Haitians facing deportation from the United States are looking to Canada, with some seeking entry through family connections and others attempting unauthorized crossings through wooded border areas.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reported 19,635 asylum applications at land borders in 2025, up about 33 per cent from 14,770 in 2024. At one Quebec border crossing, crossings reportedly increased 263 per cent since July.

The department said Haitian nationals accounted for about 60 per cent of arrivals during Quebec’s spring and summer 2025 border spikes. Most entered at Lacolle under a family exception to the Canada-U.S. Safe Third Country Agreement.

The agreement generally requires asylum seekers arriving from the United States at the land border to pursue protection there, although exceptions allow some to apply in Canada.

From February 2017 through June 2026, the Immigration and Refugee Board’s Refugee Protection Division accepted 60,807 cases involving people who entered between official border crossings. It rejected 29,569, while others were abandoned, withdrawn or otherwise closed. Another 12,908 remained pending.

During the first half of 2026 alone, the division accepted 2,350 cases involving irregular border crossers.

Legislation that became law March 26, 2026, prevents applications from being referred to the refugee board when people cross between official land-border entry points and apply after 14 days.

However, people may remain in Canada temporarily without being accepted as refugees or receiving permission to stay permanently. 

Canada has paused deportations to Haiti covered by its temporary measure because of conditions there. Those affected could remain while the pause continues, even without an approved refugee application.

Financial assistance and other support can begin before an asylum application is approved.

In Quebec, eligible applicants in financial need can seek last-resort assistance. The province’s published 2026 social assistance schedule provides $845 monthly for one adult without health-related limitations or an adult adjustment, and $1,283 for a two-adult household in the same category.

Other available services include temporary shelter, help finding housing, schooling for children, employment services, French courses and legal assistance.

Eligible asylum applicants can also obtain a no-fee open work permit once their application qualifies for referral to the refugee board and they meet the permit requirements.

The Interim Federal Health Program covers eligible doctor and hospital services. Since May 1, 2026, beneficiaries must pay $4 for each covered prescription filled or refilled and 30 per cent of eligible supplementary services, including dental care, vision care and counselling.

Once recognized as protected persons, eligible parents can apply for the Canada child benefit. For July 2026 through June 2027, maximum monthly payments are $679.75 for each child under six and $573.58 for each child aged six to 17.

Albertans help fund support for asylum seekers in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada through their federal taxes.

In 2026–27, Quebec will receive about $30.3 billion in major federal transfers, including $13.9 billion in equalization. Alberta will receive about $9.2 billion, with no equalization. These transfers support provincial services.

Ottawa has also provided or committed funding specifically for Quebec’s asylum-related expenses, including a $750-million package addressing pressures experienced between 2021 and 2024.

Nationally, IRCC reported approximately $1.2 billion in temporary accommodation costs from 2020 through September 2025. About 61,000 asylum applicants used those accommodations, with spending covering rooms, meals, security, transportation and service providers.

Meanwhile, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is carrying out deportations of people who lack legal authorization to remain in the United States.

The approximately 8.72 million encounters recorded at the U.S. southwestern border during fiscal years 2021 through 2024 reflect, in this column’s view, the failure of the border policies championed by Joe Biden and his supporters.

Canada faces its own immigration pressures. It granted permanent residence to approximately 2.42 million people from January 2021 through July 2026. Separately, Statistics Canada estimated that 2.78 million non-permanent residents were living here on July 1, 2026.

Of those granted permanent residence, approximately 343,900 were admitted through refugee and protected-person categories during 2021–2025. Another approximately 42,700 received permanent residence through those categories between January and July 2026, including the additional protected-person initiative.

From 2021 through 2024, Canada recorded a combined total of approximately 2.88 million annual work-permit holders under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and the International Mobility Program.

IRCC’s narrower measure of new worker arrivals recorded 208,580 in 2025 and 113,360 from January through July 2026. That measure excludes permit extensions, asylum applicants, agricultural workers and certain other short-term workers, so it cannot be combined directly with the earlier figures.

As of July 31, 2026, IRCC counted 1,560,565 people holding only work permits and 590,205 holding study permits, including those who also held work permits. These counts exclude asylum applicants, protected persons and related groups.

There is no verified total covering everyone who has overstayed or entered without detection.

As of Aug. 31, 2026, the Canada Border Services Agency recorded 34,247 wanted cases involving people it was trying to locate for removal proceedings.

IRCC acknowledged in 2024 that it had no accurate count of the broader undocumented population, citing estimates ranging from 20,000 to 500,000 people. In March 2026, the department also acknowledged that departure information cannot readily be combined and analysed without substantial manual reconciliation.

Canadians are already struggling to afford food and housing and to access health care. Prime Minister Mark Carney’s failure to secure a trade deal has added to the economic uncertainty.

That leaves the question of Canada’s responsibility. With pressures already arising from our own immigration numbers, why should avoiding deportation from the United States, by itself, justify protection here?

The consequences of U.S. immigration policy should not automatically become Canada’s responsibility, and people seeking to settle here should follow the applicable legal process.