Inside the new Peel Reception Centre, where refugee claimants will make their first stop in Canada

On Saturday, the facility with complete support services under one roof will open fully to as many as 680 people. The Star got a sneak peek.

Nestled in an expansive commercial park in Mississauga not far from Pearson airport, this converted office building is going to be the first stop for many asylum seekers once they set foot in Canada.

The long-anticipated Peel Reception Centre, near Dixie Road and Eglinton Avenue, will offer what municipal and federal officials hope is a sustainable solution to the refugee housing crisis that has seen claimants overwhelming local homeless shelters, sleeping on the streets and setting up tents in Greater Toronto over the last two years.

Since a low-key partial opening in late October, the centre has sheltered up to 88 asylum seekers each night and, along with the Immigration Department and other agencies, provided them with wraparound supports to navigate a new life and be triaged to communities with housing capacity while they wait for their claims to be heard.

On Saturday, the four-storey facility — a first in Canada with a shelter and complete support services all under one roof — will open fully to as many as 680 single men and women, to supplement three hotels and a shelter that are currently designated to hold another 600 refugee claimants, mostly families.

“Encouraging models like this through the Interim Housing Assistance Program is going to be better for everybody,” said Alexis Graham, director general of the federal Immigration Department’s strategic asylum services and housing branch, during an exclusive tour of the centre for the Star on Wednesday.

“They are just going to be more sustainable, more tailored, better outcomes and less costly to taxpayers ultimately.”

Canada saw a surge of irregular migrants seekers arriving for asylum at the land border under Donald Trump’s first term in the White House. The inflow came to a halt for almost two years during the pandemic but quickly returned when the border reopened in late 2021. 

Amid the affordable housing crisis and rising cost of living, a growing number of Canadians have turned to municipal emergency shelters but found themselves competing with asylum seekers for limited beds. Some municipalities started to turn away refugee claimants, who ended up on the streets.

According to a recent report by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, from 2021 to 2024, the number of chronically homeless refugees and asylum seekers rose to 10,552 from 1,834, while immigrants experiencing chronic homelessness increased to 9,353 from 4,223.

Since spring 2023, Peel Region — home to Canada’s busiest airport — has experienced an unprecedented increase in asylum claimants in need of emergency shelter and supports. The share of claimants in its total shelter population shot up from under five per cent to 71 per cent.

At the peak of the influx, Peel’s shelter system had to retain 16 hotels to accommodate the overflow and suspended its “do not turn away policy.” Overwhelmed, the region decided to establish dedicated shelters for asylum seekers, separating them from the local homeless facilities to better serve both populations.

With the regional council’s blessing last March, Peel signed a 10-year lease for a 70,000-square-foot office building in July, secured $22 million from Ottawa in August and started renovations in September to turn it into a fully equipped reception centre and dorm-style shelter. (Peel’s contribution is a bit over $1 million.)

The facility has an intake office, a cafeteria, meeting and prayer rooms, individual lockers, and secure space for luggage. It’s also equipped with laundry facilities and Wi-Fi. Residents must wear a security wristband to get around and be out of the dormitory from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week. 

“We’re very proud that we are moving into a sustainable model and we’ve got out of the thinking that, ‘This is just a short-term surge,’ ” said Aileen Baird, Peel’s housing services director.

“We really have regained control over the homeless system. So we are stabilized in our local homeless system. As we head into this winter, we have no issues.”

The new model is also a win for asylum seekers, whose needs are quite different from the general homeless population and not adequately met in regular shelters, said Lisa Marie Middleton, Peel’s manager of asylum claimant response. In addition, putting someone in a shelter costs only $90 a day compared to $220 at a hotel.

Asylum seekers need help along the way while trying to compile documentation and prepare claims.

Refugee clients must enter the system through Peel Region’s central intake process by phoning 905-450-1996 and be referred to the reception centre, where they can access on-site settlement services, employment and housing support, and income support programs.

Staff from Immigration provide case management services and co-ordinated exits for claimants to other municipalities. Legal Aid Ontario and public health officials are available to assist residents. 

Claimants can stay in the shelter for up to 90 days before they are discharged. The reception centre model has already seen everyone from the first cohort of claimants who arrived in October and November out of the shelter system, including a person who found housing and left after eight days. Peel needs three hotels to serve refugee families. 

There are currently about 3,000 refugee claimants in hotels in two provinces funded by the Immigration Department, compared to 7,600 a year ago. In Ontario, 1,550 rooms were leased as of Jan. 20 from nine hotels in Mississauga, Niagara Falls, Ottawa and Windsor. In Quebec, there were 336 rooms in four hotels. The average length of stay was 160 days. 

-theStar