Canada continues to review Syrian refugee claims as European nations pause intake

By David Baxter, The Canadian Press on December 10, 2024.

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Marc Miller takes questions from journalists as he arrives at a cabinet meeting in Ottawa, on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

OTTAWA – Immigration Minister Marc Miller says Canada will continue evaluating the asylum claims of people who have fled Syria, even as some European countries are pausing those claims after the Assad regime’s fall.

Miller says Canada’s asylum system isn’t seeing the same pressure as European counterparts such as Germany and Austria.

Syrian President Bashar Assad fled the country on Sunday, and is reportedly in Russia, after opposition forces seized the capital Damascus.

Assad’s family had been in power for 50 years, and this marked a dramatic end to his rule 14-year rule that was characterized by a brutal civil war.

Since 2015, more than 100,000 Syrian refugees have been resettled in Canada.

Canada has just shy of 1,600 pending refugee claims from Syria as of Sept. 30, while Germany has more than 47,000 pending refugee claims from Syria.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2024.

– With files from The Associated Press