Ottawa commits to resettling 4,700 Sudanese refugees, reopens family pathway following outcry

After it was declared the worst humanitarian crisis in the world by the African Union, Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Canada is committing to resettle 4,700 refugees fleeing the ongoing civil war in Sudan. 

Ottawa is also reopening applications on Feb. 25 for the permanent residence pathway program it created for close family members of Sudanese Canadians, adding 1,750 applications to the 3,250 it has already received for a total of 5,000.

The ministry estimates the applications will lead to roughly 10,000 people resettling in Canada via their family anchors here. 

When that program opened in February 2024, Sudanese Quebecers were excluded because Quebec opted not to participate in the program.

This time, 500 applications are being reserved for Quebecers until April 17, but applicants must resettle their Sudanese family members outside the province. 

The program has also been criticized for its relatively small scope, the processing times attached to applications — some applicants have been told they wouldn't be able to bring family members until 2027 or 2028 — and the high financial burden associated with it.

Applicants must prove they are high earners or that they have $9,900 set aside per person they are applying for, in addition to processing fees of $635 per adult and $175 per child. 

Mayada Ageeb, who is from the West Island of Montreal, plans to apply for her aunt, four cousins, an uncle, his wife and two children, as well as her grandmother.

Ageeb said she and other community members were relieved by the news that Quebecers would now be able to apply. They had grown anxious after being given three separate dates by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for the program to reopen with a workaround for Sudanese Quebecers, but those dates had come and gone without any word — until now. 

"It's good news, a lot of excitement," Ageeb said Thursday afternoon. She said she and her family will regroup to make sure their documents are in order.

Earlier this month, two of her cousins, 14 and 16, were badly beaten at a militia checkpoint after soldiers searched their phones and discovered documents they had prepared in the hopes of applying to come to Canada. 

"It's a persistent thought that they might not be able to make it before we can actually get this process completed and and bring them here," she said. 

Inequality among programs

Duha Elmardi, a member of the Sudanese Canadian Association, says that while news of the pathway program reopening is welcome, it is also being met with some apprehension. 

Her parents, who are still in Khartoum, had gathered a number of documents in the fall, when the association was initially told the program would reopen with an option for Quebecers. Some of those documents have now expired and travelling to get them can be dangerous, Elmardi said.

For example, certificates issued by police in Sudan expire after three months, so Elmardi's parents will have to travel to an area that has been under daily attacks. 

"My conversation with my parents earlier is that I don't think they should go to the place to reissue the documents because I just can't take any — like we don't know," she said. 

Of the 4,700 refugees Canada says it will resettle by the end of 2026, Miller's office said 4,000 would receive government assistance, while 700 would arrive through private sponsorship. 

The ministry says that from April 23, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2024, it resettled 1,360 Sudanese refugees in Canada. Of the more than 7,000 family members of Sudanese Canadians who applied for the permanent residence pathway program, 291 people had landed in Canada as of Feb. 2.

Elmardi's group has been highlighting discrepancies between the resettlement options for Sudanese people fleeing war and programs for refugees from other conflict-ridden countries, such as Ukraine, Afghanistan and Syria. 

"We also know that a lot of people in our community are left behind with this as well. It's not really a full celebration until everyone is treated equally and everyone has the same opportunities," Elmardi said.