Tens of thousands of Ukrainians expected to come to Canada in the next few months
Settlement agencies are preparing for the arrival of tens of thousands of Ukrainians before the end-of-March deadline for those fleeing the Russian invasion to enter Canada on emergency visas.
The federal government has issued 936,293 temporary emergency visas since March 2022 for Ukrainians who want to work or study in Canada while they wait out the war.
A total of 210,178 people had actually made the journey to Canada as of Nov. 28.
As many as 90,000 more emergency visa holders are thinking of coming before the deadline, pre-arrival surveys by Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Operation Ukraine Safe Haven suggest.
Operation Ukraine Safe Haven was formed to centralize communications between governments and settlement agencies responding to Ukrainians who arrived in Canada after the war began.
That would mark a considerable increase in the number of Ukrainian newcomers compared to past months, said Sarosh Rizvi, the organization's executive director.
When Russia launched its violent invasion of Ukraine in 2022, millions of people escaped the country in search of safety. Canada took the extraordinary approach of opening its doors to an unlimited number of Ukrainians and their families with a new emergency visa program.
Compared to what's in place for people who arrive as typical refugees, there were fewer built-in supports to help the Ukrainian newcomers get on their feet. Instead, community members stepped up to donate clothes and furniture, businesses offered people jobs and some people even opened their homes.
Even with all that goodwill, people still struggled to find a place for their families to stay while they got on their feet.
Now, as Ukraine approaches the second anniversary of the Russian invasion, that groundswell of support has waned.
"We don't have the level of public interest that we did two years ago," Rizvi said in an interview Wednesday.
Instead, the response has become more institutionalized, he said. That means the settlement sector is more prepared to respond now, but the expected influx will stretch its capacity.
"I think every element is about to be tested," he said, from settlement staff to hotel capacity and even food banks.
The other challenge is finding people places to live, he said.
"There's no great response to that right now. It remains a need and it is still being dealt with on an individual by individual basis," he said.
The organization is trying to encourage people who choose to come before the deadline to consider settling in smaller communities where housing is easier to find and more affordable.
Another group dedicated to helping Ukrainians navigate the immigration system called Pathfinders for Ukraine is also trying to connect with people abroad and help them decide if coming to Canada is the right decision for them.
With supports drying up in some European countries, Ukrainians who don't want to return to the war may be tempted to come to Canada now, even if it's not quite the right fit, said the group's founder.
"It's a resource-intensive, costly, emotionally distressing decision to make that move across an ocean," Randall Baran-Chong said in an interview.
"For many people, Canada is the right choice, but for many of them it's not."
There are a few factors that give people a better chance at success in Canada, he said, including how adaptable people are and whether they have family in Canada, speak English or French, are eager to work and have a nest egg to tide them over until they get a job and pay the considerable cost of rent.
Canada had initially set the deadline to enter Canada for March 2023, but the immigration minister at the time, Sean Fraser, extended it by another year just days beforehand.
The Immigration Department saw a huge spike in people picking up and moving to Canada ahead of that initial deadline, documents obtained from the department under the Access to Information Act show.
Nearly 8,000 people with the emergency visa arrived in the last week of March 2023 alone.
There was also a last-minute rush to apply right before the government closed the program to new applications in July, the documents show.
The figures leave Baran-Chong with the impression that people may be motivated to make good on the visa before they lose the chance.
"I think by the end of this month, we'll have a sense of how many people are actually thinking of exercising it, but we've already heard people talking about the move since probably September or October," he said.
People with the special visa who arrive after March 31 can still come to Canada, but they won't be eligible for the three-year work or study permit under the program, and won't be entitled to any financial or settlement supports.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 18, 2024.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Loblaw agrees to sign grocery code of conduct after months of negotiations
Loblaw Cos. Ltd. said Thursday it's ready to sign on to the grocery code of conduct, paving the way for an agreement that's been years in the making.
Veteran TSN sportscaster Darren Dutchyshen has died
Veteran TSN broadcaster Darren 'Dutch' Dutchyshen, one of Canada’s best-known sports journalists, has died. He was 57. His family says 'he passed as he was surrounded by his closest loved ones.'
Pierre Poilievre presses Justin Trudeau for summer pause on carbon and fuel taxes
To give Canadians a break on their summer road trips, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to suspend all gas and diesel taxes from Victoria Day to Labour Day.
Kidnapped by her father and kept in a crawl space: Court documents reveal Montreal horror story
A Montreal father who kidnapped his daughter who has autism and lied to police when they asked where she was should serve three years in prison, a Crown prosecutor said.
Ontario's so-called 'Crypto King' soliciting investments as recently as February: police
Police are alleging that Ontario’s so-called ‘Crypto King’ Aiden Pleterski was soliciting investments as recently as February – almost two years after he was petitioned into bankruptcy for allegedly running a Ponzi scheme worth more than $40 million.
Noticed a new payment? Some Canadians get first carbon rebate
Many Canadians found a message from the Canada Revenue Agency this week as they received their first direct deposit for the Canada Carbon Rebate.
Teen died from eating a spicy chip as part of social media challenge, autopsy report concludes
A medical examiner says a Massachusetts teen who participated in a spicy tortilla chip challenge died from ingesting a substance 'with a high capsaicin concentration.'
Protecting your car from the growing risk of keyless vehicle thefts
Auto technology has evolved and many newer cars use wireless key fobs and push-button starters instead of traditional metal keys. But that technology also makes things easier for thieves.
WATCH Scientists get a surprising glimpse at a rare deep-sea squid
Scientists from the University of Western Australia and Kelpsie Geociences in the U.K. say they were surprised to discover an underwater camera caught video of a rare deep-sea squid.
Local Spotlight
Starbucks fan on decades-long journey to visit every store in the world
A Starbucks fan — whose name is Winter — is visiting Canada on a purposeful journey that began with a random idea at one of the coffee chain's stores in Texas.
'Sacred work': Sask. First Nation learning how to conduct its own underground searches
Members of Piapot First Nation, students from the University of Winnipeg and various other professionals are learning new techniques that will hopefully be used for ground searches of potential unmarked grave sites in the future.
'It could mean a cure': Cautious optimism for groundbreaking ALS research at Western
ALS patient Mathew Brown said he’s hopeful for future ALS patients after news this week of research at Western University of a potential cure for ALS.
B.C. musician's song catches attention of Canucks
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
'We're on standby': Team ready to help entangled right whale in Gulf of St. Lawrence
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Thieves caught on camera stealing pet chicken from North Vancouver backyard
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Adopted daughter in the Netherlands reunited with sister in Montreal and mother in Colombia, 40 years later
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
'Reimagining Mother's Day': Toronto woman creates Motherless Day event after losing mom
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
Chris Hadfield inspires youth musical in Sudbury
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.