Matthew house makes room
What churches can do to make Canada a welcoming place for refugees.
“No Room” by Joy Banks
Joy Banks is an artist in Vancouver, B.C., the unceded territory of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh peoples. “No Room” is a linocut print Banks created one Advent during the Syrian refugee crisis. At the time, Banks was working in a church community in Vancouver connected to Kinbrace Society, which welcomes and supports refugee claimants. She was wrestling with the question: “Who is welcomed readily into our country and who isn’t?” She also wondered: “What gets in the way of our welcome?” “What distracts us from the awareness of the struggles of the displaced
“When you start thinking about hospitality in depth, I think it challenges all aspects of our lives from how we live on the land, who we welcome and how we embrace displaced parts of ourselves,” Banks told CC.
The theme of hospitality and welcoming the stranger runs through many of Banks’ pieces, often exploring the gifts of mutual transformation that come in unexpected places. “Hospitality for me is one of those things where the roles often get flip-flopped. You know, who’s the host and who’s the guest? In Scripture, we find that holy messengers often come first as strangers to be welcomed.”
“I don’t really like politics” is a sentiment I have heard countless times, even in Christian communities. But immigration, like many other things, is political. Canadians involved in welcoming refugees spoke to Christian Courier (CC) about how to get political by supporting refugee resettlement.
“Getting to Canada is only the beginning,” says Kailee Brennan, Executive Director of Matthew House Ottawa. Her organization runs 26 reception and transition homes across Ottawa where refugee claimants can stay for three to six months after they first arrive. Every night more than 240 people enjoy a bed, food and family-style support thanks to Matthew House.
“Housing is very expensive,” explained Brennan. “You can’t afford market housing unless you’re able to get a good job and you’re not able to get a good job unless you have high levels of English, so there are a lot of barriers that people continue to face after they arrive.”
The cost of basic living necessities such as groceries, gas, rent and housing has gone up by 18-20 percent since 2021. Canadians are feeling the repercussions of this, but so are newcomers and refugees. Matthew House, which opened in Ottawa in 2010, runs a furniture bank that has helped furnish the homes of over 10,000 newcomers and other marginalized people. But Matthew House also goes beyond providing for physical needs.
Meaningful relationships
“I wish more Canadians understood that welcoming newcomers is about much more than providing a place to live or donating essential items,” Mahnoor Chandio, the Director of Operations at Matthew House told CC. “Building meaningful relationships, helping people navigate unfamiliar systems, practicing patience and creating a sense of belonging are just as important.” Refugees bring valuable skills, education and experiences, explained Chandio. “A supportive community can make an enormous difference in helping them regain confidence and establish a successful future in Canada.”
Abdul Al-Kaf came to Canada as a refugee in 2019 and is now the senior manager of transition homes for Matthew House Ottawa: “I’ve seen so many doctors and engineers, and people who were this huge thing in their own country. But they had to leave everything behind.” Only 44 percent of refugees who came to Canada in the past decade are working in jobs matching their education level. One of the many reasons for this mismatch is the obstacles refugees face when trying to relocate for work.
Big city hubs like Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal are the most common places people land when they first arrive in Canada. According to Al-Kaf, it can be difficult for refugee claimants to move within Canada, even if a different community might fit their language or employment skills better. For example, he’s met refugees who speak French well and would like to live in Quebec, but they can’t move easily because their lawyer and paperwork are all in Ontario. Resettlement processes vary widely province to province.
Families that are separated face additional challenges. Al-Kaf has met refugees who, after reunification, were struggling to rebuild relationships with family members after years apart. “I’ve had some previous clients who finally were able to get their kids here,” said Al-Kaf. “And most of them say their connection with their kids is not the same because they were away for almost half of their lives.”
These families are living with high levels of anxiety. “There’s a mental health toll on people when they’re waiting, wondering: ‘Can I stay in this place or not?’ ‘Can I make long-term friends or not?’ ‘Will I be kicked out of this country?’”
Conversation is key
Despite these challenges, there are organizations and individuals within Christian communities working hard to remove barriers. “Religious groups continue to be leading actors within Canada’s resettlement programs and it’s important that the government recognize their role,” wrote Geoffrey Cameron in a Policy Options article. In 2021, 90 of Canada’s 120 private sponsorship agreement holders had a religious affiliation. “Religious groups are effective at private sponsorship because they motivate their community members through appeals to shared spiritual principles and have the structures and resources that can be mobilized into the field of social action,” wrote Cameron.
Dena Nicolai is a program associate at World Renew, which has partnered with Canadian churches to settle over 11,000 refugees for almost 50 years. She has witnessed this work firsthand: “Christians and Christian communities, most commonly churches, are currently in unique positions to be the support systems and networks for refugees and newcomers to Canada,” Nicolai told CC. One of the ways churches offer support is by providing community meals or conversation cafes that serve as safe, comfortable places for language learning.
“It can be really intimidating, especially as an adult, to be learning a new language,” said Nicolai.
Vote for welcome
Nicolai encouraged church communities to be creative and ask newcomers directly what would be beneficial to them, then get political: “We need to ask: how might this change how I vote? What opportunity might there be for me to speak with my elected representative about this?”
“We need better policy. We need different policy, but we also need to remember the human beings right in front of us,” said Nicolai. “We can’t improve policy without understanding the real impacts on people’s lives.”
These days, being kind and compassionate to newcomers is political. A report published in April by the federal government states: “The proportion of Canadians who believe there are too many immigrants coming to Canada has risen substantially over the last two years. As of fall 2025, 56 percent of Canadians believe the country accepts too many immigrants.”
These days, being kind and compassionate to newcomers is political.
In response, the federal government has reduced the number of privately sponsored refugees allowed into the country from 23,000 to 16,000 in just the past year. “Many sponsors, including church sponsors, are ready and waiting to welcome more refugees but are stuck waiting for spaces to open up amidst long wait times,” said Rena Namago in an email to CC. Namago is the refugee and migrant rights policy officer with Citizens for Public Justice and a contributor to the 2026 book A Renewed Canadian Welcome. Yet she believes that churches should persist. “I think there’s always an opportunity for more churches to be involved in supporting refugee sponsorship,” said Namago. “The need is far greater than the capacity dedicated by the government for these cases.”
