Bill Croson knew very little about private refugee sponsorship until he started sponsoring refugees seven years ago. Now, it defines his life.
He estimates he and his partner have sponsored nearly 30 LGBTQ individuals to come to Canada as refugees. Other refugees have found a haven in their Toronto home.
Refugees need private sponsors, says Croson, who chairs the Private Refugee Sponsorship Network, a not-for-profit that educates private sponsors about settling refugees.
From his observations, privately sponsored refugees often fare better than individualswhose help mainly comes from settlement agencies.
He and his partner often communicate with refugees for years before they arrive in Canada. Agencies workers, by contrast, are burdened by an “astronomical” workload.
“[Agencies] don’t establish a personal connection, and I think that’s one of the most critical issues,” he said.
Research confirms Croson’s observations.
A recent report from the think tank Cardus indicates privately sponsored refugees have better outcomes than government sponsored refugees. This includes finding long-lasting employment and establishing strong social networks.
These results show that the federal government is not always the best-suited to address every social problem, says Renze Nauta, the report’s author.
“Decisions, actions and policy should be taken by the level of authority that is closest to the issue as possible,” he said.
“We should be encouraging as much as possible [local civil society organizations] to take action and only go up to government when it’s necessary,” he said.
“And there are times when it’s necessary for government to [act].”
Refugee pathways
Refugees come to Canada in two main ways.
In the government-assisted program, the United Nations refers refugees to the federal government. Oftentimes, these refugees live in refugee camps.
Ottawa pays for these refugees to come to Canada and supports them for 12 months after they arrive.
In the private sponsorship program, families or groups of Canadians agree to sponsor a refugee to come to Canada and support them, typically for a year. Group sponsors are often religious organizations or community groups focused on refugees from specific countries. The refugees they sponsor may register with the United Nations, but they do not necessarily live in refugee camps, like most government sponsored refugees.
Private sponsors are responsible for helping refugees find housing, work and social connections.
Private sponsorship has been a key part of Canada’s refugee resettlement program since 1979, when Canada became the first country to allow it.
Of the more than 49,000 refugees resettled in Canada in 2024, nearly 30,000— or 60 per cent — were privately sponsored. This is the highest percentage of privately sponsored refugees since 2020.
Over the past decade, private sponsorship rates have ranged between half and two-thirds of all refugee settlements each year.
“The privately sponsored refugees fare much better [than government sponsored refugees],” said Usha George, a retired professor at Toronto Metropolitan University who studies immigration.
Relationships key to success
George co-authored a study that examined the settlement of Syrian refugees in Toronto.
Like the Cardus report, it found that privately sponsored refugees found jobs faster than government sponsored refugees and had better, longer-lasting connections with their sponsors.
“Government sponsored refugees go to settlement agencies and settlement agencies connect them with other agencies or other resources,” said George, who is also part of the Private Refugee Sponsorship Network.
“But that personal relationship that happens is not necessarily there. And that is why, in my opinion, the private sponsorship is a success.”
Brian Dyck has seen this for decades. He previously chaired the refugee program at the Mennonite Central Committee. The committee is one of several Sponsorship Agreement Holders, which are organizations that have signed agreements with Ottawa to sponsor refugees.
His family has also sponsored refugees from Syria and the former Republic of Yugoslavia. They still maintain contact with some.
“There is a lot of care [in private refugee sponsorship],” said Dyck, now a migrant research analyst with the Mennonite Central Committee.
That care comes in part because most private sponsors have some connection to the refugee they sponsor, says Dyck. Friends or relatives are often part of the group that sponsors a refugee. It is “very rare” that people without experience with refugees will decide to become private sponsors, he said.
George, of Toronto Metropolitan University, also notes that refugees who register with the United Nations show a level of motivation that may further explain why they do well once in Canada.
“You have to have a level of motivation to go and do [that],” said George.
Privately sponsored refugees also often speak English or French well and have more education, she says.
‘Something that’s lost’
Nauta, at Cardus, says the success of Canada’s private refugee sponsorship program shows that the federal government is not always the best-suited to deliver large social programs.
Specifically, the report recommends governments consider what level of government is best suited to respond to societal concerns when crafting policy responses. The report points to problems plaguing the national child-care program and the difficulties with creating national dental care and pharmacare programs as examples of the problems of the federal government taking on areas that should be in provincial jurisdiction.
Governments should also consider how civil society groups, like religious organizations or cultural groups, can, or do, help.
“When government takes over something from civil society, or from a local community organizations, there’s something that’s lost,” he said.
The government should not resettle all refugees in Canada, he says. One of the best ways the federal government can help is by supporting groups that privately sponsor refugees.
“People care about people,” he said. “And institutions can help, but the larger the institution and the more bureaucratic it becomes, the further we tend to get away from genuine care.”
Private refugee sponsorship works because governments and civil society organizations solve problems together, says Dyck. He insists government has an important role to play in resettling refugees, particularly those most in need. Private sponsorship “cannot go it alone.”
“[Private sponsorship] is a small tool, but it’s an important tool, and we need to make sure that we use it well,” he said.
In Toronto, Bill Croson wants more people to sponsor refugees. He worries current economic uncertainties are prompting people to “turn inward.”
That saddens him. Immigration benefits Canada culturally, he says, and refugees strengthen Canada.
“It’s just an enriching thing for our cultural makeup to be able to do this, for us to demonstrate [our] values.”
