This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Canada, which closed in 2021.

Think Canada Is Doing Too Much For Syrian Refugees? This Map Begs To Differ

A little perspective always helps.

A little perspective always helps.

The Canadian government's plan to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees — by early next year, according to a new deadline — has been criticized for its cost, timing, and scope.

So a business student in Vernon, B.C. decided to compare Canada's efforts against those of other nations, and created this eye-opening map.

Kyle Hastings posted it to his Facebook page along with his factual highlights.

The purple space represents Turkey, which has taken in close to two million Syrian refugees at a cost of US$4.5 billion, while the green area is Jordan. The latter has accepted more than half a million.

The red dot represents Lebanon, which has taken in more than a million people fleeing war in Syria.

Hastings wrote:

"People want to ban Syrian refugees from Canada, saying $10.5 million is too much and 25,000 people over a year is too much. We have a population of 35.16 million people, in 2014-2015 we had a surplus of 1,900,000,000 dollars. Our government has yearly expenditures in the 270,000,000,000 range. Keep telling yourself we can't help.

People are letting fear of ISIS try to stop us from helping people. In this world you can never be 100% safe, but the moment we stop looking after each other is the moment we give up on humanity.

Let's continue to be a diverse country that accepts and helps people."

Hastings, 21, said he compared the size of the countries and what they've done to help refugees in order to create "a shock factor."

"I wanted to give people perspective. There was a lot of panic about the refugees after the Paris attacks and it brought out a side of Canada I did not like," he told The Huffington Post B.C. in an email.

"I hope people who thought we didn't have the resources to help see that we have more than enough. It's easy to forget how lucky we are and how not everyone is as lucky as us."

Follow Us On Instagram

Also on HuffPost

2011

Canada's Response To Syria Refugee Crisis Since 2011

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Canada. Certain site features have been disabled. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.