'It was never meant to be permanent': Canada to stop funding hotel rooms for asylum seekers, spent $1.1 billion since 2020

Canada will stop funding hotels for asylum seekers after September as the federal government already spent approximately $1,1 billion on temporary hotel housing since 2020. The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said it is funded to continue hotel operations only until September 30, 2025. The department said it will help those still in hotels find housing before September 30.

Canada provided funding for asylum seekers since at least 2018 and it was only a stop-gap humanitarian measure as there was a sudden influx in the number of asylum seekers. It was never meant to be a permanent solution, CBC reported.


Over 15,000 asylum claimants who were previously in hotels have now transitioned to independent living, CBC News reported. The department said it will help the 485 people remaining in the hotels find longer-term housing before the program ends on Sept. 30. It said it will support people on-site while they look for longer-term housing, and that it will continue "supporting provinces and municipalities in developing their own long-term housing strategies."

Canada provides hotel accommodations for some asylum seekers as part of its humanitarian support system to ensure they have basic shelter and safety while their refugee claims are being processed. Canada is a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. Under both international and domestic law, it must provide protection, shelter, and basic services to people who claim asylum and are awaiting a decision.

Long wait for asylum seekers to ger job permit in Canada, Ontario says they will bypass federal government

Ontario premier Doug Ford recently said asylum seekers have to wait for over two years to get work permit and it is not their fault that the government is paying their hotel stay as the immigration takes two years to process asylum claims. Ford said his administration can issue permits to the asylum seekers without waiting for the federal government's nod.

In 2023, amid a funding deadlock between the federal government and the city, hundreds of asylum seekers were left to sleep on the streets of downtown Toronto.