OTTAWA — The United Nations Refugee Agency says Canada admitted the largest number of resettled refugees last year and had the second highest rate of refugees who gained citizenship.
The UNHCR's annual global trends report shows that Canada took in 28,100 of the 92,400 refugees who were resettled in 25 countries during 2018.
The report shows that over 18,000 refugees became Canadian citizens last year.
Canada placed ninth in the world for asylum seekers with 55,400 claims filed in 2018.
UNHCR Canada's senior resettlement officer Michael Casasola says Canada has been a leader on welcoming refugees, but worries that asylum seekers may become a punching bag issue during this fall's federal election.
Overall, the number of people fleeing war, persecution and conflict worldwide ballooned to over 70 million — the highest level since the Second World War.