A new GTA reception centre will provide refugees arriving in Canada with shelter and other supports

Peel Reception Centre will officially open its doors to 680 refugees and asylum seekers on Saturday. (Peel Region)

A new facility that will provide shelter and other supports to hundreds of asylum seekers will officially open its doors this weekend, more than a year after it was first promised.

The long-anticipated Peel Reception Centre in Mississauga will be located in a converted office building near Dixie Road and Eglinton Avenue, a short distance from Pearson International Airport.

The federal government pledged $7 million in funding to help Peel Region open the 73,000 square foot facility back in November, 2023.

The announcement came just one week after an asylum seeker died outside a former Peel Region centre and with a number of municipalities struggling to accommodate asylum seekers in existing shelters that were overcapacity.

“The goal is to support the establishment of spaces that offer tailored supports and services to asylum claimants to help them on their journey towards housing independence,” Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said in a statement provided to CTV News Toronto.

The centre partially opened last October and has sheltered up to 88 asylum seekers since then.

But there were concerns about whether it would be fully operational this winter, with Peel Region’s director of social development Jason Hastings saying in October that it couldn’t be fully opened until officials had “confidence” that other municipalities would eventually be able to find space for the asylum seekers.

Features of the Peel Reception Centre

Now that it is fully open, it will have the capacity to accommodate 680 asylum seekers in dormitory-style beds, a spokesperson for Peel Region told CTV News in an email.

Cafeterias, lockers, luggage storage, laundry services, showers, prayer rooms, common spaces and meeting rooms will all be available for the residents for the duration of their stay.

Additionally, the IRCC will be on-site to provide immigration case management services and help with coordinated moves to other municipalities through job opportunities.

“This is the largest of its kind facility in Canada and was made possible through terrific collaboration at the municipal and federal levels to be able to innovate and create together in a way that serves asylum claimants in a coordinated, dignified way,” Aileen Baird, Director of Housing Services for Peel Region, said in a statement.

The centre will offer shelter support services and on-site settlement services, employment support, housing support and access to income support programs like Ontario Works.

“They (the jurisdictions) have an important role to play in conceptualizing and implementing solutions and will ultimately benefit from claimants supporting labour market needs and integrating into their communities over time,” IRCC said.

The pilot’s external partners include IRCC, Service Canada and WGC Employment Agencies. It will include onboarding Legal Aid Ontario and Public Health Services as well.

“These models are much less costly to Canadians over the long term and enable better outcomes for claimants and communities,” IRCC said.

What the numbers have to say

Around 1,550 rooms were leased by refugee claimants in Ontario since Wednesday from nine hotels in Windsor, Niagara Falls, Ottawa and Mississauga.

According to a recent report by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the number of chronically homeless asylum seekers and refugees rose by around 8,718 people between 2021 and 2024. Chronic homelessness in immigrants rose by 5,130.

The federal government provided $22 million through the Interim Housing Assistance Program (IHAP) to the Region of Peel for this reception centre, after an updated proposal was submitted in July of last year.

IHAP is set to receive another $1.1 billion, with funding conditional on provincial and municipal investments for “permanent transitional housing solutions for asylum claimants” over the next three years.

With files from CP24’s Joshua Freeman