One year on, we are reflecting on the success of the Government Assisted Refugee program in Canada.
One Year On: LGBTQI+ Resettlement in Canada Demonstrates the Success of State-Civil Society Partnership
We're sharing key insights from our work last year. Read more about LGBTQI+ resettlement in Canada in our 2024 Annual Report: Understanding the State of Global LGBTQI+ Persecution
The Government-Assisted Refugee (GAR) program is a Canadian resettlement pathway that offers refugees a lifeline to resettle in Canada. Historically, access to this program was facilitated through referrals from UNHCR. However, LGBTQI+ individuals in the global refugee system often face multiple layers of exclusion, limiting their access to refugee status determination (RSD), and exposing them to biased decision-making that lacks a SOGIESC-sensitive lens, leading to unjust denials. In 2024, less than 5% of individuals seeking our assistance had UNHCR-registered refugee status. The GAR partnership is unique in that it enables Rainbow Railroad to directly refer LGBTQI+ asylum seekers from its internal case system, without requiring individuals to have their refugee status recognized by UNHCR. In 2023 the government responded to years of Canadian coalition advocacy and created a new pathway specifically for LGBTQI+ refugees.
This landmark agreement enables Rainbow Railroad to refer up to 250 at-risk LGBTQI+ refugees for resettlement each year. This responsibility required us to design a program that ensures accountability, transparency, an equity.
Queering the System: The Process of Building a New Resettlement Pathway
In 2024, we built the internal infrastructure to implement this historic program, including a complete overhaul of our case intake, processing, and evaluation systems. We developed robust frameworks and assessment tools to account for the specific needs of each individual who could qualify for this program, and prioritize access for the most at-risk. The creation of comprehensive, queer-specific assessment tools marks a significant contribution to the humanitarian protection field, allowing us to engage in deeper, intentional thinking about the values that guide our work.
The GAR pathway allows us to move at-risk LGBTQI+ refugees to safety quickly, and has had a transformative impact for the individuals we serve. After fleeing Algeria and having his original attempts at accessing asylum refused, Rainbow Railroad provided support to Ahmed while he was living in Dubai waiting for his GAR application to be submitted and processed. When asked to reflect on what this process meant to him, he shared:
“Rainbow Railroad’s support helped me escape a homophobic, abusive environment, navigate an asylum system that failed me, and endure the hardships of living in a second country while my case was being processed. Without Rainbow Railroad’s assistance, there was no conceivable way I could have achieved what I have today — whether through asylum, work, or education. I’m still in disbelief that all of this is possible, and I’m grateful that so many others are being helped too. I hope that one day this kind of assistance will no longer be necessary, but for now, it remains absolutely crucial.”
In its first year of operation in 2024, the GAR team successfully referred 144 individuals for resettlement in Canada, conducted 125 vulnerability assessments, and provided financial support to 60 individuals. There is an immense amount of work that goes into preparing each case, and a single referral requires approximately 40 hours to complete. To expand protection opportunities, Rainbow Railroad also introduced the external referral program, harnessing the expertise of other Canadian LGBTQI+ organizations to nominate LGBTQI+ refugees for resettlement consideration. In 2024, external referral organizations referred 24 LGBTQI+ individuals to the GAR pathway. This year we will be able to successfully refer more people through GAR; between January and April of 2025, 62 GAR applications were completed, in support of 85 individuals.
You can read more about LGBTQI+ resettlement in Canada in our 2024 Annual Report: Understanding the State of Global LGBTQI+ Persecution