By Nicholas Keung, Toronto Star, June 24, 2026

A humanitarian program for Sudanese people fleeing the civil war has resettled barely a quarter of its 10,000-person target in more than two years.

Ottawa’s humanitarian program for Sudanese people displaced by war has resettled barely a quarter of its 10,000-person target in more than two years. Immigration officials estimate the remaining applications won’t be finalized until late 2028.

Abu Elhassan was hopeful that his family would be quickly resettled to Canada when the government rolled out its one-time humanitarian program to provide safe refuge to those displaced by Sudan’s civil war.

But more than two years since the Alberta man’s five siblings and their families submitted their applications, that hopefulness has turned into despair and confusion — and now shock.

Shock because new information recently made public by the Immigration Department indicated that despite a target of 10,000 people, only 2,650 had arrived in Canada since the Sudanese family reunification program launched in February 2024.

“This program is a humanitarian pathway to address a crisis situation,” said Elhassan, a Red Deer machine operator, whose siblings applied to the program almost immediately after it opened.

“I’m grateful to Canada for having this program, but if you want to rescue people in danger, you don’t wait four years to save them. It’s just not acceptable.”

The humanitarian program is meant to offer permanent residence to Sudanese affected by the war who have family in Canada to support their settlement. The Sudanese Canadian community has complained about the processing delays and been pushing for data to track its progress.

The information has only been released recently in a written response to questions raised by Conservative MP Scott Reid (Lanark-Frontenac).

The war began in April 2023, pitting the military against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Tens of thousands of people have been killed, including mass civilian casualties, and more than 14 million displaced, according to Amnesty International.

“There was never a clear answer of when are the people expected to come through this program,” said Samah Alim of the Sudanese Canadian Community Association.

“Now we understand why, because they didn’t want to clearly state the fact that these people will probably come by the end of 2028, which does not meet by any ways the standards of a crisis response for a war that started since 2023. It’s shocking to us, but at least now we understand the full picture and how the government are treating this program.”

The Immigration Department’s response also revealed that $5.2 million in processing fees — $635 per adult and $175 per child — has been collected from these applicants, though fees for biometrics and the right of permanent residence were waived.

“This is a crisis response program and it shows no leniency or humanitarian aspects as it’s framed to be,” said Alim. “There’s no humanitarian aspects of people having to pay $5 million in fees.”

And that’s not the only financial obligation required.

Dr. Bakri Elymani is the “Canadian anchor” of his father, stepmother, five siblings and his siblings’ own families, who applied under the family reunification pathway in March 2024. The group — 24 people in all — has lived in limbo in Egypt since they left shortly after the war started.

The Kitchener psychiatrist has been wiring thousands of dollars a month to pay for their rent and food while supporting his four children in Canada.

Meanwhile, to be eligible to bring his family to Canada, Elymani was required to open a trust account and put up $98,000 for their first year of settlement — money that he borrowed from friends and through his line of credit, and which has been locked since early 2024.

“I don’t know why the process takes that long,” said Elymani, who came here in 2012 and is a Canadian citizen. “The government didn’t have to put in the money to support anything. We paid the money and we are responsible for caring for our family when they are here.”

Ottawa has significantly reduced the intake of permanent residents, which has contributed to the bottlenecks for people in other humanitarian programs to acquire permanent status. The Immigration Department’s response showed the Ukrainian family reunification pathway has a processing time of 26 months, compared to 24 months for the Sudanese, as of February.

Between March 2022 and March 31, 2025, about 967,000 visas were approved for Ukrainians seeking temporary refuge in Canada, and more than 304,000 people arrived. The family reunification pathway to permanent residence, implemented in October 2023, received 25,000 applications until March 31, 2025, with close to 1,100 being approved.

But unlike the Ukrainians who are waiting in Canada on temporary permits, Elhassan of Alberta said the Sudanese are dispersed all over. His family members are in Saudi Arabia and Egypt; one of his brothers was deported from Cairo to Sudan earlier this month. Everyone lives in constant fear of being sent home, and his nieces and nephews have already been out of school for more than three years, he noted.

“This program gave Sudanese people big hope,” said Elhassan, who is also in debt to support his family abroad. “The process can be faster than that.”

In an email, the Immigration Department said it’s committed to continuing its humanitarian response while managing immigration in a way that is fair, orderly and sustainable.

“Canada remains deeply concerned by the ongoing conflict in Sudan,” it said. “When demand for a pathway exceeds the number of spaces set for a given year, processing times will be longer. We are still actively prioritizing Sudan temporary and permanent residence applications already in our inventory.”

Processing times vary depending on the details of each application and include multiple assessment steps, the department added.

Source: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/his-family-is-fleeing-war-and-plans-to-join-him-in-canada-paying-thousands-in-fees-but-hes-shocked-at-how-the-government-has-handled-the-plans/article_ecfb480f-8d12-45d4-9cbc-7c17d4cd3cfc.html