How much financial support does Canada provide to new government-assisted refugees upon arrival?
Executive summary
Canada provides government-assisted refugees (GARs) with a one-time start‑up payment plus monthly income support for up to one year (or until they become self‑sufficient), with monthly amounts tied to the provincial social assistance rates in the place they settle [1] [2] [3]. Independent fact‑checks and refugee‑sector sources note the monthly RAP payments are far lower than some viral claims and typically range near provincial welfare levels [4] [5] [6].
1. What the government says: one start‑up payment and monthly RAP income
The federal Resettlement Assistance Program (RAP) supplies two main cash components when GARs arrive: a standardized, one‑time “start‑up” payment to help set up a household and monthly income support for shelter and basic needs that generally lasts up to one year or until the person can support themself [2] [3] [1].
2. How the monthly amount is determined: provincial social assistance as the yardstick
IRCC states that the level of monthly financial support is generally based on the prevailing provincial social assistance rates where refugees settle; RAP rates therefore vary by province and by family size rather than being a single national flat amount [1] [6].
3. Common misinformation and the factual correction
Repeated viral posts have inflated RAP payments to multiple thousands of dollars per month. Fact‑checking organizations and IRCC spokespersons have corrected this: RAP monthly supports are far lower than claims such as “$3,874 per month,” and in most provinces the payments do not exceed typical Canada Pension Plan or other common benefit averages [4] [5].
4. Private sponsorship vs. government assistance: who pays and when
Privately sponsored refugees are not entitled to federal income assistance during the sponsorship period; sponsors commit to provide financial support equivalent to RAP minimums for the sponsorship term (usually one year) and the government steps in only in exceptional cases of sponsorship breakdown [7] [2] [8].
5. Blended and hybrid models change the split of costs
In Blended Visa Office‑Referred (BVOR) cases, costs are divided: private sponsors provide six months of income support while the government funds the other six months. The overall support levels remain linked to RAP rates and sponsor obligations must match those rates [2] [6].
6. Scale and budgetary context: program funding and scope
The government funds RAP delivery across many service provider organizations and reports investments — for 2024–25, IRCC invested over $475 million through RAP to meet resettlement needs outside Quebec — indicating RAP is a structured, budgeted national program rather than ad hoc cash handouts [9].
7. What the sources do and do not state: limitations of available reporting
Official materials and refugee sector pages describe the structure (start‑up payment + monthly support tied to provincial rates) and duration (up to one year) but do not publish a single, up‑to‑date national dollar figure in these excerpts; provincial, household‑size tables and current RAP rates are maintained elsewhere [1] [6] [3]. Available sources do not mention exact, nationwide per‑person monthly amounts as a single number in the supplied documents.
8. Why the debate persists: political framing and public perception
Fact‑checks show misinformation circulates because people compare isolated figures to pensions and seize politically charged narratives (e.g., “refugees get more than pensioners”). IRCC and independent fact‑checkers emphasize that RAP targets immediate needs and is time‑limited, while critics sometimes omit the program’s link to provincial social assistance benchmarks to inflate comparisons [4] [5] [7].
9. Practical next steps if you need the exact dollar figures
For exact current start‑up and monthly RAP rates by province and family size, consult the RAP rates page maintained by the Refugee Sponsorship Training Program or the IRCC RAP information pages; the program documentation and rate tables provide the granular numbers used to calculate payments [6] [3]. The IRCC help pages and transition binders explain program rules and eligible cohorts in more detail [9] [10].
Limitations: this analysis uses only the supplied sources. Provincial rate tables and the most recent numerical RAP schedules are referenced by those sources but not reproduced in them here, so exact current dollar amounts by province are not asserted in this piece [6] [3].