For every 100 immigrants arriving in Canada this year, only 9 are refugees. That number will be even less in 2026, due to more government cuts to the refugee resettlement program.

Canada’s refugee sponsorship program, once held up as a model for the rest of the world, has suffered heavy cuts in recent years.

Last year, the Trudeau government stopped the Group of Five sponsorship program, which accounted for almost half of all refugee arrivals in the country. The government called it a “pause,” claiming the program would be restored after a year on January 1, 2026. But this week, Immigration Minister Lena Diab extended the freeze for another year.

The Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) described the extension as a cruel blow. “This decision basically denies Canadians the ability to exercise our own generosity. And in that way, it’s really tone deaf to who we actually are as a country,” Gauri Sreenivasan, the co-executive director of CCR, told the Canadian Press.

In its November 5 release of Canada’s immigration levels for 2026-2028, the federal government made further cuts to Canada’s refugee sponsorship program. Government-sponsored refugees will go from 15,250 people in 2025 to 13,250 in 2026, while privately sponsored refugees (arranged by community groups like Nest) will go from 23,000 in 2025 to 16,000 in 2026, a drop of 30%.

The CCR said the government’s cuts were “deeply disappointing.”

“This means that far fewer refugees around the world will find safety in Canada,” the CCR stated, “even though a home is waiting for them in Canada.”

The Carney government also cut the “humanitarian immigration program” which enabled people to flee Ukraine, Sudan and Hong Kong. In 2024, the government brought 13,750 people to Canada under this program. In 2026, only 5,800 people will be allowed entry, calling into question the “humanitarian” character of this program,” CCR said.