Since the program began, 960,000 people have been approved to come to Canada, but as of the end of February only about 250,000 people had come
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OTTAWA – A program that has brought more than 200,000 Ukranians to Canada is coming to end this month with the war still very much uncertain and many Ukranians unsure what home they might have to return to.
Shortly after the war broke out in 2022, Canada brought in the Canada-Ukraine temporary authorization for an emergency travel program, CUAET, allowing Ukrainians to apply to come here and stay for up to three years.
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Ukrainians had until last July to apply for the program and have until the end of March to arrive in Canada. Since the program began, 960,000 people have been approved to come to Canada, but as of the end of February only about 250,000 people had come.
Ihor Michalchyshyn, CEO and executive director of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, said they have definitely seen an increase in Ukrainians using those visas in the last few weeks.
“We’re seeing definitely more arrivals week over week, because people are trying to come, people are coming before the end of it,” he said.
The program allows Ukranians to seek work and study permits and receive some supports on arrival, but it is not a refugee program or permanent residency. People who are already here can extend their permits until 2027, if they apply by the end of this month.
The initial deadline to come to Canada was last year, Michalchyshyn’s organization pushed for an extension of that and the government agreed, but he said now they believe it is time for the program to come to an end.
“We thought two years was a reasonable timeframe for people to come and make their decisions,” he said.
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Ukraine has suffered setbacks on the battlefield in recent weeks, losing the town of Avdiivka and several smaller villages nearby.
Michalchyshyn said he doesn’t expect the changing conditions on the ground to lead to a big influx in new arrivals in Canada, because people on the frontlines have already been living with the war for more than two years.
“That region of Ukraine that was invaded by Russia, it’s very depopulated, three quarters of the population has been evacuated already,” he said.
He said the bigger question is how many of these people might want to stay in Canada permanently.
Operation Ukraine Safe Haven, an organization that brings together federal and provincial governments to coordinate assistance to Ukrainians surveyed people who arrived under the temporary visa program and found 92 per cent wanted to apply for permanent residence.
The survey found just over 80 per cent had found employment in Canada, mostly within a month of their arrival and most landed in Ontario or Alberta.
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In addition to the temporary programs, the government has opened up a permanent residency program for Ukrainians with family in Canada. That program is set to end in October, Michalchyshyn said they would like to see it extended, because for many Ukrainian families their future is still uncertain.
“Will they have something to return to? Is their home village going to be part of a free Ukraine or under Russian occupation?” He said, “Until the war ends, we don’t think there can be a final necessarily conclusion to how this will end and how many people will stay.”
Mary Rose Sabater, a spokesperson for Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada, said even when the CUAET program ends, Ukrainians would still be able to apply to come here under other programs.
She said the government continues to look at all immigration programs in light of the war in Ukraine. She said they hope the CUAET program will help people interested in permanent immigration to improve their chances of being selected.
“The extended visit, work and study status offered by CUAET – as well as access to settlement services – will help those seeking to transition through these programs,” she said. “This could be by improving language skills, gaining work experience in Canada or having their foreign credentials recognized.”
National Post
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