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Despite Sudan’s paramilitary agreeing to a proposal from the United States and Arab powers for a humanitarian ceasefire on Thursday, members of Toronto’s Sudanese community say they feel abandoned by the Canadian government amid escalating violence in Sudan.
On Oct. 26, rebel forces took control of the Sudanese city of El Fasher after an 18-month siege, followed by reports of extortion, rape and mass killings of civilians.
In the aftermath, Mamoun Hassan, a Sudanese Canadian filmmaker living in the Greater Toronto Area, told CBC Toronto his community feels Canada hasn’t done enough to address the humanitarian crisis.
“We feel really, really betrayed,” he said.
“We feel like we’ve been told a lie about this country: that Canada cares for us as a people. And it’s just become so evident that that’s not the case.”
The civil war in Sudan — described by the United Nations as the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis — began in April 2023. It’s primarily a conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Since the RFS took control of El Fasher, there have been reports of mass killings in the city, and tens of thousands of Sudanese civilians have fled the region.
In Toronto, Sudanese Canadians like Iman Abbaro say they’re grieving.
“Unfortunately, the grief is not new,” she said. “It’s been a lot of grief, but it’s layered.”
Abbaro also feels the Canadian response hasn’t been sufficient.
“The Canadian government should adhere to Canada’s brand as being pro-refugees, pro-immigration and make it easier for Sudanese people that are seeking asylum to come to Canada,” she said.
Intake affected by immigration level adjustment
The Canadian government says it has initiated immigration, passport and citizenship measures — specifically, allowing Sudanese nationals already here to extend their stay and a family reunification program, allowing some Sudanese nationals to gain permanent residence through family sponsorship.
But that’s not enough, Hassan said. He feels Canada’s response to other refugee groups — from Afghanistan, from Syria and from Latin America — was more expedient and easier to access.
“[The government says,] ‘Well, it is now affected by the immigration level adjustment,’ he said, referencing Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) 2025–2027 immigration levels plan, which aims to reduce the number of temporary residents Canada admits.
Rawan al-Waleed is a Sudanese woman who fled Khartoum to Egypt, leaving behind some of her family in order to escape the conflict currently raging in the country. Al-Waleed says her brother is stuck in Sudan without electricity, water, food, or means of communication.
“This shouldn’t even be a part of immigration,” Hassan said. “Everybody else was treated in a humanitarian way. We also deserve to be treated in a humanitarian way.”
The York University Sudanese Student Association also shared a statement with CBC Toronto calling for co-ordinated humanitarian aid.
“We continue to advocate for peace, accountability, and meaningful action from the global community, including the Canadian government, to support those suffering and displaced,” the student group wrote.
In a statement to CBC Toronto, Jeffrey MacDonald, communications advisor for IRCC wrote: “Canada remains deeply concerned by the ongoing conflict in Sudan. We empathize with those in this extremely difficult situation. When responding to international crises, Canada tailors each response to meet the unique needs of those who require our support.”
The statement outlines that in February the government increased the number of family sponsorship applications to be processed from 3,250 to over 5,000.
Not currently accepting new applications
“[But] we are not currently accepting applications under the family-based permanent residence pathway for people affected by the conflict in Sudan. We are assessing the applications already received to confirm if there are enough to fill the available spaces,” he said.
On Sunday, Ismail Kabar attended a peaceful protest at Nathan Phillips Square to raise awareness and call for a stronger international humanitarian response.
He emigrated to Toronto from Darfur 10 years ago and is worried about his cousin in El Fasher who he hasn’t heard from since the RFS took the city.
“He got caught in the siege for the past 18 months,” Kabar said. “He had the hope that at some point, the siege was going to be lifted so that they can actually have a functional daily life.”
Many of the protest attendees have close family members caught in the violence back home, he said.
Kabar is calling on Canadians to contribute to humanitarian aid however they can.
“I ask Canadians, if they could help, anything,” he said. “There’s some trusted Canadian NGOs that are here. They have offices in Darfur. They operate there. Anything, that would be very, very helpful, so that these people can actually go back to their lives.”
