Quebec Premier François Legault said today that it was time for Trudeau to take action to enforce Canada’s border laws and close the illegal border crossing at Roxham Road.
Legault said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “good intentions” in posting his famous 2017 tweet inviting refugees to the country have “turned into a real problem for Quebec and for Canada.”
Legault said one of Trudeau’s main responsibilities is making sure Canada’s territorial borders are enforced and that the prime minister’s upcoming meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden should prioritize the topic.
Quebec has been advocating for months to have the federal government close Roxham Road, saying the influx of refugees is straining the province’s housing, education, health, and social services systems.
The Quebec premier also wrote to Trudeau directly on Sunday, noting that the arrival of thousands of illegal migrants was putting the French language at risk in the province.
Legault requested that Trudeau rewrite the Safe Third Country Agreement with the United States, which he said was allowing the breach in the Canada-U.S. Border. The agreement requires border officials in both countries to stop asylum seekers at the border at official crossings. Legault said he hopes this policy would be put in place at unofficial crossings as well.
Legault said that since Trudeau “invited all those fleeing persecution, terror and war on Earth to come to Canada in January, 2017, the number of asylum seekers entering Canada has exploded,” particularly in Quebec.
Last year, according to Legault, more than 39,000 illegal arrivals entered mainly via Roxham Road, and that does not include the roughly 20,000 other immigration arrivals to the province. Only about 369 people claimed asylum in other provinces.
“Quebec has taken on a completely disproportionate share of asylum seekers” and the influx cannot continue, said Legault. He added the situation had humanitarian considerations.
“It is becoming increasingly difficult to receive asylum seekers with dignity,” Legault said.
He called on the federal government to send all new asylum seekers to other provinces. The premier said new arrivals struggle to find adequate housing and some end up homeless.
The RCMP stopped 39,540 illegal refugees who entered Quebec through unofficial ports of entry last year—ten times as many who tried to enter the province in 2021, according to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada.
Across the rest of the country, the RCMP intercepted 369 individuals who tried to cross the border illegally.
In response to Legault’s letter to Trudeau, the office of federal Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said on Feb. 20 that Ottawa had transferred thousands of migrants to Ontario to take pressure off Quebec, adding that the government was working with other provinces and municipalities to find other temporary accommodations.
