Ottawa puts sharper focus on permanent residency for privately sponsored refugees

OTTAWA – The federal government is increasing the number of privately sponsored refugees eligible for permanent residency in the coming years as it reduces the number of eligible government-sponsored refugees.

The 2027 immigration levels plan, released last week, says about 29,000 refugees and another 20,000 protected persons and family members will be granted permanent residency status annually through 2029.

Overall, the number is similar to last year but within that number, the government is making adjustments to who is eligible for permanent residency.

The number of privately sponsored refugees eligible will increase to 17,500 from 16,000 last year, while the number of eligible government-sponsored refugees will fall to just under 12,000 from more than 13,000 in 2025.

Groups, such as religious societies and community organizations, that privately sponsor refugees help them find housing and provide them with food, rent, clothing and other essentials during their first year in Canada.

Renze Nauta, a program director for the non-partisan think tank Cardus, said increasing the number of privately sponsored refugees is a good idea because they tend to be more successful at integration than those who are aided by the government.

Nauta said Cardus wrote Immigration Minister Lena Diab in September asking that the percentage of privately sponsored refugees be increased after it was reduced last year.

“I think this is an example of where governments do leverage civil society and Canadians who support them, and I think we should do more of that,” he said.

But Lauren Lallemand, co-executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, said the shift to privately sponsored refugees suggests the government is off-loading its responsibility onto civil society groups.

“The government has a moral and international law obligation to resettle refugees,” Lallemand said.

“We’re disappointed to see what we interpret as a further kind of reduction in the state’s ownership of their responsibility in making sure that people receive protection in Canada and basically just transferring it on to communities and members of civil society.”

Nauta said there is evidence privately sponsored refugees do better at settling in because they receive more direct, personalized support.

“That will allow for a growth in immigration if that’s what the government calls for later on,” he said. “But it does start with that integration. That’s hard to do but Canadians have shown for the last several decades that they’re willing to do it, they have the heart to do, it and they have the means.”

Citing declining rates of newcomers — including refugees — since 2024, both Prime Minister Mark Carney and Immigration Minister Lena Diab have argued the immigration system is back under control.

Lallemand said it’s disconcerting to hear the government point to declining numbers of refugees as part of its immigration narrative.

“There are several global crises happening now that mean that there are far more displaced people than there were even 10 years ago, for example, or 15 years ago,” she said.

“The acceptance rate for refugees who apply through asylum is quite high. It’s above 70 per cent. And so kind of implying that you are getting immigration under control by further blocking people from accessing safety is very troubling.”

The government passed a law last year that says conventional asylum claims must be filed within a year of the claimant’s first arrival in Canada. Those applying after that time can still obtain protection through a pre-removal risk assessment — the appeal mechanism for a rejected asylum claim.

The government has justified the new power by pointing to a major spike in asylum claims after the COVID-19 pandemic — a spike that included people using the system to extend their time in Canada when their visas were set to expire.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2026.