By The Numbers: why Canada imposed a visa requirement on Mexican visitors

OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday that as of Dec. 1, the Canadian government will no longer require Mexican citizens to obtain visas before travelling to Canada.

The visas were first imposed in 2009 by the previous Conservative government in a bid to crack down on asylum claims from Mexicans. Here’s a look at the history of that decision, by the numbers:

36,759: Number of aslyum claims in total filed in Canada in 2008.

9,462: Number of those claims filed by Mexicans.

7,570: Number of claims filed by Mexicans in 2009.

1,199: Number of claims filed by Mexicans in 2010.

55: Percentage of claims filed by Mexicans rejected between 2000 and 2010.

9,000: Number of immigration violations by Mexicans in 2006.

3,500: Number of immigration violations by Mexicans in 2010.

131,016: Number of visa applications from Mexicans in 2015.

123,561: Number of visas granted to Mexicans in 2015.

6.7 per cent: Average refusal rate, from 2013 to 2015, for Mexican visa applications.

Four per cent: Average refusal rate the government normally uses as a threshold for deciding when to lift a visa.

1.9 per cent: Rate of immigration violations by Mexicans beteween 2013-2015.

Three per cent: Rate for immigration violations the government uses as a threshold.

SOURCE: Immigration Department

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