Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and US President Donald Trump have discussed the rising numbers of asylum seekers crossing into Canada from the United States in a call between the leaders.
The phone call on Thursday followed a largely positive meeting between the pair in Washington last week and covered several issues including illegal immigration, Trudeau's office said in a statement.
The number of would-be refugees crossing into Canada at unguarded border crossings has increased in recent weeks amid fears Trump will crack down on illegal immigrants, and photos of smiling Canadian police greeting the migrants have gone viral.
Brian Pallister, the Conservative premier of the province of Manitoba, which has seen a surge of refugee arrivals, called on the federal government for more resources to deal with the influx of asylum seekers, some of whom have lost fingers to frostbite in the dangerous crossing.
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Asylum seekers cross illegally because Canada's policy under the Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement is to turn back refugees if they make claims at border crossings.
While Brian Pallister said his province will welcome those in need with "open arms and open hearts", his call for a national strategy to deal with the arrivals adds to opposition criticism that Trudeau has put national security at risk by embracing asylum seekers.
As of February 13, some 3,800 people had made an asylum claim in 2017, up from the same period last year and on track to approach the 2008 peak of 36,867, said Scott Bardsley, spokesman for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.
Polls show Canadians are split over whether Canada should be accepting more or fewer refugees.
But even those in his own Liberal Party have begun to feel the heat from constituents concerned about a sudden influx of the mostly African, Middle Eastern and Asian asylum seekers.
