Syrian Immigrants to Canada

by The Canadian Magazine of Immigration · July 16, 2025

In 2023, 9,345 Syrians were admitted to Canada as permanent residents

From 2010 to 2023, 113,152 Syrian immigrants were admitted to Canada as permanent residents.

In recent years, Canada has significantly increased its intake of Syrian immigrants, primarily in response to the Syrian refugee crisis sparked by the civil war that began in 2011. Between 2015 and 2016, under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, Canada launched the Syrian Refugee Resettlement Initiative, resettling over 44,000 Syrian refugees by the end of 2016, with a notable 25,000 arriving within a 100-day period as part of Operation Syrian Refugees. This effort included government-assisted and privately sponsored refugees, with more than 60,795 Syrian-born refugees admitted between 2016 and 2021, accounting for 27.8% of new refugees during that period. The influx was driven by Canada’s humanitarian commitment, with many Syrians settling in major cities like Toronto, Montréal, and Ottawa–Gatineau. Despite challenges such as language barriers and employment disparities—only 24% of adult male Syrian refugees were employed in 2019 compared to 39% of other refugees—integration outcomes have been largely positive, with 90% of Syrian refugees reporting a strong sense of belonging to Canada. However, recent posts on X suggest some public concern about dependency on social assistance, though these claims lack comprehensive data and should be treated as inconclusive.