Article content

The number of asylum seekers crossing the border from the United States into Quebec has tripled in the last two weeks, going from 50 a day to 150 and putting a strain on the province’s temporary housing resources, Quebec Immigration Minister Kathleen Weil said Thursday.

“We have the experience to deal with this type of situation,” she promised, one day after the surge made national headlines when provincial authorities were forced to enlist Montreal’s Olympic Stadium as a temporary shelter to keep up with demand. “What is particular today is the rate of arrivals seen in last two weeks.”

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Influx of Haitian refugees taxes Quebec shelters, immigration minister says Back to video

Between Jan. 1 and June 30, nearly 6,500 individuals applied for asylum status in Quebec, representing 35 per cent of all the individuals who applied in Canada, Weil said. The last time the province recorded similarly high numbers was in 2008.

At this rate, Canada is estimating it will receive 36,000 asylum seekers this year, 12,000 of whom will transit through Quebec. More than 70 per cent of those entering over the last few weeks are former residents of Haiti, fleeing the U.S. because they fear the temporary protected status they were granted in that country following their homeland’s catastrophic 2010 earthquake was coming to an end. But it is uncertain whether hopes for a new home are stronger in Canada.