On May 6, 2022, Canada accepted over 600 government-sponsored and privately-sponsored Afghan refugees, bringing the total number of Afghan nationals to 12,605 under the humanitarian resettlement program.
Honouring World Press Freedom Day, the government spotlighted journalists and highlighted the challenges of fostering the freedom of expression through the press, and announced its praise to be among the first countries to launch a special program that specifically helps the most vulnerable Afghans, including journalists.
Resettling Afghan nationals to Canada includes a special humanitarian program for women leaders, human rights defenders, people from persecuted religious or ethnic minorities, LGBTI individuals as well as journalists and people who worked with Canadian journalists.
As a result of Canada's goal of resettling at least 40,000 Afghan nationals, Canada ranks among the top resettlement countries around the world. So far, Canada has welcomed 6,165 Afghan nationals through the program since August 2021.