Immigration remains a headline topic in Canada amid affordability issues, labour gaps, rising federal debt and housing shortages in various regions. Last month, a social media post by a Conservative MP on government spending for asylum seekers prompted a range of responses, including one that claimed 鈥渋llegal immigrants鈥 receive $224 apiece each day. This is misleading. Asylum seekers, who have committed no crime, do not receive that money directly. And the cost to the state of hosting them typically runs well under that amount.
The from a TikTok user says 鈥渋llegal immigrants are receiving $224 each per day.鈥
Garnering more than 383,000 views as of publication, the clip goes on to cite a from the immigration minister鈥檚 office to a question from Conservative lawmaker Lianne Rood. 鈥淚n the document, they say the average accommodation cost is $140 per night per immigrant, and $84 a day per immigrant for food鈥 鈥 or $224 in total 鈥 the user says.
The post also asserts that Ottawa 鈥渋s giving 10 times the benefits to illegal immigrants鈥 than it provides to seniors, echoing a by Rood.
Rating: Misleading
Asylum seekers who enter Canada though an 鈥渋rregular鈥 border crossing 鈥 anywhere other than an official port of entry 鈥 cost the federal government $140 per night per room on average, plus $84 per claimant for daily meals, according to the document signed by the immigration minister鈥檚 parliamentary secretary.
The $140 figure applies to hotel rooms operated by the Immigration Department, not to individuals. Since asylum seekers rarely arrive solo, most rooms accommodate several people. That means a hotel room occupied by four refugee seekers, for example, would cost Ottawa $35 per person 鈥 plus the $84 for meals 鈥 not $140 per person.
鈥淚t is wrong to assume that each hotel room will house only one person. So I don鈥檛 think a claim that it costs $224 per day to house each person is accurate,鈥 said.
Moreover, asylum seekers are not 鈥渞eceiving鈥 that money, as the post states. No cash or cheques are handed out. The amounts cited in the immigration minister鈥檚 document simply lay out the average cost of food and lodging, which is handled by service providers contracted by the government at its temporary accommodation sites.
鈥淭hese funds are definitely not paid directly to the refugee claimants,鈥 Chang said.
That fact did not stop commenters from venting their frustration. One called for "deportation immediately" while another said $224 a day "is so wrong." In one sense, the latter was correct.
鈥業llegal immigrants鈥
The notion of asylum seekers as 鈥渋llegal immigrants鈥 鈥 a term the TikTok user deploys four times in 75 seconds 鈥 is also dubious.
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act that anyone who claims refugee protection 鈥渕ay not be charged with an offence鈥 related to their entry, 鈥減ending disposition of their claim鈥 or if their claim is granted.
, a University of Ottawa professor specializing in refugee policy, said crossing the border at a spot other than a port of entry does contravene administrative law, "technically speaking," but she pointed to the above provision as well.
She also cited the United Nations' , which Canada has ratified. "If the purpose of evading the administrative law is to claim asylum, is to seek protection, then you should not be penalized for that," she said.
The term "illegal immigrant" is also misleading in the sense that it "dehumanizes" the individuals so labelled, Clark-Kazak added.
"The person is not illegal," she said. "It's just like saying 'an illegal driver' because they have a parking ticket."
鈥10 times the benefits鈥
The TikTok post also parrots the Conservative MP鈥檚 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that 鈥渢he NDP-Liberal government is giving TEN TIMES the benefits to illegal border jumpers than it is giving to help Canadian seniors鈥 in a move Rood calls 鈥淒ISGRACEFUL.鈥
The math raises some questions.
The $224 cited for refugee claimants is a maximum. In that vein, the seniors can receive from their Canada Pension Plan this year is $1,364.60 per month, starting at age 65. Old Age Security payments up to $784.67 for those 75 and over. For low-income seniors 鈥 refugees are generally low income as well, if they have any income stream at all 鈥 the Guaranteed Income Supplement pays a of $1,065.47.
Together, the three amounts total $3,214.74, or $103.70 per day (in a 31-day month). The $224 cited in the post is higher, but not 10 times higher.
Moreover, the seniors benefits are direct payments, while the refugee supports are not.
"We're not comparing apples to apples," Clark-Kazak said.
Rood's office did not respond to questions about the figures.
Sources
The claim can be found on TikTok (, )
The reply from the immigration minister's office can be found ()
The MP's post on X can be found ()
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