SECD – Support for Asylum Seekers – February 9, 2026

Key Messages

• The Government of Canada recognizes the pressures on provinces, municipalities and community partners from high volumes of asylum claimants and shelter demands.
• Although asylum claim volumes remain high, they are 33% lower than over the same time period last year. The demand for temporary accommodation is steadily decreasing.
• We recognize that when asylum claimants quickly get the services they need, they are better able to support themselves and ultimately, contribute to Canadian communities.
• While provinces manage and deliver social services, including social assistance, education, housing and legal aid to asylum claimants, the federal government supports these efforts in several ways, including through:
  • the Interim Housing Assistance Program, and
  • the Interim Federal Health Program.

Interim Housing Assistance Program

• Since 2017, through the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP), the federal government provides funding to provincial and municipal governments to support efforts to address the temporary housing needs of asylum claimants. As of
  October 31, 2025, the government has provided approximately $1.8B to provinces and municipalities.
• Budget 2024 provided $1.1B in funding to extend and renew IHAP to March 2027.
• While funding initially focused on short-term emergency measures like hotels and relieving pressure on municipal shelters, the renewed IHAP prioritizes cost-effective, sustainable solutions and capacity building.
• Budget 2025 states that to meet up to 15% in savings targets over three years, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is rationalizing programming, while upholding the government's long-standing commitment to resettle the world's most vulnerable. This includes targeted adjustments to programs, including adjusting the IHAP commensurate with the decline in asylum claimants.
• As a part of a transition period in 2023‒2024, IRCC provided $22.4M to Peel Region and $27.7M to the City of Ottawa to help them increase their capacity to serve asylum claimants through reception centres.
• IRCC established a process with Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick, to assist with the voluntary relocation of asylum claimants from Ontario. Over the next two years, Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick have committed to welcome 290 and 400 claimants, respectively. These relocation efforts aim to help support claimants’ housing independence and fill labour market gaps.
• As of December 9, 2025, 182 claimants have voluntarily relocated to Newfoundland and Labrador and 90 to New Brunswick.

Ontario and Quebec

• While the majority of asylum claimants continue to arrive in Ontario and Quebec, both provinces are seeing a significant reduction in claims in the first eleven months of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024 (January–November).
• This decline mirrors the overall national trend, reflecting lower irregular migration levels and slower pace of new arrivals through the first nine months of 2025.
• Ontario receives the highest share of asylum claimants nationally (currently 45% of total intake), though volumes have decreased by approximately 42% compared to the same period last year (January–November 2024: 83,055;
  January–November 2025: 48,465).
• Quebec receives the second highest share of asylum claims in Canada (currently 38% of total intake), though volumes have decreased by approximately 31% compared to the same period last year (January–November 2024: 53,605; January–November 2025: 37,175).
• It’s important to note that the numbers we cite reflect where claims were made and are not necessarily indicative of where claimants ultimately reside.
• As of November 30, 2025, Ontario municipalities have received $1.2B from IHAP in response to increasing numbers of asylum claimants in the province.
• As of November 30, 2025, Quebec has received $1.1B, including $542.7M from IHAP, in response to increasing numbers of asylum claimants in the province.

IRCC Hotels

• All hotels for asylum claimants that were directly funded and managed by IRCC were closed as of October 1, 2025.
• The government provided temporary accommodations in hotels to 61,000 asylum claimants who were in need of these services, from April 2020 to September 30, 2025.
• Since 2020, temporary accommodation costs totaled approximately $1.2B. This amount covers accommodations, meals, security, service providers, and transportation.

Interim Federal Health Program

• The Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) provides temporary healthcare coverage to address any urgent and essential medical needs for refugees and asylum claimants while they wait to become eligible for provincial or territorial health insurance plans.
• Asylum claimants receive IFHP coverage for the full duration of the refugee determination process. That is, from the point of making their claim for protection in Canada, until they become eligible for provincial or territorial healthcare as a protected person. Or, in the case of unsuccessful asylum claimants, until they leave Canada after they have exhausted all of their appeals or other avenues of recourse.
• All IFHP beneficiaries, including asylum claimants, receive IFHP coverage for basic health services (e.g., hospital care, physician care, and laboratory services) aligned with provincial and territorial health insurance. They also receive limited supplemental health services (e.g., prescription medications, mental health counselling, disability supports, and emergency dental and vision care), similar to extended health benefits provided to social assistance recipients.
• By supporting access to this care, the IFHP helps prevent serious health issues and costly emergency interventions caused by delays in seeking medical services, reducing pressure on hospitals and Canada’s public health systems.

Key Facts on the Interim Federal Health Program

• The IFHP provided healthcare coverage to 623,365 eligible beneficiaries in fiscal year 2024–2025, including 440,537 asylum claimants, with program costs totaling $896.5M.
• Total IFHP expenditures in 2024–2025 represent an increase of $306.1M compared to 2023–2024, reflecting higher year-over-year asylum claim volumes.
• The overall cost of the IFHP has increased year-over-year due to sustained growth in the eligible population. Specifically, the number of people supported through the IFHP has increased from 130,340 in 2016–2017 to 623,365 beneficiaries in 2024–2025. Over two-thirds of these beneficiaries are asylum claimants, making them the largest sub-group within the IFHP.
• A network of over 150,000 registered healthcare providers are registered with the IFHP. This is to ensure that beneficiaries are well-supported and can easily access urgent and essential medical care upon arrival in Canada.

If pressed on Budget 2025:

• We acknowledge the growing costs of the IFHP, which is why Budget 2025 announced that IRCC is introducing co-payments on IFHP supplemental health services and products.
• Starting May 1, 2026, IFHP beneficiaries will pay $4 for each eligible prescription medication filled or refilled, and pay 30% of the cost of all other eligible supplemental services and products. The remainder of the cost of these benefits will be covered by the IFHP.
• Basic health care benefits, including doctor visits and hospital care, will remain fully covered with no co-payments required.
• This change will help to manage the cost of increased demand and protect the long term sustainability of the program so that the government can continue to provide support to those who need it.
• IRCC is working through the necessary steps for implementation of this measure and will engage stakeholders, including health care providers and refugee and asylum support organizations, to ensure partners are well-informed of the change and what it will mean for IFHP beneficiaries.