PACP - Asylum Claimants, Irregular Migration and the Safe Third Country Agreement - December 5, 2023
Key Facts And Figures
Approximately 113,00 asylum claims were received between January 1 and October 31, 2023, of which approximately 58,000 were made at ports of entry. These are historically high numbers, in contrast to over 92,000 claims in 2022 and pre-pandemic volumes (approximately 64,000 claims in 2019).
Irregular asylum claims have dropped significantly since March 25, 2023 when the Safe Third Country Agreement’s application was expanded (from 165 claims per day in March 2023 to an average of nine per day). The number of irregular arrivals has dropped to approximately 14,000 between January 1 and October 31, 2023, compared to approximately 40,000 irregular arrivals in 2022.
Key Messages
There is an increase of asylum claimants at ports of entry and at inland offices. Asylum volumes are difficult to predict and driven by a number of factors, including persecution, instability and war.
Canada is not immune to the rising asylum volumes worldwide, which are in line with the high global volumes of displaced persons at over 100M. All but one (Mexico) of the top 10 asylum receiving countries saw a significant increase in volumes. Canada and the United States (U.S.) experienced a threefold increase (UNHCR Global Trends Report).
While claims at ports of entry and inland have increased since the spring, irregular arrivals at the land border have significantly declined since we expanded the application of the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA) in March.
As of March 25, 2023, Canada and the U.S. expanded the application of the STCA, so that it can be consistently applied to all individuals entering at the land border, regardless of where they enter.
Anyone who now crosses irregularly and claims asylum within 14 days is subject to return to the U.S. unless they meet an STCA exception, such as family ties in Canada.
On June 16, 2023, the Supreme Court upheld the designation of the U.S. as a safe third country, confirming that it was compliant with s. 7 of the Charter (right to life, liberty, security).
The Supreme Court however remitted the s. 15 Charter challenge (discrimination) to the Federal Court for determination as it was never assessed by the Federal Court. As this matter is currently before the Federal Court, no further comments will be provided at this time.
The Government will continue to reduce administrative burdens for asylum claimants in Canada to enhance fast and fair processing to allow claimants to confirm their need for protection, or to have their claim adjudicated in a timely manner.
We have already adjusted operational capacity; invested in interim housing supports and healthcare benefits for claimants; and introduced new processing innovations and funding for the asylum system.
The Government is committed to working collaboratively with provincial and municipal partners to support and respond to the high number of asylum claimants, but we stress that solutions need to come from all levels of government.
Canada remains firmly committed to upholding its international obligations and maintaining a fair and compassionate refugee protection system. The government will continue to work with other jurisdictions and stakeholders to ensure claimants are supported, while they await a decision on their claims.
Supplementary Information
The drivers of asylum intake are primarily external to the Government of Canada’s control. However, intake can be a by-product of other policy decisions, including decisions regarding visa policies, public policies, and the prioritization of humanitarian crises in Afghanistan and Ukraine. A significant proportion of asylum claimants arrive as temporary residents, such as visitors (with or without a visa), temporary foreign workers, and international students. Asylum seekers cannot be planned and are not eligible for resettlement assistance programs or housing support, which leads them to rely on provincial and municipal shelters and social services, until their claim is heard by the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) and the IRB renders a positive decision. At that point, an asylum claimant can access Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) settlement services.
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 innovative policy and operational solutions to address the inventory in an effort to ensure Canada remains a destination of choice for tourists, business visitors and those wishing to visit family.
One initiative that IRCC has put in place to reduce the inventory is the creation of two new temporary public policies (TPP) to expedite and streamline the processing of the majority of visitor visa and parent and grandparent super visa applications in our inventory from before January 16, 2023. Approximately 240,000 applications (228,000 visitor visa and 12,000 parent and grandparent super visa applications) were eligible under this initiative.
This approach had positive objectives but also triggered an increase of arrivals claiming asylum which may continue over the coming years (and changed the profile of claimants including countries or origin).
The increase in asylum claimants arriving via air can in part be attributed to the visa lift on Mexico and the TRV public policy, both of which are facilitative measures intended to boost economic benefits and tourism to Canada.
This, coupled with global displacement reaching historic levels of more than 100M worldwide, has led to unprecedented asylum claim volumes and associated pressures.
In introducing these time-limited TPPs, which are set to expire on December 31, 2023, the Minister recognized that there may be a short-term 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.
