Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada confirmed last week it will move approximately 485 asylum seekers housed by taxpayers in five hotels into long-term housing as it passes responsibility for the program to the provinces.
This comes as the federal government plans to end taxpayer-funded hotel stays for asylum seekers by the end of September. Despite this, taxpayers will still be with the bill, as it’s only shifting the costly burden onto provinces and municipalities.
Hotel operations will cease on Sept. 30, and IRCC says it will assist remaining claimants in finding long-term housing.
“This measure was never meant to be permanent, and IRCC is funded to continue hotel operations only until September 30,” the department said.
Critics of the move argue that the Liberal government has undermined public confidence in the immigration system, especially during a housing crisis.
“When the average Canadian hears that somebody with an asylum claim is staying in a hotel, there’s a justified sense of unfairness,” said Conservative immigration critic Michelle Rempel Garner. “These are the types of expenditures that undermine Canadian acceptance for immigration during a housing crisis.”
Since 2017, the federal government has spent more than $2.6 billion on housing asylum seekers, including $1.1 billion on hotel accommodations alone.
The number of asylum seekers arriving annually has surged from 50,365 in 2017 to more than 173,000 in 2024.
The program peaked in 2023, which saw the federal government paying for rooms in 46 hotels nationwide at an average nightly cost of $205.
Federal transition briefing notes from earlier this year revealed IRCC had secured $66.6 million to maintain hotel capacity through September and was managing 3,500 contingency beds.
After the IRCC began issuing “notices to vacate” last year, more than 13,000 claimants secured alternate accommodations between January and March, yet municipalities have still felt significant strain.
Toronto alone has received $670 million through Ottawa’s Interim Housing Assistance Program since 2017, followed by Quebec with $542.7 million.
In 2024, the City of Ottawa reported $54.7 million in asylum-related shelter costs, with the federal program covering $51.9 million.
City officials across multiple jurisdictions say they are awaiting confirmation of future federal assistance beyond 2025
.The total number of temporary residents in Canada has now surpassed three million, representing nearly 19 per cent of the private-sector workforce.