Program directory · Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada
Refugee Resettlement
- Program code
- BGE05 (CI)
- Core responsibility
- Immigrant and Refugee Selection and Integration
- In Departmental Plans
- 2018-19 – 2026-27 · New since an earlier plan
What it does
In accordance with Canada’s annual Immigration Levels Plan, IRCC facilitates the admission of a targeted number of permanent residents under the refugee resettlement category. Refugees are individuals residing outside of their home country and unable to return for fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular group. IRCC issues permanent resident documentation to approved applicants. Government-assisted refugees are identified by the United Nations Refugee Agency and are entirely supported by the Canadian or Quebec government for one year. This assistance includes the provision of income supports, funding of immediate settlement needs (such as accommodation) and loans for transportation to Canada. Refugees can also be privately sponsored by Canadian community organizations or groups of Canadian citizens and permanent residents. The private sponsor is responsible for providing financial support, orientation services, assistance with accommodations, and emotional and social support for one year, or until the individual is self-supporting. A refugee may also be accepted as a blended visa office-referred applicant where the Government of Canada and a private sponsor share the costs and responsibilities of sponsorship. IRCC provides temporary health-care coverage for all resettled refugees in Canada, and covers the cost of certain medical services received before arrival in Canada.
Source: the department's Program Inventory, via GC InfoBase.
History and lineage
First appears in GC InfoBase's actual spending by program in 2018-19. The data does not record when a program was created; it may be older than its first appearance here, which is limited by the sources (program spending starts in 2010-11, Departmental Plans in 2018-19).
| Program | Relation | Years with data | Actual spending over those years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Refugee Resettlement | This program | 2018-19 – 2028-29 | $3.59B |
No earlier or later program in the same department has a similar name.
Significant changes in scope and budget
Detected from the data: renames between plans, programs it appears to replace, merge with or split into (matched by name), year-over-year changes in spending of at least 25% and $5M, or in employees of at least 20% and 25 FTEs, linked budget measures, and results indicators added or dropped.
| Year | What changed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-21 | Spending $137M, against $211M in 2019-20 (−35%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2021-22 | Employees (FTEs) 366, against 296 in 2020-21 (+24%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2021-22 | Spending $297M, against $137M in 2020-21 (+116%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Employees (FTEs) 586, against 366 in 2021-22 (+60%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2022-23 | Spending $1.07B, against $297M in 2021-22 (+259%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2024-25 | Spending $640M, against $1.05B in 2023-24 (−39%). | Actual spending (GC InfoBase) |
| 2025-26 | Planned employees (FTEs) 420, against 525 in 2024-25 (−20%). | FTEs (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Indicators added: Percentage of refugee referrals (GAR and PSR) that meet program eligibility criteria; Percentage of resettlement admissions target achieved | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
| 2026-27 | Indicators dropped: Number of resettled refugees admitted to Canada; Percentage of resettled refugees in the world that Canada resettles | Departmental Results Framework (GC InfoBase) |
Success criteria
The program's indicators from its department's Departmental Results Framework: the target set in each year's plan, and the result reported the following year. Source: GC InfoBase.
Historical: targets against results
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 23,000 – 31,000 | 2018 | 28,076 Canada resettles refugees to fulfill an aspect of its international humanitarian commitments. This indicator measures the number of resettled refugees admitted to Canada, which is a measure of Canada's contribution to the protection of the world’s most vulnerable populations. In 2018, Canada was within its target range by resettling 28,076 refugees. | Met |
| 2019-20 | 25,500 – 35,500 | 2019 | 30,087 Canada resettles refugees to fulfill an aspect of its international humanitarian commitments. This indicator measures the number of resettled refugees admitted to Canada, which is a measure of Canada's contribution to the protection of the world’s most vulnerable populations. In 2019, Canada met its target by resettling 30,087 refugees. | Met |
| 2020-21 | 27,500 – 33,000 | 2020 | 9,236 Canada resettles refugees in support of its international humanitarian commitments. Due to pandemic travel restrictions, the total number of refugees admitted to Canada did not meet the 2020 target of 27,500 to 33,000 resettled refugees. Of the 9,236 refugees admitted, 52 were admitted as blended visa office-referred refugees, 3,871 as government-assisted refugees and 5,313 as privately sponsored… | Not met |
| 2021-22 | 22,500 – 37,000 | 2021 | 20,428 Canada fell 2,072 short of the low end of its refugee resettlement target range. This was largely due to the impacts of COVID-19 on IRCC’s operations and travel and border restrictions which prevented arrivals of refugees. Still, Canada met its target for Government-Assisted Refugees (GARs) (10,811) after IRCC sought travel exemptions for vulnerable persons and urgent protection cases. After regi… | Not met |
| 2022-23 | 34,500 – 57,500 | 2022 | 46,528 The number of refugees resettled to Canada was successfully within the target range for 2022. The total included 23,912 government-assisted refugees, 22,520 privately-sponsored refugees, and 100 refugees in the blended visa office-referred program. 2022 continued to represent strong recovery, with resettlement volumes exceeding pre-pandemic levels. The result was partly driven by IRCC’s commitmen… | Met |
| 2023-24 | 38,500 – 59,400 | 2023 | 51,081 In 2023, target for number of resettled refugees admitted was met. This included the resettlement of 23,311 government-assisted refugees, 27,660 privately sponsored refugees, and 110 refugees under the Blended Visa Office-Referred program. | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 49,115 | 2024 | 49,285 The primary objective of this program is to save lives and offer protection to refugees in need of resettlement. The target for this indicator is set by the Government of Canada each year in the Immigration Levels Plan. Canada welcomed 49,285 refugees through the Government-Assisted Refugee (GARs), Privately Sponsored Refugee (PSR), and Blended Visa-Office Referred Refugee (BVOR) streams. This in… | Met |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | ≥ 13% | 2018 | 30.4% Canada resettles refugees to fulfill an aspect of its international humanitarian commitments. This indicator measures Canada's refugee resettlement admissions relative to other resettlement countries. Changes in the number of refugees resettled by other countries may impact Canada's performance. In 2018, Canada welcomed approximately 30% of refugees resettled worldwide. | Met |
| 2019-20 | ≥ 13% | 2019 | 28% Canada resettles refugees to fulfill an aspect of its international humanitarian commitments. This indicator measures Canada's refugee resettlement relative to other resettlement countries. Changes in the number of refugees resettled by other countries may impact Canada's performance. In 2019, Canada welcomed approximately 28% of refugees resettled worldwide. This high proportion is related to th… | Met |
| 2020-21 | ≥ 13% | 2020 | 27% The numerator (9,236) represents the number of refugees resettled to Canada, through all of Canada's three resettlement streams (Privately Sponsored Refugees, Government-Assisted Refugees, and Blended Visa Office-Referred Refugees). The denominator (34,400) is the number of refugees resettled globally as per the UNHCR Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2020. This indicator measures Canada's re… | Met |
| 2021-22 | ≥ 13% | 2021 | 32.3% Canada continues to be a global leader in refugee resettlement, coming in as the second largest resettlement state worldwide. While other countries suspended their resettlement programs during the pandemic, Canada continued to process cases, with a focus on urgent protection cases, and continued employing innovative methods, like the use of video interviews. Canada continued to respond to refugee… | Met |
| 2022-23 | ≥ 13% | 2022 | 40.7% Canada exceeded its target goal of resettling over 13% of the world’s resettled refugees in 2022, and retained the top spot globally for number of refugees resettled, according to the UNHCR. This result was driven by a strong overall performance in Canada’s number of resettled refugees, driven partly record high global demand for refugee resettlement, and the Department’s commitment to resettle a… | Met |
| 2023-24 | ≥ 13% | 2023 | 32.2% In 2023, Canada exceeded its target for the percentage of the world's refugees that are resettled to Canada, resettling 51,081 refugees through the Government-assisted refugee, Privately sponsored refugee and Blended Visa Office-referred streams. Globally, over 158,000 refugees were resettled in 2023, corresponding with an all-time high of individuals in need of resettlement, according to the Uni… | Met |
| 2024-25 | ≥ 20% | 2024 | 26.1% Canada continued its tradition of refugee resettlement by welcoming 26% of the refugees resettled globally in 2024. The target for this indicator reflects the fact that Canada does not control the number of refugees that may be resettled by other countries. The drop in 2024 results compared to 2023 results is due to a significant increase in US resettlement in 2024, which increased the global res… | Met |
Current: the 2026-27 plan's targets
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≥ 85% | 2026 | — | Planned |
Bars: result reported. Dashed line: target.
| Report year | Target | Due | Result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | ≤ 15% | 2026 | — | Planned |
Future goals: targets due after 2026-27
No targets with a later due date.
Spending and employees: planned against actual
Spending
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | $167M | $189M |
| 2019-20 | $159M | $211M |
| 2020-21 | $175M | $137M |
| 2021-22 | $268M | $297M |
| 2022-23 | $370M | $1.07B |
| 2023-24 | $790M | $1.05B |
| 2024-25 | $714M | $640M |
| 2025-26 | $515M | — |
| 2026-27 | $396M | — |
| 2027-28 | $328M* | — |
| 2028-29 | $331M* | — |
Employees (FTEs)
Show the numbers
| Fiscal year | Planned | Actual |
|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 | 201 | 260 |
| 2019-20 | 211 | 309 |
| 2020-21 | 207 | 296 |
| 2021-22 | 295 | 366 |
| 2022-23 | 461 | 586 |
| 2023-24 | 810 | 594 |
| 2024-25 | 904 | 525 |
| 2025-26 | 420 | — |
| 2026-27 | 449 | — |
| 2027-28 | 422* | — |
| 2028-29 | 414* | — |
Planned spending, plan by plan
Each row is one year's Departmental Plan and its forecast for the next three fiscal years; read a column down to see how the forecast for one year changed. The last row is what was actually spent. Click an amount for its source. Biggest changes in federal spending plans
| Plan | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | 2026-27 | 2027-28 | 2028-29 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-19 plan | $166,993,905 | $161,419,564 | $178,037,373 | ||||||||
| 2019-20 plan | $158,918,945 | $161,983,521 | $161,810,074 | ||||||||
| 2020-21 plan | $174,963,672 | $176,829,270 | $177,862,835 | ||||||||
| 2021-22 plan | $267,589,494 | $288,533,017 | $230,196,882 | ||||||||
| 2022-23 plan | $369,822,131 | $228,397,519 | $227,589,914 | ||||||||
| 2023-24 plan | $790,327,693 | $352,795,744 | $223,593,988 | ||||||||
| 2024-25 plan | $713,891,057 | $402,952,944 | $393,473,290 | ||||||||
| 2025-26 plan | $515,499,178 | $366,645,831 | $357,096,497 | ||||||||
| 2026-27 plan | $396,333,329 | $327,631,541 | $331,004,078 | ||||||||
| Actual | $189,066,173 | $211,277,871 | $137,345,272 | $296,955,738 | $1,067,193,531 | $1,052,518,757 | $639,826,883 |
Actual spending is from Departmental Results Reports and the Public Accounts, as published in GC InfoBase. FTEs are full-time equivalents.
