Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada remains welcoming to newcomers even as his government takes steps to curb the influx of asylum seekers coming into the country at unofficial entry points.
Speaking at a news conference in Mississauga, Ont., on Thursday, the prime minister said Canadians continue to be "overwhelmingly in favour" of immigration even though the issue has become "politically charged" here and south of the border.
"We are dealing with larger than usual numbers and have had to make investments to account for that but the integrity of our immigration system continues to hold."Trudeau's comments come days after his government presented a budget that includes a new border-enforcement strategy aimed at detecting, intercepting and removing irregular migrants.
Some provinces, particularly Quebec and Ontario, have called on Ottawa to reimburse them for hundreds of millions of dollars in housing and other expenses they say have been incurred in accommodating the flow of asylum seekers. Meanwhile, Border Security Minister Bill Blair said over the weekend he was in talks with lawmakers in the United States to close a loophole in Canada's border agreement with the U.S. that some say encourages asylum seekers to avoid official checkpoints.
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