An explosion that especially hits Ontario
The increase in the number of asylum seekers has been concentrated in Ontario. If, throughout 2023, Ontario and Quebec welcomed a similar number, respectively 63,205 and 65,425, the dynamic transformed in 2024, according to the latest data made public Monday by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The number of people who knocked on Quebec’s doors remained stable, increasing from 22,905 to 22,605 for the first four months of the year. But in Ontario, it almost tripled, from 11,915 to 31,820.
Two other provinces, Alberta and British Columbia, play a role of receiving land, but in a much more modest way, since the number of asylum seekers outside Quebec and Ontario still remains very low, at 8% of the total. total in 2023 and 12% in 2024.
In Quebec, a stable number… but high
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
This year, 32% of applicants are allocated to Quebec, compared to 51% in Ontario.
The change in the interprovincial distribution of asylum applications since the start of the year corrects an imbalance that Quebec complained about. Although it accounted for only 22% of the Canadian population, it received 60% of asylum seekers, while only 36% chose Ontario. This year, 32% of applicants are allocated to Quebec, compared to 51% in Ontario.
However, this rebalancing does not reduce the pressure with which Quebec must deal. If in 2023, the Legault government estimated that the number of applicants exceeded Quebec’s reception capacity, this issue remains unresolved since applications have not declined.
Constantly evolving movements
It is not only the number of asylum seekers that has changed, but also the way in which they enter Canada. At the end of March 2023, with the agreement between Canada and the United States allowing the closure of Roxham Road, interceptions by the RCMP collapsed. But after a short pause, demands returned to their previous level, this time through a new mode of entry: air transport.
But quickly, another mechanism emerged: rather than requesting asylum upon arrival, many people apply online after entering Canada as tourists, with a visitor visa or as foreign students with a study permit. . These requests, processed by IRCC offices, have tripled over the past year, going from an average of around 3,000 per month to more than 9,000. It is through this mechanism that Ontario has seen requests jump.
Mexico at the top of the list
Data published by the federal government, covering the first two months of the year, show that the main asylum seekers in Quebec are Mexicans, with 2,370 requests. This number should, however, drop with the return, at the end of February, of visas for visitors to this country. Mexico was also the main country of origin for asylum seekers last year, with 16,080 requests, ahead of Haitians (5,140), Indians (4,675), Colombians (3,605) and Congolese (2,860). . Turkey, Nigeria, Senegal, Bangladesh and Afghanistan completed the table of the top ten countries of origin.
“Canada’s asylum seeker numbers compare to Germany’s numbers,” notes Michael Barutciski, a lawyer and professor at York University in Toronto. “In Quebec, we have been talking about a crisis for several months. But English Canada does not want to suggest that there is a crisis. We don’t want to talk openly about these issues. »
$16,500 per asylum seeker
PHOTO GEOFF ROBINS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
The growth of eTA holders is the highest, compared to other forms of entry to Canada, such as visitor or study visas.
In a report released on May 31, the Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) estimates that the processing costs associated with asylum seekers who entered Canada with an electronic travel authorization (eTA) amount to $16,500. per person over a period of approximately three years. The eTA is required from visitors who come from countries exempt from the visa requirement, such as France, Belgium or the United Kingdom. It is the growth of these eTA holders that is the highest, compared to other forms of entry to Canada, such as visitor or study visas.
“If we take into account organizational capacities, the cost linked to asylum seekers who arrived in Canada with an eTA before 1er January 2024, but which have not yet been the subject of a final decision, amounts to an estimated amount of 455 million during the five-year processing period,” it is specified.