Canada witnesses surge in asylum seekers crossing from US

Canadian authorities are reporting a surge of asylum seekers crossing from the US in the first two months of the year.

The new statistics show that the total remains small, but the number of people detained is growing.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Quebec reports 245 border crossers were intercepted in January and 432 in February. The RCMP intercepted 19 border crossers in January and 142 in February in the province of Manitoba.

The RCMP intercepted 476 border crossers nationwide in January and 658 in February for a total of 1,134 during Canada's two coldest months.

The numbers reflect refugees' fears that asylum will be harder to obtain in the United States under President Donald Trump.