The influx of asylum seekers crossing into Canada from the United States has become a political flashpoint once more as the provincial government of Quebec says it can no longer accommodate the rising numbers. Last year, more than 39,000 refugees entered Canada via unofficial crossings, mostly via Roxham Road which links Quebec and New York State. This was a significant increase from 2017 when the road made international headlines.
In response to the influx, Quebec Premier Francois Legault has asked Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to resettle refugee claimants in other provinces and to issue work permits more swiftly. Legault also called on Canada to push the US to rewrite the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA). Under this agreement, any asylum seeker trying to cross the Canada-US border in either direction at a formal border crossing will be turned around and told to apply for asylum in the first of the two countries they arrived in, with few exceptions.
Canada is a signatory to the international Refugee Convention, under which Canada must adjudicate most refugee claims with limited exceptions. The Convention has limitations on the definition of refugee, and Canadian law has exceptions about who can access refugee protection in Canada. The federal government has transferred more than 5,800 asylum seekers out of Quebec since June and is working with communities outside Quebec on a “pan-Canadian approach” that would include resettling refugee claimants elsewhere.
Trudeau has said his government had been trying to “close” Roxham Road for years by rewriting the STCA. However, Abdulla Daoud, executive director of the Refugee Centre in Montreal, said bureaucratic delay is the real problem with the influx. He added that community organisations will still be overwhelmed because asylum seekers lack the documents needed to work and access some government services.
Refugee advocates argue that abolishing the agreement entirely, or inserting additional exemptions, would let asylum seekers enter Canada at regular border crossings elsewhere in the country, not just at Roxham Road, thus alleviating pressure on Quebec. Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has urged Trudeau to “close” Roxham Road. However, refugee lawyer Maureen Silcoff said “sealing the border is not practical” as it is not in anyone’s interest for people to arrive undetected and take dangerous routes to cross.
Overall, the influx of asylum seekers crossing into Canada from the United States has become a political flashpoint as Quebec’s capacity to accommodate them is exceeded. In response, Trudeau’s government is working with communities outside Quebec on a “pan-Canadian approach” that would include resettling refugee claimants elsewhere and pushing the US to rewrite the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA). However, bureaucratic delay and lack of documents for asylum seekers are still issues that need to be addressed.