Investing in refugee access to higher education in colleges and universities is one of Canada’s most powerful, underused tools for helping displaced people move from basic survival to stable, dignified lives and for advancing global poverty reduction from within Canada’s borders. Refugees are disproportionately affected by poverty, both before resettlement and after arrival, and many families struggle to afford housing, food and education in host countries. In this context, refugee access to higher education in Canada is emerging as a crucial pathway from emergency support to long-term inclusion, reducing poverty risk for newcomers and strengthening their ability to support relatives living in crisis situations abroad.

From Survival to Stability Through Education

Across Canada, about 20% of refugees of working age enroll in a college or university program within their first year in the country, far below the participation of other immigrant groups. Refugees who access Canadian post-secondary education witness drastic gains in employment and income. A longitudinal study showed that 84% of government-assisted refugees and 89% of privately sponsored refugees who pursued post-secondary studies were employed within eight years of their arrival, compared to 57% and 66% who did not.

These outcomes highlight how access to higher education can significantly improve employment prospects and earnings over time for refugees. These labor outcomes can directly translate into reduced poverty risk for refugee households and better financial support sent to relatives who are living in crisis situations abroad. Globally, remittances from migrants and refugees to low- and middle-income countries have become one of the largest sources of external finance, often exceeding official development assistance in many countries (p. 4). This illustrates how better jobs in Canada can contribute to poverty reduction worldwide. As refugees gradually move from precarious, low-wage jobs into stable higher-wage positions, they obtain the income, networks and confidence to contribute to the development of their country of origin through remittances, business links and advocacy. In this way, Canada’s higher education system functions as an engine of global development policy that works through students rather than through large aid programs, with this pathway serving as a particularly high-impact lever for poverty reduction.

Barriers to Post-Secondary Access

Despite this potential, many refugees face hard barriers on the road to college or university. Research indicates a cluster of obstacles: limited academic English or French, difficulties getting foreign high school or university credentials recognized, and high tuition and living costs. For young adult refugees balancing survival jobs, family responsibilities and trauma-related mental health needs, lengthy language upgrading or prerequisite courses can make higher education feel out of reach and can limit access.

Structural walls compose these personal challenges. Complex application systems, lack of tailored guidance counseling and uncertainty about immigration status or financial aid can delay or derail study plans. Even when refugees qualify for admission, they may be excluded from provincial student aid or charged international-student fees, effectively pricing them out of classrooms that could transform their futures and further constraining their access to higher education. These barriers keep many refugees trapped in low-income work and increase their vulnerability to long-term poverty in Canada and globally, since they have fewer resources to support family members who remain in conflict-affected settings.

Bridging Programs, Scholarships and Mentoring

Those walls are gradually beginning to be torn down with promising initiatives to close this gap (p. 15). Bridge-training programs through post-secondary education help internationally trained newcomers upgrade their qualifications, improve language skills and meet licensing requirements in regulated professions. These programs combine coursework, mentoring and networking with employers, giving refugee learners a clearer pathway into fields like health, engineering and education and opening doors to better-paid, more secure jobs that reduce poverty risk over the long term.

Targeted scholarships and sponsorship schemes are also expanding refugee access to Canadian campuses. The Student Refugee Program, coordinated by World University Service of Canada (WUSC), resettles more than 150 refugee youth to Canada each year and provides them with a full year of financial and social support as they begin university or college studies. Local WUSC committees, which are often led by students, offer day-to-day mentoring, help with housing and language practice, and a built-in community that reduces isolation to improve retention. Early evaluations show that graduates of such programs transition into stable employment and leadership roles at higher rates, multiplying the impact of each sponsored student over a lifetime and demonstrating how targeted initiatives can widen access to higher education. As these graduates move into professional careers, their ability to support relatives in low-income and crisis-affected countries grows, creating a direct link between refugee education in Canada and global poverty reduction.

Why Refugee Education Is Smart Poverty Policy

The facts are overwhelming: refugees who are able to study in Canada are much more likely to find decent work and to avoid poverty in the long term. Compared to other immigrant groups, the employment and earnings premium for refugees with a Canadian post-secondary degree is significantly higher, which means that every additional seat a refugee student occupies in a post-secondary program will yield disproportionately large benefits.

The investment in refugee access to colleges and universities is not just a humanitarian imperative but a high-leverage poverty reduction strategy that transcends Canada’s borders for a country that is dedicated to the Sustainable Development Goals. Canada can use its campuses to launch the next generation of refugee nurses, engineers, teachers and advocates through scaling up bridging programs, scholarships and community-based mentoring. This establishes a ripple effect of people who will help families and communities rise out of poverty, both in their new home and in their countries of origin, and it reinforces the notion that refugee access to higher education in Canada is one of the country’s most effective, underutilized poverty reduction tools.

– Charles Bakar

Charles is based in Montréal, Canada and focuses on Good News and Politics for The Borgen Project.

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