The numbers alone are staggering. As a result of persecution, conflict and human rights violations, the number of displaced people continues to grow every year. This figure reached 123.2 million at the end of 2024, equating to more than 1 in every 69 people being forced to flee their homes worldwide. The global refugee response system is overwhelmed by numbers, a lack of political will to find solutions and a dramatic collapse in donor funding since January 2025.
In light of the scale of this global challenge, is there a role for Canadian universities to help respond? The short answer is yes, because they are already playing an active role. For decades, chapters of the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) have facilitated the Student Refugee Program (SRP) on campuses across Canada. The SRP is a student-led private sponsorship model wherein young refugees are able to access a complementary pathway that combines permanent residency and higher education. With over 95 post-secondary institutions participating across the country, WUSC Local Committees have supported over 2,500 young refugees to continue their education on Canadian campuses since 1978.
For those holding doctoral degrees, the Scholars at Risk (SAR) Network is a collection of institutions and individuals who are dedicated to protecting displaced scholars and promoting academic freedom. SAR Committees offer temporary academic positions at member universities and colleges to those facing severe threats, while also advocating for imprisoned academics, monitoring attacks on higher education, and creating a space for critical discussion on the right to knowledge. Within these programs, there is great potential for new initiatives and collaborative advancement, as seen in the Academic Advancement and Career Alignment Certificate for New Scholars in Canada launched by SAR Carleton in 2024.
Modest scholarships and grants are amongst the other forms of support offered to displaced persons by universities, yet it is clear that there is more that can be done. At a time of such massive global need, how can we build on the foundation of past efforts to reimagine the role of universities in helping respond to global displacement needs?
Universities as drivers of change
Canadian universities have increasingly acknowledged their privileged role as drivers of positive social change. Even at a time of constrained budgets and enrolment pressures, universities can contribute to responses to displacement and bring experience and expertise to their classrooms by embracing their unique ability to aid displaced students and scholars in times of crisis.
Part of this role is ensuring their programs respond to the particular needs of refugees. In fact, for most refugees and displaced persons, arrival in Canada does not mark an end to their struggles. Overcoming language barriers, validating credentials and accessing professional networks are ongoing challenges that can be extremely disruptive for their careers. In addition to these professional demands, they also have relatives to care for that may still be in situations of precarity. In the university atmosphere, displaced students and scholars are characterized by narratives of loss.
But part of the response also lies in recognizing the many contributions refugees can and do make to their new communities. If we shift our perception of refugees from being passive victims to individuals with valuable experience and contributions to make, we see the wider benefits of increasing access for refugees in Canadian universities. As Canada grapples with challenges relating to its immigration and refugee systems, who better than refugees to advise on workable solutions? Having personally navigated the migration system, there is no one more knowledgeable about the intricacies of the system and its shortcomings. Their lived experience makes them invaluable experts in the field, and their contributions deserve to be championed both in the classroom and beyond.
Refugees also bring skills and talent that can help address labour market needs in Canada. Carleton University recently signed an agreement with Jumpstart Refugee Talent to do just this. Leveraging Carleton University’s diverse graduate diploma programs, Carleton and Jumpstart are developing a program where the skills of refugees can help meet talent needs in sectors as diverse as cybersecurity and health technology.
A necessary role for government
The development of such a new education pathway for refugees is an ambitious area of innovation, but one that universities cannot undertake on their own. There is a critical role for the federal government, especially Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), in unlocking the potential role of Canadian universities in contributing to global displacement responses and fostering the potential contributions that refugees can make to Canadian society and the Canadian economy.
This is a role that the Government of Canada has recognized and a commitment they have already made. At the 2023 Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, Canada pledged to develop an educational pathway program to enable refugees to be selected to study at Canadian post-secondary institutions and have a pathway to permanent residency. In December 2025, Canada will be back in Geneva to report on steps it has taken to fulfill its commitments at the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review meeting.
This is not only a global commitment, however, but a domestic mandate: one of the seven priorities of the current government, as detailed in the May 2025 Mandate Letter from Prime Minister Carney, is for the government to attract to Canada “the best talent in the world to help build our economy…” Refugees can bring that talent. Universities can help support and develop that talent to contribute to more vibrant campuses, partner with employers to match that talent to labour market needs, thus contributing to the economy and the betterment of society as a whole.
It is not simply charitable to protect and support displaced persons, but rather a strategic investment in global talent. It is critical that we remind ourselves that displacement, however disruptive, is not erasure; those seeking protection are brilliant scholars, masterful artists, courageous entrepreneurs and visionary activists who bring valuable skills to Canada.
The need has never been greater, and the time to act is now.
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1 Comments
At any time, there are many concurrent crises of global, regional, national and local nature. All are of huge magnitude and consequence, some more so than others, but none is negligible.
Is there a role for Canadian universities to help respond to all or some selected crises?
The short as well as the long answer is no. The role of universities, Canadian or otherwise, is not to respond to crises. The role of universities is to educate students. Universities receive funding from only two sources: the taxpayer and their students. Neither the taxpayer and nor their students fund universities to respond to crises, but to provide education. Reducing the capacity of universities to provide education for the purpose of crisis management, or for any other extraneous purpose, is an ill-formed idea. There are many organizations, public and private, that are formed to respond to crises. Universities do not fall in that category.