Question Period Note: RESPONDING TO CURRENT ASYLUM VOLUMES

Canada is continuing to experience high volumes of asylum claimants due to a number of factors, despite extending the application of the Safe Third Country Agreement a year ago and the recent Mexican visa partial reimposition. In response, Canada has proposed legislative amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to address system-wide bottlenecks by simplifying and streamlining the claim process in support of enhanced program integrity and faster processing of asylum claims.

• Asylum volumes are difficult to predict and are driven by a number of factors, including persecution, regional instability and war. Canada is not immune to rising asylum claim levels from the high global volumes of displaced persons, which exceeded 117 million worldwide at the end of 2023.

• Canada remains committed to ensuring safe migration and upholding a fair and compassionate refugee protection system in the face of historic levels of global displacement.

• The In-Canada Asylum System has faced mounting pressures in recent years leading to lengthy processing times and backlogs, and resulting in prolonged uncertainty for applicants.

Responding to the needs of asylum claimants requires all orders of government. The Government of Canada remains committed to working with its partners to develop shared solutions to best support asylum claimants.

If pressed
• The Government has been taking steps in response, including:
• legislative changes and investments in Budget 2024 to improve efficiencies, while maintaining the fairness and integrity of the system;
• changes to travel requirements for Mexican nationals this past February, in response to the notable and sustained increase in the number of asylum claims, most of which were rejected, withdrawn, or abandoned by the applicant.

On TRV holders applying
• Under the law, anyone claiming asylum in Canada has the right to due process; however, there are no guarantees that an asylum seeker will be allowed to stay in Canada.
• It is important to note that the number of asylum claims does not reflect the quality or the thoroughness of any prior assessment for a visa, study permit or work permit.
• At the time of application, all temporary resident applicants must satisfy an officer that they have sufficient ties to their country of origin, particularly with regard to their family and economic situation, and that they will leave Canada once their status is expired.
• Some temporary residents come to Canada as genuine visitors, students or workers and later chose to claim asylum due to changes to conditions in their home country.

On India asylum seekers

• Canada is committed to applying immigration procedures fairly and rigorously in order to protect Canadians and ensure the integrity of our system.
• The volumes of refugee protection claims are difficult to predict and depend on many factors.
• We will continue to monitor refugee protection claims made by Indian nationals in our airports.

On Mexico asylum claimants:
• On February 29, 2024, Canada adjusted its travel requirements for Mexican citizens to address the growing trend of asylum claims made by Mexican citizens. In 2023, the majority of these claims were rejected by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada or withdrawn or abandoned by the applicant.
• The new travel requirements will support ongoing mobility, tourism and business with Mexico, while helping relieve pressure on Canada’s borders, immigration system, housing and social services. Our desire is to facilitate legitimate travel, while preserving the integrity of our asylum system.

On asylum system funding:
• Budget 2024 proposes to provide $743.5 million over 5 years, starting in 2024–2025, and $159.5 million ongoing, to support the stability and integrity of Canada’s asylum system.
On interim housing:
• Through the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP) the federal government has now provided almost $960M to provinces and municipalities, to address extraordinary interim housing pressures related to the increased volumes of asylum claimants since 2017.
• Budget 2024 proposes to provide $1.1 billion over three years, starting in 2024-25, to extend IHAP with a focus on permanent, sustainable approaches. Funding in 2026-27 will be conditional on provincial and municipal investments in permanent transitional housing solutions for asylum claimants.
• The federal government is working with all orders of government to find long-term solutions to prevent asylum seekers from experiencing homelessness.
On the impact of temporary resident facilitation measures
• The Government continues to work to ensure that Canada remains a destination of choice for tourists, business visitors, and people hoping to visit their families.
• To help reunite families faster and support economic recovery through business travel and tourism, IRCC introduced two policies to streamline the processing of thousands of temporary resident visa (TRV) applications in our inventory that were received before January 16, 2023.
• As of December 7, 2023, the policy to streamline visitor visa applications is no longer in effect, as it has been successful in clearing most of the older TRV cases in our inventory.

We are aware that a portion of asylum claims were made by people who received a temporary resident visa (TRV) under these policies . We will continue to examine how the TPPs have impacted asylum volumes to inform future policy and processing initiatives aimed at reducing inventories.
On the effect of the STCA Additional Protocol
• On March 25, 2023, Canada and the U.S. announced an Additional Protocol to the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), to expand its application to the entire land border, including internal waterways.
• The number of irregular arrivals has decreased significantly since the changes to the STCA came into effect, which shows the Agreement is working as intended.

Asylum claim volumes
• Asylum claims continue to rise with over 92,000 claims received in 2022, over 144,000 claims in 2023, and already over 62,000 claims in the first four months of 2024 (January 1 to April 30).
• There has been a significant drop in the number of irregular asylum claims since March 25, 2023, when Canada and the U.S. expanded the application of the STCA. There were just over 17,000 irregular claims between January 1st and December 31, 2023, compared to approximately 40,000 in 2022. From January to April 30, 2024, only 3% of arrivals are irregular, or just over 1,600 (an 88% decrease from last year during the same time period).
• The percentage of claimants who are in possession of a visa at the time of making their refugee claim in Canada has increased and a larger proportion of claims are being initiated within a year of the issuance of their Temporary Resident visa.
• As a signatory to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, Canada has a responsibility to offer a safe haven to those in need of protection and cannot restrict persons from making a claim.
Budget 2024
• The In-Canada Asylum System has faced mounting pressures in recent years leading to lengthy processing times and backlogs, and resulting in prolonged uncertainty for applicants.
• The Government of Canada proposed legislative amendments that aim to address system-wide bottlenecks by simplifying and streamlining the claim process, without changing the eligibility criteria.
• The proposed legislative measures would reform Canada’s Asylum System without compromising its fairness or compassion.
• These actions build on past investments and ensure that claimants are processed quicker and receive access to the appropriate services, while decreasing financial pressures on all levels of government and respecting Canada’s international obligations.
Mexico Partial Visa Imposition
• Mexico was Canada’s top source country for asylum claims since 2021, and was the only top source country that was visa exempt. In 2023 alone, asylum claims from Mexican citizens accounted for 17% of all claims made that year from all nationalities around the world, with 60% of them being rejected by the Immigration Refugee Board of Canada, or withdrawn or abandoned by the applicant.
• To stem this flow, on February 29, 2024 Canada imposed a partial visa requirement for some Mexican travellers, while preserving the right to apply for an eTA for those who hold a valid US non-immigrant visa or have held a Canadian visa in the past 10 years and are travelling by air on a Mexican passport. Individuals who do not meet these conditions will need to apply for a Canadian visitor visa.
Interim housing for asylum claimants
Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP)
• Through IHAP, the federal government provides funding to provincial and municipal governments, on a cost-sharing basis, to address extraordinary interim housing pressures resulting from increased volumes of asylum claimants. The program was created in 2019 in response to the high volume of irregular asylum arrivals that began in 2017.
• Eligible costs under IHAP’s terms and conditions are those which are directly related to the provision of housing for claimants and enable jurisdictions to manage the influx of asylum claimants and increase their interim housing capacity. Key eligible costs include: temporary accommodations, security, meals, triage and transportation.
• In Budget 2024, the federal government highlighted its intent to continue working with jurisdictions to support the housing needs of asylum claimants through the program, proposing $1.1 billion over three years to extend it through to 2026-27.
• This funding is part of the broader suite of initiatives recently announced in response to the current housing crisis as a part of Canada’s Housing Plan, including long-term measures aimed at increasing the supply of affordable housing and helping communities end homelessness.
Temporary accommodations
• Due to the unprecedented high number of claimants arriving at the Montreal – Pierre Elliott Trudeau airport, on June 12, 2023, at the request of the province of Quebec, IRCC began providing temporary accommodations to asylum claimants arriving by air as their provincial shelter system, PRAIDA, reached full capacity. As of May 30, 2024, approximately 6,500 asylum claimants have been transferred from PRAIDA to IRCC accommodations.
• As of June 2022, the Department began transferring asylum claimants (voluntarily) from Quebec who required temporary accommodations, to a city or province outside Quebec where capacity permitted. As of May 30, 2024, approximately 10,150 asylum claimants have been transferred to Ontario and approximately 480 to the Atlantic provinces (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador).
• IRCC has also provided temporary accommodations to claimants from shelters in Ottawa, Windsor, Niagara Falls and Cornwall on an as needed basis to relieve immediate pressures. As of May 30, 2024, approximately 4,000 asylum claimants have been transferred from Ontario shelters and churches to IRCC hotel sites with available capacity; including Niagara Falls, Windsor, Mississauga, Kingston, Cornwall and Ottawa.

• As of May 30, 2024, IRCC’s hotel footprint consists of approximately 3,810 rooms (in 29 hotels housing approximately 6,900 claimants in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and British Columbia).
Impacts of TRV Inventory Public Policies on asylum claim rates
• IRCC has been working to reduce the inventory of temporary resident visa (TRV) applications, while continuing to process new applications. The Department is pursuing a number of policy and operational solutions to ensure Canada remains a destination of choice for tourists, business visitors and those wishing to visit family.

• IRCC worked to reduce the inventory through two temporary public policies (TPP) to expedite and streamline the processing of the majority of TRV and parent and grandparent super visa applications in our inventory from before January 16, 2023.
• IRCC is aware of the increase of asylum claims at certain Canadian airports and inland since the implementation of these facilitation measures and recognizes that a portion of these claims were made by travellers who were issued a TRV under the temporary public policies. IRCC continues to monitor any trends as a result of these policies and will consider any additional measures that may be required.
• In introducing these time-limited TPPs, the Department recognized that there may be an increase of asylum claims from clients issued TRVs under these policies. This risk was weighed against the priority of improving processing times for TRV applicants, and the long-term, invaluable benefits this will provide to our economy, travel and tourism, and Canadian families.

TRVs Approved and Subsequent Asylum Claims January 2017 to May 2024

Year TRV Approved Number of TRVs Approved Number of Subsequent Claims Asylum Claim Rate (# of Claims / # of Approved TRVs)
2017 1,437,020 15,820 1.10%
2018 1,674,720 26,205 1.56%
2019 1,413,120 19,950 1.41%
2020 329,110 3,025 0.92%
2021 310,740 3,665 1.18%
2022 1,308,915 15,885 1.21%
2023 2,035,335 77,710 3.82%
2024 (Up to May 31) 864,470 14,625 1.69%

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