As greater numbers of refugees flow from the United States into Canada by land, US-pledged co-operation has become essential, Canada's public safety minister said Saturday.
With US President Donald Trump beginning to tighten enforcement of immigration rules, and more than 11 million undocumented migrants living in the United States, crossings into Canada have been increasing since the beginning of the year.
"We need to have a very good cooperative, seamless arrangement with the US to fully appreciate where the flow began, and all of the factors that are contributing to the migration," said Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale during a visit to Emerson, Manitoba.
The recent wave of migrants to Canada originated mostly from East Africa and war-torn nations such as Syria.
"We need to make sure that we all have the same data and information about the makeup of this migration. It is clearly affecting Canada as the migrants come across the border," Goodale said.
"The Americans have indicated that they are equally interested in fully getting the facts and understanding the genesis of this and we will work collaboratively and seamlessly with them," he added.
But he did not say what that co-operation would look like, or when it would happen.