- What The Government of Canada is considering buying hotels and converting them to house the growing number of asylum seekers entering the country
- Why As of February, the immigration department was paying for over 4,000 rooms in 34 hotels
- What next It’s a “quick solution” that “makes sense,” Curtis Gallagher, principal and Canadian hospitality lead at Avison Young, told Green Street News
The federal government is considering buying hotels and converting them in order to house asylum seekers.
In a statement to Green Street News, a representative for Immigration Minister Marc Miller said the move is one solution being mulled as Canada faces “unprecedented” flows of migrants and refugees. The news was first reported by The Globe and Mail.
Currently, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada provides such accommodation by booking entire hotels for extended periods of time.
As of Feb. 26, the IRCC’s hotel footprint spanned 4,050 rooms at 34 hotels in six provinces. These included properties in Niagara Falls and Ottawa in Ontario as well as in Dorval, Qué. At the time, the total projected cost for IRCC-funded hotels for 2023 to 2024 was $544m.
Provinces and municipalities are tasked with housing asylum seekers, but the feds have assisted by transferring claimants from overrun shelters to temporary accommodations in hotels since 2021.
“Governments buying hotels is not new,” Curtis Gallagher, principal and Canadian hospitality lead at Avison Young, told Green Street News. “Municipalities like Toronto have bought hotels. They’ve done it out in B.C. as well. It’s the quickest solution to the situation that occurs. It makes sense to do it. The issue is just making sure the government pays a reasonable price, not a ridiculous price.
“There’s a commercial value for the property as a going concern in most cases. So, if you’re taking hotels out of inventory, there’s a reasonable price, then there’s a price to entice somebody who may not be a seller, and then there’s a price that’s unnecessarily high.”
Gallagher noted that he has not been personally contacted by the federal government to assist with any potential hotel purchase.
In late 2023, the City of Toronto purchased Bond Place Hotel and began work to convert it to permanent affordable and supportive housing. The city leased the hotel for use as a temporary shelter during the pandemic.
