Mayor seeks federal funding to house asylum seekers

Sutcliffe said in a recent social media video he toured a temporary shelter where 100 per cent of the clients are individuals who are seeking asylum."

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is calling on the federal government to fund housing for asylum seekers in his city, claiming the majority of people in the shelter system are newcomers to Canada.

Sutcliffe said in a recent social media video he toured a temporary shelter where 100 per cent of the clients are individuals who are seeking asylum."

The mayor clarified that he visited the makeshift shelter at the Heron Road Community Centre two weeks ago and found the amount of new arrivals relying on the shelter fascinating.

"I think for a lot of Ottawa residents, when they hear that our shelters are overflowing, they assume it's because of people who are suffering from mental illness [or] experiencing a substance use disorder," he said.

"That's only part of the story. A big part of the story is the fact that there are so many people arriving in Ottawa seeking asylum, seeking refuge."