Birth tourism rebounds close to pre-pandemic levels in B.C. as Trump takes action in U.S.

After falling precipitously during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of births in B.C. from non-residents rebounded significantly in 2024, suggesting a resurrection of the birth tourism cottage industry, says immigration analyst Andrew Griffith.

And, said Griffith, the newly released health data, comes as U.S. President Donald Trump vows — not without controversy — to curb the practice south of the border, raising questions about a likewise response here in Canada.

“The effect on Canada of Trump’s executive order prohibiting birth tourism is unclear but may result in an incoming Conservative government to re-examine the issue,” said Griffith.

The former director general for the Citizenship and Multiculturalism branch of Citizenship and Immigration Canada released this week, via Policy Options, new annual figures on non-resident births across Canada showing 5,219 such births in 2023-24.

That is nearly as many as the record 5,698 seen in 2019-20 and more than double the short-term low of 2,245 experienced in 2021-22.

Between April 1, 2019, and March 31, 2020, 868 non-residents of Canada, excluding temporary foreign workers, refugees and international students, paid to give birth in B.C. hospitals alone.

Last year 513 such births occurred in B.C., up from an average of 152 during the two pandemic-impacted years. B.C. provides public health care (Medical Service Plan) to international students, temporary foreign workers and refugees, who do not factor into the data.

Unique to B.C. was the birth tourism industry in Richmond, as 24 per cent of all births there in 2019-20 were to non-residents on account of a burgeoning birth tourism cottage industry, such as birthing hotels run out of homes for pregnant Chinese nationals on tourist visas.

But that phenomenon appears to have disappeared.

“The decline in visitor visas granted to Chinese nationals is reflected in British Columbia’s Richmond Hospital, once the epicentre of birth tourism, declining from 24 per cent pre-pandemic and only recovered partially to sevent percent in 2023-24,” said Griffith.

Last year the top B.C. hospitals for such births were Richmond (102), Surrey Memorial (99), St.Paul’s/Mount Saint Joseph (97) and Children’s (85).

At issue is the fact birth tourism has raised ethical and practical questions around delivery of health-care services for Canadian women.

Source: Birth tourism rebounds close to pre-pandemic levels in B.C. as Trump takes action in U.S.