Section 36 is one of the most important inadmissibility provisions. A permanent resident or foreign national is inadmissible for serious criminality (offences punishable by 10+ years, or conviction with 6+ months imprisonment). Foreign nationals face a lower bar, even minor convictions can make them inadmissible. If you have a criminal record, this section determines whether you can enter Canada.
(2)A foreign national is inadmissible on grounds of criminality for (a)having been convicted in Canada of an offence under an Act of Parliament punishable by way of indictment, or of two offences under any Act of Parliament not arising out of a single occurrence; (b)having been convicted outside Canada of an offence that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an indictable offence under an Act of Parliament, or of two offences not arising out of a single occurrence that, if committed in Canada, would constitute offences under an Act of Parliament; or (c)committing an act outside Canada that is an offence in the place where it was committed and that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an indictable offence under an Act of Parliament. (d)[Repealed, 2023, c. 32, s. 53]
(2.1)A foreign national is inadmissible on grounds of transborder criminality for committing, on entering Canada, a prescribed offence under an Act of Parliament.