Canada’s immigration office reportedly gave 117 North Korean defectors refugee status last year.

This is a huge jump from issuing refugee status to one North Korean in 2007, seven in 2008 and 65 in 2009.

The number of North Korean defectors in Canada has seen a steady rise over the years, rising from 31 in 2008 to 44 in 2009 and from 176 in 2010 to 385 in 2011.

A growing number of North Koreans are fleeing to Canada since screening processes have gotten stricter in Britain and the U.S. Canada has a relatively open screening system.