Despite being geographically isolated except for its border with the United States, Canada ranked as the fifth largest recipient of asylum seekers last year. According to a report released by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Canada received 146,800 new asylum claims in 2023, up from 94,000 in 2022. The only countries ahead of Canada were the U.S. (1.2 million), Germany (329,100), Egypt (183,100), and Spain (163,200).
This marks the first time in at least six years that Canada has been in the top five. In 2022, Canada was ranked ninth and was not in the top 10 during the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, when its borders were mostly closed to foreign nationals.
