Canada has welcomed its 10,000th Syrian refugee, the government announced , albeit almost two weeks behind schedule.
A plane carrying asylum seekers landed in Toronto late Tuesday, putting the number of arrivals at 10,121 since November, when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals took office.
In a statement on Wednesday, Immigration Minister John McCallum called it a “significant milestone” on the way to meeting the Liberal’s overall pledge to take in 25,000 Syrians.
“Many people have worked day and night to bring these refugees to Canada,” he said, “and Canadians have opened their communities and their hearts to welcome them.
“Canada continues to set an international example with its response to the worst refugee crisis of our time.”
Trudeau had promised during an election campaign last year to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees by December 31.
The European migrant crisis was full-blown and images of drowned Syrian child Aylan Kurdi whose body washed up on a Turkish beach appeared on the front page of most dailies, leading the Liberals to criticise the Tory government of not doing enough for Syrian refugees.