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“Only 16 per cent of the world’s refugees are in developed states,” Casasola said.

“The reality is the vast majority of refugees are in front-line countries. So we always have to be careful in certain discourse globally in terms of trying to present that somehow we’re inundated when other countries bear much larger responsibilities that they take on when refugees cross their border.”

Turkey hosted the largest number of refugees worldwide, with 3.7 million people in 2018, while Pakistan saw 1.4 million and Uganda 1.2 million.

The main country of origin for refugees in 2018 was Syria, with 6.7 million Syrians having fled across a border at the end of the year; and while these refugees were hosted by 127 countries on six continents, the vast majority — 85 per cent — remained in countries in the Middle East.

Casasola said he is concerned about a rise in harsh language about asylum seekers in Canada and in other countries. With immigration likely to be a major issue on the campaign trail in the federal election this fall, he said he hopes this trend doesn’t continue.

“It’s disconcerting when we hear a negative narrative around refugees when, in fact, we know that Canada has been a successful model in terms of how to receive and integrate refugees,” he said.

“We’re always worried that refugees somehow become a punching bag during an election, or to be used as a lightning rod and such, especially when a lot of what we hear is not accurate or fact-based.”

For example, while some Canadians worry about irregular migration, the number of irregular border-crossers was down slightly in 2018 compared to 2017 and so far this year, the rate of new arrivals has slowed compared to the same period last year.

“But what worries us is that sort of stuff is lost in the public opinion and it becomes more an emotional debate, rather than evidence-based,” Casasola said. “That’s why we’re interested in trying to put out into the public information about how refugees are actually succeeding in Canada and are helping Canada.”

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