The federal government is increasing the variety of refugees it plans to resettle consequently of Sudan’s civil war, with changes that might see 7,000 more people reach Canada through various programs.
But Ottawa says it stays unimaginable for Quebecers to sponsor relatives from Sudan to resettle in that province.
As an alternative, Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Quebecers can now apply to resettle their relatives so long as they go to a different province.
The federal policy suggests that Quebec just isn’t allowing families to bring their relatives to the province, and the office of Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge didn’t have a direct comment.
The federal government is increasing the variety of resettlement applications it’s going to accept from 3,250 to greater than 5,000, which it projects will result in 10,000 people reaching Canada.
Miller says the federal government will even resettle 4,000 Sudanese living in dangerous conditions abroad by the top of 2026, and open spots for 700 Sudanese to be privately sponsored.
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Violence has swept through most of Sudan since April 2023, when competing government troops took up arms against one another, resulting in what the United Nations has called the world’s largest displacement crisis and what Washington has described as a genocide within the Darfur region.
The Liberals first launched the family reunification program for Canadians with relatives in Sudan in February 2024, and it originally excluded anyone living in Quebec from having the ability to sponsor their Sudanese relatives.
A March 2024 binder prepared for Miller’s testimony to a House committee offered this rationale for excluding Quebecers: “The federal government of Quebec is answerable for choosing candidates for everlasting residence within the province, except for the family class and guarded individuals in Canada.”
Last week, diaspora groups akin to the Sudanese Canadian Community Association released an open letter saying the Sudan program faces “discriminatory barriers,” including a slow launch, a lower level of economic support than what’s been offered to people fleeing Afghanistan or Haiti, and processing delays which have resulted in people dying before they could possibly be delivered to Canada.
Miller has said this system was created in consultation with diaspora groups and will likely be adjusted to deal with issues as they arise.
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