
Canada vs. US
A recent development that could have ramifications for Canada is U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s plans to end “birth tourism,” and remove “birthright citizenship” for children of those who are in the United States illegally. Although the proposed change would likely go to the Supreme Court and involve constitutional challenges, if it comes to pass it could result in more such births in Canada if the United States no longer allows birth tourism.Brar said she sees American birth tourists because of that price difference.
Her study indicated that about a quarter of the birth tourists in Calgary were Nigerian. Other common countries of origin, she said, are India, China, and Middle Eastern countries.
Immigration lawyer Jean-François Harvey warns that the birth tourism practice can come with legal repercussions despite it being technically permitted in Canada. For instance, a mother may over-stay her visa due to complications in birth.
He also noted negative perceptions of birth tourism in Canada. “Some may also see birth tourists as individuals who are ‘gaming’ the immigration system by exploiting loopholes and bending the rules to gain citizenship for their children,” Harvey said.
Brar said she is hoping to see more collaboration between hospitals and immigration officials, and that existing rules stipulating that people on visitor visas fund their own medical care be better enforced. She is also trying to help other hospitals implement Calgary’s triage system.