In the face of the significant increase in temporary migration, especially in Quebec, the Canadian government intends to maintain "adequate accountability" in responding to compensation requests from Quebec for expenses incurred in receiving people arriving in the country seeking asylum.

This was stated by the federal Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions, and Intergovernmental Affairs, Dominic LeBlanc, in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Radio Canada, saying he understands the pressures Quebec is facing.

Quebec has requested Ottawa to compensate more than 470 million dollars for the costs of housing asylum seekers. It also called for a more restrictive federal visa policy.

In a letter sent to Prime Minister Trudeau, the regional premier François Legault mentioned that Quebec has reached a breaking point due to the impact of receiving the majority of asylum seekers arriving in Canada.

Recent data also indicated that about 144,000 people applied for asylum in Canada in 2023, compared to 92,000 people in 2022. Nearly half of these applications were submitted in Quebec.

Although Minister LeBlanc believes that Canada is capable of absorbing and integrating the number of immigrants Ottawa admits annually in the context of labor shortages, he acknowledged that the country is facing many pressures, particularly regarding access to housing and the reception of asylum seekers.

Nevertheless, in a memo prepared in 2022, officials from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) mentioned that rapid population growth is putting pressure on healthcare services and affordable housing.

In the country, Canadian population growth depends on immigration growth, according to Statistics Canada. Despite that memo, the Canadian government still chooses to increase immigration targets to 500,000 permanent immigrants annually until 2025.

Maximum number of foreign students?

The federal Minister of Immigration, Marc Miller, said last week that he is considering reducing the number of foreign students accepted in some provinces.

The main affected areas will be British Columbia, Ontario, and Nova Scotia. This is to ease pressure on access to housing. Minister Miller admitted that the temporary immigration system related to foreign students was out of control.

The Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions, and Intergovernmental Affairs also pointed out that the housing issue represents a pressure element among several other factors, in response to statements made by Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who confirmed that if elected Prime Minister of Canada, he would link the immigration level to data related to building new housing.