CIMM – Interim Housing Assistance Program – February 28, 2024
[Redacted] appears where sensitive information has been removed in accordance with the principles of the Access to Information Act and the Privacy Act.
Key Facts and Figures
- Through the Interim Housing Assistance Program (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. To date, the Government has provided almost $750M to affected jurisdictions, including $440.9M to Quebec and $290M to Ontario municipalities.
- On January 31, 2024, the Government announced an additional $362.4 million to the existing $212 million announced in July 2023 (total: 574.4 million) that extended IHAP until March 31, 2024.
- To date, a total of $50M has been issued as follows: $35M to the City of Toronto, $10M to the Region of Peel and $5M to the City of Ottawa.
- In addition to funding through IHAP, Budget 2023 provided an additional $530M for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to directly provide short-term accommodations (federal hotels) to asylum seekers unable to shelter elsewhere, in addition to the funding already provided since the 2022 Fall Economic Statement.
- As of February 26, 2024, IRCC’s hotel footprint for temporary accommodation is approximately 4,050 rooms across Canada (34 hotels in six different provinces), and we are currently housing approximately 7,800 claimants, including approximately 2,500 in Quebec and 5,100 in Ontario. The total projected cost for IRCC-funded hotels (ILS) for 2023-2024 is $544M.
- IRCC has been backstopping Quebec’s shelter system through hotels since November 2021. Between June 30, 2022 and February 26, 2024, IRCC transferred 10,580 asylum claimants from Quebec to other provinces, mainly Ontario. Since September 2023, the Department has assisted municipalities in Ontario by transferring over 2,800 claimants to IRCC temporary accommodations, who were otherwise unable to secure shelter due to an overburdened shelter system.
- Separate from IHAP funding, IRCC has made payments in the order of $8.5B to Quebec under the Canada-Quebec Accord since 1991.
Key Messages
- The government is committed to working collaboratively with provincial and municipal partners to ensure that asylum claimants have access to temporary shelter when they need it.
- In July 2023 and January 2024, the government announced a total of $574.4M in IHAP funding for the 2023-2024 fiscal year to reimburse, on a cost-sharing basis, expenses incurred, in calendar year 2023 as well as in early 2024, by provinces and municipalities providing interim housing to asylum claimants. Through IHAP, the federal government has already provided almost $750M to jurisdictions since 2017.
- IHAP funding supports jurisdictions in adjusting to the influx of asylum claimants and increasing their interim housing capacity, reducing the risk of homelessness for this vulnerable population.
- On November 24, we announced that the Government of Canada will provide the Region of Peel with up to $7M to open a new reception centre that will provide shelter and support to asylum claimants. IRCC welcomes the Region’s initiative as this new model will better serve the needs of asylum claimants by providing upfront the information and supports they need.
- IRCC is continuing to provide temporary accommodations for claimants who otherwise would not have a place to shelter to relieve pressures away from provincial and municipal shelter systems.
- The government continues to explore options for support to provinces and municipalities that provide housing and services to asylum claimants. Going forward, however, we stress that responding to the needs of asylum claimants requires collaboration and engagement from all levels of government, and the Government of Canada remains committed to working with all jurisdictions to find innovative, sustainable and cost-effective solutions for asylum claimants.
If pressed:
- In 2023-2024, in addition to the overall $574.4M to be spent through IHAP, the government expects to spend a total of $544M on hotels to address extraordinary interim housing pressures related to the increased volumes of asylum claimants. This temporary assistance aims to allow provinces time to adjust to new asylum pressures, and to increase interim housing capacity, reducing the risk of homelessness for asylum claimants.
Supplementary Information
- To help manage the immediate crisis related to shelter needs of claimants in Toronto, IRCC struck an interdepartmental Deputy Minister operational table with the Government of Ontario, the City of Toronto and other impacted municipalities, as well as relevant federal partners, that was focused on ensuring a common understanding of asylum claimant-related housing challenges and identifying cross-jurisdictional solutions.
- IRCC has received the Redacted.
- The government is aware of Quebec’s renewed request to distribute asylum claimants across Canada; to reduce asylum volumes by tightening Canadian visa granting policy; to close any loophole that could allow infiltration of criminal groups; and to reimburse all costs incurred by the province for asylum claimants from 2021 to 2023. Quebec estimates their total expenses for asylum claimants for the past three years, including housing and other services, at $1B ($470M for 2021 & 2022); $ 576,9M for 2023).
- The Government of Canada is committed to sitting down with Quebec to review their requested amounts. However, the Government expects Quebec to acknowledge the continuous funding and logistical support provided to the province for asylum claimants since 2017 through various programs, including IRCC hotel accommodations, transfers of over 10,000 claimants to other provinces, the Interim Federal Health Program and Legal Aid. The Government continues to encourage Quebec to submit a claim to receive the $150M made available to them for 2023 and early 2024 housing costs under IHAP.
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