Canada is rolling out a global campaign to caution potential asylum seekers that filing a claim isn’t easy, as the country braces for a record number of claims by the end of 2024.
Driving the news: The government will spend $250,000 on online ads across 11 languages that combat misinformation about Canada’s asylum process. In the first nine months of 2024 alone, 132,525 people had claimed asylum in Canada — nearly the total for all of 2023.
- Claims are only granted if there’s a valid threat of persecution, but Canada provides work permits and healthcare until they are reviewed, which can take about two years.
Yes, but: Per an analysis by About That, in 2023, Canada quietly waived a requirement for those on a visitor visa to prove they planned to return home, aiming to clear a backlog of 2 million applications. That year, an additional 24,000 claims were made by people arriving by air.
- The number of international students filing asylum claims also shot up over 12,000 in the first half of 2024 as the government made it harder to stay on a temporary visa.
Bottom line: Canada’s asylum system was not designed to handle the current scale of global displacement and economic migration. As the U.K., the U.S., and some EU countries move to tighten their rules, it could put pressure on Canada's already fragile system.—SB