Leaders from Manitoba and Minnesota met recently to discuss the growing number of asylum seekers crossing into Canada.

Manitoba and Minnesota have a history of welcoming refugees, but "purposely avoiding physical ports of entry and attempting to cross open countryside to reach Canada from the United States is extremely dangerous," the Province of Manitoba said in a release along with the Minnesota government.

Minnesota Congressman Collin C. Peterson and Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister met to discuss the number of asylum seekers fleeing the United States. They say there is a number of serious hazards when people try to cross open countryside.

"The life-threatening hazards facing potential asylum seekers continue past the end of the winter as temperatures and wet conditions still pose significant dangers," said Congressman Peterson in the release.

Both leaders want asylum seekers to understand they will not automatically gain asylum upon entering Canada and the odds of approval are not increased by entering illegally from the United States. They also encourage communities and landowners to be aware and call for medical assistance or local law enforcement to provide aid to those attempting to cross.

"As neighbours who share the longest open border in the world, we have a shared obligation to help protect people who are placing themselves and, in many cases, their families at serious risk without realizing the dangers they face from an unfamiliar environment," Premier Pallister said in the release.

Governments from Canada and the United States are also concerned that continued crossings could start to attract human-trafficking.