Since 2017, the federal government has spent $1.1 billion housing asylum seekers in hotels, while providing an additional $1.5 billion to provinces and cities for the upkeep of refugee claimants, according to The Globe and Mail.

Canada's asylum claims jumped from 50,365 in 2017 to 173,000 in 2024, mainly in Montreal and Toronto. The federal government used hotels to house asylum seekers in an attempt to ease strain on the provinces and municipalities. 

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A surge in the number of illegal border crossers entering Canada from 2018 to October 2022, is attributed to a late 2017 tweet by Trudeau, welcoming migrants to Canada.

Roughly four-in-five were situated in 14 contracted hotels on the taxpayer dime.

Immigration Minister Marc Miller speaks to reporters regarding asylum seekers stating that they "could open up a hotel in any particular province and ship people there"https://t.co/TXq29qiryW pic.twitter.com/XEwtMbY8Tv

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) September 12, 2024

Between 2017 and May 2024, $1.76 billion was spent housing migrants, including $960 million in municipal subsidies via the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP) and $765 million paid directly to hotels.

“IRCC-funded hotels were temporary, unsustainable, and not cost-effective,” a spokesperson stated. Asylum claimants received resources for housing, employment, and education, and are expected to transition to independent living quickly, reads the Globe statement.

Last summer, the Trudeau government considered buying hotels to house asylum seekers and cut costs. Currently, refugee claimants live on taxpayer money, receiving free meals and medical care. 

Costs ran as high as $224 daily, with meals averaging $84, according to a May 2024 inquiry.

The federal government has spent almost $94 million since the last election, booking entire hotels for months to accommodate an influx of asylum seekers entering Canada.

Visit Rebel News for more on this story by @ThevoiceAlexa: https://t.co/k5DKOrRZ68 pic.twitter.com/MJZ7Ku2HfI

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) February 23, 2023

Michelle Rempel Garner, Conservative immigration critic, notes a “justified sense of unfairness” regarding asylum claimants staying in hotels, given the ongoing housing crisis.

NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan called hoteling asylum claimants illogical, urging the government to find affordable housing. 

To incentivize asylum seekers to find community accommodation, the government issued "notices to vacate" hotels last year. This resulted in 13,000 asylum seekers leaving hotels between January 2024 and March 2025.

Claimant numbers have fallen since March, when the IRCC housed 1,474 asylum seekers in seven hotels in Quebec and Ontario. They now number roughly 500 at $132/day per claimant, according to the Globe.

With asylum seekers sleeping on Toronto streets as a result of record high immigration levels, PM Trudeau says his government is working to fix the "unacceptable" problem and calls on Premier Doug Ford to "step up" as well.https://t.co/t50c3TNz74 pic.twitter.com/1CYud9fzgy

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) October 5, 2023

The IRCC plans to relocate asylum seekers to other provinces in exchange for federal financial support through the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP).

Since 2017, the federal government has funded asylum seekers in Toronto ($669.7 million), Quebec ($542.7 million), Ottawa ($105.7 million), and British Columbia ($14.4 million). In 2023, the situation in Toronto faced a crisis when asylum seekers resorted to sleeping on the streets.

Peel Region (Brampton and Mississauga) in the GTA received $97.8 million.

The 2024 budget allocated an additional $1.1 billion over three years to extend IHAP, attempting to prioritize affordable accommodation.

$689 million for illegal asylum seekers

Justin Trudeau’s reckless policies have once again left Canadians paying the price. Since 2022, the Trudeau Liberals have spent $689 million — your tax dollars— on hotel rooms for illegal asylum seekers.https://t.co/TqCOuxPVN6

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) December 17, 2024

A March briefing for then-immigration minister Rachel Bendayan (replaced by Lena Diab in May after holding the portfolio for two months) stated the department maintains about 3,500 hotel beds for "contingency purposes," despite it not being a federal responsibility.

The IRCC has secured $66.6 million for asylum seeker hotel operations through September 2025.

Before their summer break, MPs introduced Bill C-2 to reduce asylum claims. This bill restricts hearings at the Immigration and Refugee Board to those who arrived in Canada less than a year ago and bars illegal border crossers from the U.S. from having their cases heard.