Illegal immigrants and refugee claimants are taking up more than 10% of shelter beds across Canada, according to a federal memo — but the true number is unknown because “sanctuary cities” refuse to track it.The February 28 briefing note to Housing Minister Gregor Robertson said immigrants, resettled refugees and asylum claimants are more likely than citizens to use family shelters. Surveys found they made up 13% of shelter users overall, and nearly 30% of those housed in temporary spaces like hotels and motels..The department admitted the real figures are likely far higher. Cities such as Toronto, Hamilton, Montréal, Vancouver and Edmonton follow so-called “access without fear” policies, meaning shelters don’t record whether clients are citizens or not. Officials acknowledged this makes it impossible to know the actual number of non-citizens in the system.The report noted asylum seekers were most likely to end up homeless within a year of arrival, at a rate of 43.5%, compared to 15.4% of resettled refugees and 6.5% of immigrants. .Officials said the problem has grown steadily since COVID-19 border closures ended.Canada currently has more than three million foreigners on temporary permits, including expired documents. The memo conceded that as eviction bans were lifted after the pandemic, more non-citizens began showing up in shelters.No cost estimate was included. But a 2017 report by the Parliamentary Budget Office pegged the price of irregular migration at up to $33,700 per person, depending on appeals.
