Last Updated On 1 February 2024, 4:41 PM EST (Toronto Time)
On January 31, 2024, the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced new funding of $362.4 million to support housing for asylum claimants.
Minister Miller announced this funding for the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP) as part of the 2023–2024 fiscal year.
Out of this, Quebec alone is set to get $100 million. Previously, Quebec’s Premier François Legault requested $470 million in federal assistance to help deal with the influx of asylum seekers.
This is in addition to the $212 million in national funding made available in the summer of 2023 through IHAP.
The IHAP provides cost-sharing financing to provincial and municipal governments to handle unprecedented interim housing pressures caused by an increase in the number of asylum claimants.
This new funding will help provinces and municipalities meet increased demand for shelter space and prevent asylum seekers from becoming homeless.
A more detailed analysis of the new funds announced today will be provided in due course.
Since 2017, the Canadian government has given provinces and municipalities over $750 million to help reduce asylum-related housing concerns.
The Canadian government operates around 4,000 temporary rooms across the country, sheltering over 7,300 asylum seekers.
The Canadian government has pledged over $4 billion over nine years to combat homelessness across the country through Reaching Home: Canada’s Homelessness Strategy.
Last year alone, IRCC supplied $2 billion in assistance to refugees and asylum seekers across the country.
Provinces and municipalities that provide interim shelter to asylum seekers must make petitions for reimbursement of costs.
This must be completed before the Government of Canada may assess how much it will contribute.
The amounts are established depending on the requests and the program’s total budget envelope.
In addition to IHAP, the federal government has acquired temporary housing for short-term stays to relieve the strain on local shelters.
These locations have been changed to meet local needs and growing demand.
CBSA-designated ports of entry/inland offices2023 TotalAir Ports of Entry41,350Land Ports of Entry29,460Marine Ports of Entry35All Ports of Entry (Air, Land and Marine)70,845Inland Offices1,455Asylum Claimants by port of entry in 2023 Provinces/TerritoriesTotalNewfoundland and Labrador50Prince Edward Island15Nova Scotia165New Brunswick150Quebec65,570Ontario63,390Manitoba765Saskatchewan170Alberta6,050British Columbia7,695Yukon—Northwest Territories—Nunavut—Outside Canada5Total144,025Province-Wise Asylum Claimants processed by the CBSA and IRCC in 2023
“Provinces and municipalities are critical partners in helping respond to the rising number of asylum claims and supporting the needs of those fleeing persecution, oppression and conflict. Today’s announcement will help ensure that asylum claimants and refugees have a roof over their heads and are protected from the cold. We will continue to be there to support vulnerable people and the communities that provide them shelter.”
The Honourable Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship
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