SPRING Research Project Podcast

In Quebec, one of the ten Canadian provinces, the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program looks somehow differently. In 1997, the Government of Quebec assumed responsibility for the implementation of the program in the province. As a result, in the subsequent years a distinct approach to refugee sponsorship emerged there, with some similarities but also some notable differences with the rest of Canada. In this episode of our podcast series, we discuss the particularities of refugee sponsorship i

In this episode, we are joined by Lynn Weaver (senior program manager at the Canadian Sponsorship Agreement Holders Association) to discuss the benefits and risks of the bureaucratization of refugee sponsorship. The staring point of the conversation is the relationship between civil society and government and the gradual evolution of the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program. We then zoom in on different aspects of the PSRP, such as the requirements for sponsoring organizations and individual

The mobilizing effect of media coverage on refugee sponsors has been widely acknowledged, especially in the context of the 2015-2016 resettlement of Syrian refugees to Canada. At the same time, the broader role that media plays in refugee sponsorship programs is rarely discussed. For example, can one use media strategically in piloting and growing refugee sponsorship programs, and if so, how? To learn more about this topic, we have invited Louisa Taylor. An award-winning journalist in her previo

Most privately sponsored refugees live in large cities like Toronto, Winnipeg, and Ottawa. However, many also settle in small towns and rural areas across Canada. Evidence on rural sponsorship is quite limited and generally confirms the nuanced findings from research on rural resettlement. On the one hand, rurality is linked to peaceful life, relatively low cost of living, and strong community ties. On the other hand, it also relates to important structural issues, such as lack of job and study

Conflict is a natural and inevitable part of human interaction, and refugee sponsorship is no exception. Conflict situations involving refugee newcomers and their sponsors may emerge at every stage of the sponsorship process for different reasons: misaligned expectations, misunderstandings, miscommunication, confusion, cultural differences, different opinions, personality clashes, and so on. They may negatively affect the settlement of newcomers and the motivation of sponsors. In this episode, w

In this episode, we discuss yet another quite unique element of the Canadian sponsorship model: the pre-arrival communication between sponsors and sponsored refugee newcomers. In most sponsorship programs, the first contact between sponsors and sponsored refugees is when newcomers arrive in their country of destination. In Canada, however, it is quite common that sponsors and sponsored refugees communicate extensively before the moment of arrival. This communication may have a lot of benefits, a