What one-time and ongoing settlement services and financial supports does the Government of Canada provide to refugees and when did amounts last change?
Executive summary
Canada provides refugees a mix of one-time and ongoing settlement services: immediate essential services and a one-time household/start-up allowance, monthly income support generally for up to one year (or until self‑sufficiency), temporary accommodations and port‑of‑entry reception, and targeted loans and health coverage; these supports are delivered mainly through the Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP), the Settlement Program and complementary federal initiatives (Interim Federal Health Program, Immigration Loans Program) [1] [2] [3].
1. What the core one‑time payments are and who pays them
The principal one‑time payment is a household start‑up or start‑up costs allowance intended to cover immediate necessities on arrival; it is typically standardized and categorized under RAP start‑up costs, delivered by service providers funded by IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) and in practice matched by private sponsors where applicable [4] [5] [6].
2. Ongoing monthly income support: duration and how amounts are set
Government‑assisted refugees receive monthly income support through RAP for up to one year after arrival or until they can support themselves, whichever comes first; the monthly level is generally based on prevailing provincial social assistance rates in the province of settlement, meaning amounts vary by province rather than being a single national rate [1] [7].
3. How private sponsorship and blended models change the financial picture
Private sponsors (PSR) and Blended Visa Office‑Referred (BVOR) arrangements alter who pays what: BVOR matches six months of government RAP income support with six months from private sponsors, while PSR sponsors typically provide up to 12 months of financial and social support (and may cover start‑up costs), and Joint Assistance Sponsorship (JAS) cases share costs when extra supports are needed [7] [6] [8].
4. Non‑cash and programmatic settlement services funded by government
Beyond direct payments, IRCC funds immediate essential services—port‑of‑entry reception, temporary accommodation, help finding permanent housing, orientation to life in Canada, referrals to community services, language and employment supports—and funds service provider organizations to deliver these in the first four to six weeks and beyond through the Settlement Program [5] [9] [10].
5. Loans, health coverage and other financial instruments
Separate from RAP cash supports, the federal Immigration Loans Program provides loans to resettled refugees to cover landing fees, travel and resettlement costs; the Interim Federal Health Program provides temporary health coverage to resettled refugees, protected persons and refugee claimants—both are federal supports distinct from RAP income support and settlement services [3] [2].
6. Funding scale, recent funding cycles and last known changes
IRCC reported $1.17 billion invested for 2024–2025 to meet settlement needs (outside Quebec) and conducted a national Call for Proposals for Settlement and RAP, with new three‑year contribution agreements beginning April 1, 2025; programmatic adjustments—such as phasing out certain language classes by September 2026 due to funding and level changes—were announced in committee materials [2] [5]. Public reporting confirms calls for proposals for CFP 2024 and CFP 2019 deadlines, showing that service provider funding is periodically reissued [9]. Specific RAP rate tables and the exact most recent dollar amounts by province are published separately (for example via RAP rate listings hosted by sponsorship training organizations), and those tables reflect provinceally indexed monthly figures [4].
7. Limits, gaps and where reporting does not provide a dollar figure
Available sources make clear the structure, duration and delivery channels of one‑time and ongoing supports but do not consolidate a single national dollar figure for start‑up or monthly payments because monthly RAP income support is tied to provincial social assistance rates and start‑up amounts can be standardized but vary in reporting; for the latest per‑province amounts one must consult the up‑to‑date RAP rate tables or IRCC rate notices, which are outside the scope of the current source set [4] [1]. Advocacy and parliamentary research documents describe who bears costs under different sponsorship models and note program changes over time, but they do not replace official, province‑specific rate tables [6] [11].