Surge in demand for services as Quebec migrants transfer to Niagara

Niagara Falls is seeing a surge of migrants after the shelter system in Quebec reached its maximum capacity.

The general manager of employment and immigrant services at the YMCA of Niagara, Deanna D”Elia, says her agency helps newcomers register their children in school and access other resources – the demand for these services has picked up around seven months ago.

The transfers of migrants have increased since the weekend, with 505 individuals who entered the country through an unofficial border crossing – according to Quebec’s immigration minister, 475 migrants have been transferred to other provinces.

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Adrienne Jugley, the commissioner of community services, says the number of asylum seekers staying in hotels rented by the government progressively grew towards the end of the year.

Prior to Christmas, IRCC was renting over 600 rooms in the region and she was told that the agency plans to add more than 1,500 rooms soon.

Jugley believes Niagara Falls was selected due to the large number of hotels, however, her biggest concern is where people will stay once they leave the federally funded establishments.

Federal statistics show that 39,171 asylum seekers were caught by the RCMP on Quebec’s southern border last year, which was up from 4,095 in 2021. Approximately 60 per cent of people claiming asylum in Canada arrived through Quebec in 2022.