Refugees and illegal immigrants are taking up nearly 4,000 hotel rooms across Canada on the taxpayer dime

AP Photo / Edgar H. Clemente

Refugees and illegal immigrants are taking up nearly 4,000 hotel rooms, the Department of Immigration has revealed. This supposed temporary solution has cost taxpayers $1.76 billion since 2017. 

DOCUMENTS: @CitImmCanada is charging taxpayers by the month for 3,810 rooms in 29 hotels to house illegal immigrants & refugee claimants: "Canada is continuing to experience high volumes."   https://t.co/VMJU2swtJc #cdnpoli @MarcMillerVM pic.twitter.com/OIFsFBQ34D

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“As of May 30 the department’s hotel footprint consists of approximately 3,810 rooms in 29 hotels housing approximately 6,900 claimants in British Columbia, Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador,” said a June 13 briefing note. Most of these hotels are in Ontario cities, including Kingston, Cornwall, Ottawa, and Windsor, reports Blacklock's.

The effort to house the newcomers has totalled $1.76 billion since 2017. This figure includes $960 million in subsidies paid to municipalities through an Interim Housing Assistance Program. $765 million has also been paid directly to hotelkeepers.

Since the 2021 federal election, the Trudeau Liberals have spent nearly $94 million booking hotels to accommodate an influx of asylum seekers entering Canada.

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“Canada remains committed to ensuring safe migration and upholding a fair and compassionate refugee protection system in the face of historic levels of global displacement,” said the note. “The in-Canada asylum system has faced mounting pressures in recent years leading to lengthy processing times and backlogs and resulting in prolonged uncertainty for applicants.”

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.

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While the hotel system is not sustainable, it will take years for the department to “transition” resources “towards more effective and sustainable solutions.”

Refugee claimants are currently living on the taxpayer dime with free meals and medical care. Room and board cost $224 per day, a May 3 inquiry said, while meals average $84 per day.