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More than 13,000 intercepted by RCMP trying to cross into Canada this year

New figures released Tuesday show the number of asylum seekers arriving at the Canada-U.S. border almost doubled last month to 5,712, up from 3,134 in July.

Data shows 5,712 asylum seekers crossed Canada-U.S. border in August, up from 3,134 in July

The Canadian Press ·
An asylum seeker claiming to be from Eritrea is confronted by an RCMP officer as he crosses the border into Canada last month in Champlain, N.Y. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)
This chart shows the sudden growth in the number of asylum seekers crossing the Canada-U.S. border in Quebec in July and August. (Rob Easton/CBC)

New figures released today show the number of asylum seekers arriving at the Canada-U.S.. border almost doubled last month.

The latest data shows 5,712 people were stopped by the RCMP in August, up from 3,134 in July.

More than 5,550 of those encounters were in Quebec, but British Columbia also registered a small surge of its own, with numbers there doubling from 51 people stopped in July to 102 in August.

In total, 13,211 people have been intercepted by the RCMP in between official points of entry since the start of the year.

The vast majority came to Canada in search of asylum, although at this point it is unknown how many have actually filed claims.

But the latest statistics show that asylum claims being lodged in Canada continue to rise as well — 4,905 were filed in August, compared to just over 4,000 in July.

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