Quebec’s immigration minister says the number of people seeking asylum in the province has tripled in the last two weeks.
READ MORE: With spike in asylum seekers, Montreal’s Olympic Stadium to be used as shelter
Kathleen Weil says there were roughly 50 requests a day between July 1 and July 19 but that the number has since surged to 150 a day.
Weil told a news conference in Montreal Thursday morning the spike is putting a lot of pressure on accommodation resources.
READ MORE: Increase of asylum claims in Canada means wait times could hit over 11 years, cost $2.97B
Her comments came a day after asylum seekers began arriving at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium where they will stay on a temporary basis.
WATCH BELOW: Asylum seekers are heading to Montreal
Many of those arriving were of Haitian descent.
READ MORE: Number of asylum seekers continues to rise, especially in Quebec
In the United States, the Trump administration is considering ending a program that granted Haitians so-called “temporary protected status” following the massive earthquake that struck in 2010.