Settlement agencies working with newcomers to the country are preparing for the arrival of tens of thousands of Ukrainians before the expiration of emergency visas granted by Canada to those fleeing the Russian invasion at the end of March.

Canada has issued 936,293 temporary emergency visas since March 2022 to Ukrainians wishing to work or study in Canada while waiting for the end of the war.

As of November 28, 2023, a total of 210,178 people have traveled to settle in Canada.

Up to 90,000 Ukrainians holding emergency visas also plan to arrive in Canada before the deadline, according to pre-arrival surveys conducted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and the Ukrainian Refugee Operation.

Sarosh Rizvi, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Refugee Operation, said this would represent a significant increase in the number of new Ukrainian arrivals compared to previous months.

When Russia launched its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, millions fled the country seeking safety. Canada made an exceptional decision to open its doors to an unlimited number of Ukrainians and their families by creating a new emergency visa program.

Compared to current provisions for people arriving as typical refugees, there was less support to help new Ukrainian arrivals settle. Instead, members of the Ukrainian community in Canada donated clothes and furniture, businesses offered jobs to people, and some even opened their homes to welcome them.

Today, as Ukraine approaches the second anniversary of the invasion, this great support has diminished, Rizvi said in an interview on January 17: "We do not have the same level of public interest that we had two years ago."

He also added that instead, the response has become more institutional. This means that the settlement sector is now better prepared to respond, but the expected influx will test this capacity.

He added: "I think all components will be tested, from staff responsible for facilitating settlement including hotel capacity and even food banks."

He also said that another challenge is finding places where people can live.

The organization encourages people deciding to come before the deadline to consider settling in smaller communities where housing is easier to find and more affordable.