The Canadian Press Liberal MP Emmanuel Dubourg is part of a task force focusing on how to handle upwards of 7,000 people who've been stopped illegally crossing into Canada.

OTTAWA — Haitian-Canadian MP Emmanuel Dubourg will travel to Miami on Wednesday to try and counter misinformation which has driven thousands of Haitian asylum seekers to Canada in recent months. His trip comes as both the prime minister and Liberal cabinet ministers have sought in recent days to more forcefully address the major spike in illegal border crossings this summer, which has strained public resources and tested traditionally widespread support for Canada's immigration system.​

Dubourg, a Liberal MP for a Montreal-area riding, was appointed last week to a newly established federal-provincial task force focusing on how to handle upwards of 7,000 people who've been stopped illegally crossing into Canada since June, the vast majority intent on seeking asylum. In the last two months, many have been Haitian and Dubourg sees himself cast in the role of ambassador. He's already used his extensive connections with the Haitian diaspora and fluency in Creole for outreach there, he said. The next step is to take it on the road. "We have to go to the source," Dubourg said Monday. So he's going to Florida, to do Creole-language interviews and meet community leaders among Miami's Haitian diaspora. Not all those coming to Canada are from there, Dubourg said, but the city has over 200,000 Haitians and a slew of influential media outlets.

Christinne Muschi / Reuters A line of asylum seekers who identified themselves as from Haiti wait to enter into Canada from Roxham Road in Champlain, New York on Aug. 7, 2017.

What's behind the surge in Haitian asylum seekers in Canada is an upcoming change in U.S. immigration policy that will see deportations to Haiti resume after a lengthy pause. When the Trump administration signalled the change in May, information began circulating on social media and other channels suggesting Haitians in the U.S. try to enter Canada, where they'd receive a warm and easy welcome. The cold truth of Canadian policy, however, is that only about 50 per cent of Haitians who file for asylum in Canada receive it and the Canadian government has resumed deportations to that country. "It's important to tell them that before they sell their things, before they take any kind of decision (to come)," Dubourg said. "They have to know full well what can happen." The startling spike in arrivals and how the government is handling them has prompted anti-immigration groups to start mobilizing across the country. A protest — and counter-protest — were held in Quebec City over the weekend and other rallies are being scheduled in Canada in the coming weeks amidst criticism being levied against the Liberal government that they are losing control of the border.

Christinne Muschi / Reuters A group of asylum seekers wait to be processed after being escorted from their tent encampment to the Canada Border Services in Lacolle, Que. on Aug. 11, 2017.