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OTTAWA — Border officials are preparing for another spike in asylum seekers coming illegally into Canada from the U.S. as the weather gets warmer.

The RCMP intercepted more than 3,000 irregular border-crossers in January and February, part of a total number of 7,800 asylum seekers processed by the federal immigration department and the Canada Border Services Agency during the same time period.

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Those figures don’t include more than 600 additional arrivals who entered the country illegally through Quebec over the Easter weekend.

Officials are expecting those numbers to continue to grow as temperatures rise. Immigration and CBSA officials have been preparing for the influx after getting caught flat-footed last summer dealing with an unexpected surge in mainly Haitian migrants entering Canada through Ontario and Quebec.

“Canada is an open and welcoming country to those in need of protection, but our government is committed to orderly migration to protect Canadians and our immigration system. Our government is prepared for any future fluctuations,” said Mathieu Genest, press secretary for Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen.