Canada’s immigration levels are set to reach record numbers this year, in part due to the Syrian refugee crisis.
Last year Canada opened its doors to refugees affected by the ongoing conflict in Syria, which has been called one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
The UN has estimated that in five years, the Syrian conflict has driven more than 4.8 million refugees to neighbouring countries, hundreds of thousands in Europe, and displaced 6.6 million people inside Syria against a pre-war population of over 20 million.
To ensure Canada did its part, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pledged to bring in 25,000 refugees by February 2016 with an additional 25,000 government-supported refugees by the end of 2016. The Conservatives had pledged to bring in 10,000 refugees before last October's election.
And nearly a year after Canada proposed the #WelcomeRefugees initiative; the ambitious goals are being met.
Between November 2015 and July 2016 almost 30,000 Syrian refugees have come to Canada through government and private sponsorship.
Overall, 14,418 females and 15,128 males, including children, have resettled in Canada.
Government data breaks down refugee re-settlement by province and age. For example, over 40 per cent of all the Syrian refugees (12,377) settled in Ontario, half of which were children and Alberta took in almost 4,000 refugees, 52 per cent were under the age of 18.
Today, over 31,919 Syrian refugees have arrived in Canada; with thousands more still to be processed.
Immigration Minister John McCallum is set to release Ottawa’s 2017 immigration targets in November.
McCallum has recently said he wants to boost immigration levels, which means Syrian refugees will likely be a part of the plan.
