Since 2017, most refugees resettled to Canada enter under private sponsorship rather than as government-assisted refugees. As a result of the success of the private sponsorship program, the Government of Canada, in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and others, spearheads the Global Refugee Sponsorship Initiative (GRSI), an international project sharing best practices with other countries interested in implementing a private refugee sponsorship model. This Hill Study provides an overview of Canada’s refugee resettlement programs, and outlines eligibility for resettlement and the different programs in place for resettlement in Canada. It also discusses the role that resettlement plays in international agreements like the Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and examines Canada’s role in the GRSI. The paper concludes with a consideration of some of the challenges regarding refugee resettlement in the current Canadian context.
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