Syrian refugees in Lebanon are misled on their chances of coming to Canada

by Emily K M Scott, McGill University

With an economic crisis, COVID-19 lockdowns and the summer’s Beirut explosion, Syrian refugees living in Lebanon express increasing fears that they will be scapegoated or forced to return to Syria by authorities trying to explain away crippling levels of unemployment and overwhelmed social services.

Some refugees hope to find a new refuge in Canada. Canada is a world leader in refugee resettlement in large part because of its use of private sponsorship programs to encourage citizens and charitable organizations to support the integration of refugees into their communities.