441-00953 (Citizenship and immigration)

Canada is committed to its humanitarian tradition and commitment of protecting the world’s most vulnerable people. Canada is the second largest resettlement country in the world, and has resettled almost 700,000 refugees since 1959.

Despite an increased number of challenges to refugee resettlement during the COVID-19 pandemic, resettlement to Canada for the most vulnerable refugees continued. We successfully resettled over 9,000 refugees in 2020 and more than 20,000 in 2021. However, continued high program demand and pandemic-related travel restrictions have contributed to significant growth in the privately sponsored refugee (PSR) application inventory in recent years.

The continued generosity and compassion of Canadians in welcoming refugee newcomers to Canada in itself presents a unique challenge, as there is no limit on the number of Group of 5 or Constituent Group sponsorship applications submitted annually. As the number of refugees resettled each year is set in Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan, when the number of applications submitted by sponsors is significantly higher than the admissions permitted in the levels plan, this has a direct impact in extending processing times, which are calculated from the application received date and do not reflect the duration of active processing. To accommodate the demand of generous Canadian sponsors, PSR levels are expected to be 28,250 in 2025.

We understand processing times are a major concern for sponsors as well as for the refugees that they are trying to bring to safety. The Department is working to implement program efficiencies to address long wait times and support more consistent processing times. This systemic approach includes the development of new policy instruments to manage application intake, and development of new technologies and tools to increase processing efficiencies. Work on these initiatives is currently underway, with some already implemented. Throughout this process, we are engaging key program stakeholders, such as Sponsorship Agreement Holders, and the Canadian Council for Refugees, to help shape new processes.