Canadian Sudanese community feels abandoned as violence escalates in Sudan 

Members of Toronto’s Sudanese community say they feel overlooked by the Canadian government as the conflict in Sudan worsens, despite news that the country’s paramilitary forces have agreed to a humanitarian ceasefire proposal supported by the U.S. and Arab partners. On Oct. 26, rebel forces seized control of the city of El Fasher after an 18-month siege. Reports of extortion, sexual violence, and mass killings followed. The ongoing civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, which began in April 2023, has been described by the United Nations as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. For Sudanese Canadians like filmmaker Mamoun Hassan, who lives in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada’s response has felt deeply inadequate. “We feel really betrayed,” he said. “We believed this country cared about us, and now it’s clear that’s not the case.”


Others in the community, including Iman Abbaro, echoed that frustration and grief. She says Canada should make it easier for Sudanese refugees to seek safety here, in line with the country’s reputation as welcoming to immigrants and asylum seekers. The federal government says it has taken steps, including extending stays for Sudanese nationals already in Canada and offering family reunification pathways.

But community members note that the process is limited and slow. Hassan argues that Canada responded more urgently to crises in Afghanistan, Syria, and parts of Latin America. He says Sudanese civilians deserve the same humanitarian consideration — not a response constrained by Canada’s recent move to reduce the number of temporary residents under the 2025–2027 immigration plan.

The York University Sudanese Student Association has also called on Ottawa to do more, urging coordinated humanitarian aid and stronger international pressure to protect civilians.
In a statement, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said it remains “deeply concerned” about the conflict, and noted that it has increased the number of family sponsorship applications it will process — from 3,250 to over 5,000 this year. However, the government is not currently accepting new applications to the family-based permanent residence pathway for those affected by the Sudan conflict. For Sudanese Canadians like Ismail Kabar, who joined a recent protest at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square, the urgency is deeply personal — he has not heard from his cousin in El Fasher since the city fell. Kabar is calling on Canadians to donate to trusted humanitarian organizations operating in Sudan. “Anything helps,” he said. “So people can survive — and someday return to their lives.”