In 2011, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) launched a pilot program, called the Rainbow Refugee Assistance Pilot. Between 2011 and April 2019, more than 80 LGBTQIA+ refugees were resettled in Canada through the Rainbow Refugee Assistance Pilot.
In June 2019, IRCC announced that Canada was introducing the Rainbow Refugee Assistance Partnership (RRAP), established in cooperation with the Rainbow Refugee Society. The aim of this new blended sponsorship program is to support more Canadians hoping to privately sponsor LGBTQIA+ refugees fleeing violence and persecution.
Rainbow Refugee Assistance Partnership
Under the Rainbow Refugee Assistance Partnership (RRAP), the government of Canada will provide start-up costs and 3 months of support to LGBTQIA+ refugees who are privately sponsored by Canadians. The monthly income support for the remaining nine months of the sponsorship is provided by the sponsoring group. Because the costs are shared between the government of Canada and the private sponsors, it is called a blended sponsorship program.
Rainbow Refugee Society, in collaboration with Sponsorship Agreement Holders (SAH), is responsible for submitting all applications under this partnership. The number of refugees sponsored through this program will not be deduced from SAH cap allocation.
Between 2020 and 2024, Canada
- increased the number of spaces for this program from 15 to 50 refugees per year
- added 150 spots dedicated to Afghan LGBTQIA+ refugees
Afghan LGBTQIA+ Refugees
In response to the Afghanistan crisis, Canada
- launched a special humanitarian resettlement program for vulnerable Afghans, including LGBTQIA+ refugees, in 2021.
- expanded the Rainbow Refugee Assistance Partnership to provide 150 more spaces for Afghan LGBTQIA+ refugees between 2022 and 2024.
By May 2023, over 235 LGBTQIA+ refugees had arrived through this partnership.
