Canada is grappling with a significant financial burden due to the record levels of asylum claimants, costing the government approximately $224 per day per claimant for necessities. This has led to criticism from Conservative MP Lianne Rood, who argues that claimants are receiving more benefits than Canadian seniors. The number of pending asylum claims currently stands at 156,032. The Trudeau government’s Interim Housing Assistance Program, which provides temporary accommodations and housing to around 7,000 claimants, comes with an annual cost of $557 million. Despite the closure of the Roxham Road border crossing, the intake of irregular border crossers remains high, with 42,387 pending refugee claims by the end of 2023. Since 2017, 39,643 have been approved as official refugees, while 22,611 have been rejected.
