Immigration Minister Marc Miller threatened to use any available “levers” against provinces that don’t comply with a proposed plan to relocate asylum seekers originally destined for Quebec and Ontario to provinces with a lower ratio of refugee claimants to its population.
According to a Liberal government briefing document obtained by True North, the proposed plan would have provinces take in a “proportionate share” of the asylum claimant population. It outlines a quota for each province to accept based on a proportion of each province’s current population.
The document shows that Quebec and Ontario are currently the most popular destinations for asylum seekers to Canada, taking in most refugee applicants.
According to the document using Statistics Canada reports from June 30, 2024, 453,302 individuals are seeking or have been granted asylum in Canada. The briefing said 235,825 asylum claims are currently open where a decision has not been rendered.
If each were accepted, the plan would have Ontario take in 91,972 asylum seekers, 39% of the claimant share. This is down from the 105,926 they would take in otherwise. Around 6,200 claimants have not been assigned to a province or territory, which slightly skews the percentage of total refugee claimants taken by each province.
The briefing shows Quebec would take in around 34.1% of the “humanitarian volume,” defined as the number of current refugees and applying asylum seekers, accepting 51,882 new potential asylum seekers, down from 99,726.
Quebec would see a reduction of 47,671 new asylum seekers, taking in 22% of the potential new asylum seekers. At the same time, Ontario would have 13,956 fewer asylum- claimants than before the plan, totalling 39% of the new asylum seekers.
This week, the Bloc Quebecois positioned itself to form a coalition with the Liberal government keeping them in power. One of its demands is that the government reduce immigration to Quebec.
British Columbia could take in 32,544 new asylum seekers if their claims were accepted. Before the plan, B.C. was positioned to take 11,421 new refugee claimants to the province. In a statement posted to X, the B.C. Conservatives fought back, claiming the government was forcing this upon British Columbians without a plan for increased financial support.
“Justin Trudeau and his Liberal government are dumping thousands of asylum seekers on BC without a plan or funding, all while our province grapples with an unprecedented housing crisis,” John Rustad, the leader of the B.C. Conservatives said in the statement. “Trudeau’s failure to provide the necessary resources is a betrayal of both the newcomers and the communities already struggling to make ends meet.”
Miller did not respond to True North’s requests to comment.
Rustad said the province’s healthcare, education and social services were already “stretched thin,” and the influx of immigrants without appropriate financial support would only exacerbate the challenges.
Similarly, Premier Blaine Higgs of New Brunswick fought back against the government’s plan, which outlined an increase of more than ten times the number of claims the province currently has. Instead of 384 refugee claims, the province would take in 4,568 new asylum seekers if their claims were accepted.
“This would stretch our healthcare and education systems far beyond what they can handle,” Higgs said in a statement on X. “We do not have enough housing to ensure both newcomers and people currently living in NB have a roof over their heads.”
Miller responded on X by saying Higgs’s statements were “highly irresponsible,” saying “nobody said we’d force new Brunswick to take 4,600 asylum seekers.”
As reported by the National Post, Miller told reporters on Wednesday that the government would use its levers against uncooperative provinces.
“There’s only so far the federal government can actually be nice and say ‘please, please,” Miller said. “We also have levers that we need to pull and push.”
Miller also claimed that Higg’s statements were “largely fictitious,” according to a CBC article posted Thursday and reshared to Miller’s social media saying he never said they would impose asylum seekers on provinces without without financial compensation.
Higgs told True North in an email that he denies Miller’s claims that the information he shared was “mostly fictitious,” as the federal government gave him the document.
“The federal government created this issue, and they should resolve it by addressing the massive backlog on asylum claims – not by putting people on buses and shipping them around the country,” Higgs said in the email. “This is not a workable plan for many provinces, and the Liberals know this. That’s why they’re scrambling to distance themselves from this document.”