Phase 4 – Welcoming in Canada

Coming to live in Canada is a major life change for any immigrant. For refugees, the change can be even more dramatic. To make sure our Operation Syrian Refugees (OSR) refugees felt welcome here, we worked with provinces, territories, municipalities, settlement organizations and other partners to ensure that they went to communities with settlement supports already in place. To help decide where to send Syrian refugees, we considered:

• whether or not the refugees had any family members in Canada
• the availability of schools, housing, language training, and other services
• the need for specific services for those with medical conditions/disabilities

All of the privately sponsored refugees went to their sponsors’ communities.

Organizations and sponsors responded quickly when they heard Syrians were coming to their communities. With just 24-72 hours of notice of who was coming and when, groups were able to prepare and provide a warm welcome to Canada.