Canada to resettle up to 5,000 Iranian and Iraqi refugees by 2018

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) has announced plans to resettle up to 5,000 Iranian and Iraqi refugees, presently in Turkey, by 2018. Citing "escalating violence in the region," Immigration Minister Jason Kenney outlined his government's intention to "help Turkey deal with this growing pressure." He also commended the government of Turkey "for keeping her borders open to those fleeing the ongoing conflict in the region."

It is expected that this undertaking will help ease the existing burden on Turkey, freeing up the Turkish government's resources to deal with the current influx of Syrians seeking protection in the country.

Minister Kenney reaffirmed Canada's commitment to its 2009 and 2010 pledges of resettling 20,000 Iraqi refugees. To date, it has resettled 12,000, most of them from Syria.

Most of the refugees will be referred by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for resettlement.

Canada is one of a few countries operating a resettlement program out of Turkey, and is second only to the United States as a destination for refugees from the region.