Canadian care and compassion

Canadian immigration news — nearly 500,000 new immigrants are expected to land in Canada this year, chasing better careers, health care, and living conditions. But it’s Canada’s support for refugees and those arriving on humanitarian and compassionate grounds that reveals the country’s true character — and one mother’s story shows exactly what that looks like.

By Maplestime Canada Desk | Richmond Hill, Ontario | September 19, 2026

Sources: Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), World Health Organization | Last updated: September 19, 2026

Key Takeaways

• Canada’s Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) program lets foreign nationals gain permanent residence under Section 25 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act
• Nearly 500,000 new immigrants are expected to arrive in Canada this year across all categories
• Amna Nawab, a Canadian-Pakistani mother of four, fled an abusive marriage in Dubai in 2017 and found safety in Canada
• Intimate partner violence in parts of South Asia runs 35 percent above the global average, according to WHO data
• After a long legal process, Nawab won custody of all four children and is now a Canadian permanent resident

What Are Humanitarian and Compassionate (H&C) Grounds?

Section 25 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act gives Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) the authority to grant permanent residence to an applicant on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.

The test is simple in principle: anything that makes others feel compassion and want to help can be the basis for a successful H&C application. Severe disruption to a relationship or domestic arrangement is one of the clearest examples.

It’s a program that exists for people whose circumstances don’t fit neatly into other immigration categories — people fleeing violence, family breakdown, and danger, who have nowhere else to turn.

Amna’s Story: Fourteen Years, Four Children, One Courageous Decision

I spoke recently with Amna Nawab in Richmond Hill, Ontario. She is a well-educated woman from a Canadian-Pakistani family — and a textbook example of the intimate partner violence that traps so many women in parts of South Asian culture, where the prevalence of intimate partner violence is 35 percent higher than the global average, and a 2021 WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region study found husbands are most often the perpetrators.

Amna was married for 14 years. She faced humiliation, insults, and spousal abuse until the marriage finally broke apart.

Fleeing Dubai With Four Children

“Dubai was my marital home for 14 years. I was in an abusive marriage. I took this step for the safety of my children and myself,” Amna told me. “My ex-husband threatened to hurt my two-year-old daughter. He threw me out of the house and withdrew all the kids. My marriage counsellor immediately informed my parents in Canada that I was under threat.”

“My brother rushed, and I with my children left Dubai after informing my husband, to reach my parents in Canada. I arrived here with four children in 2017.”

A New Life in Canada

After further therapy in Canada, Amna began to understand her own situation clearly. She consulted a lawyer to learn her human rights. Three months later, she tried to file for asylum on humanitarian grounds.

As part of the application, she had to write her story — verified by her counsellor in Dubai, her family, and friends. The lawyer concluded she should file a refugee claim. Amna surrendered the children’s passports to the Canadian government to seek asylum.

“I felt the safest because no one could take kids away with our passports with the government,” she said. She later sought custody of her children in family court and won it through normal legal proceedings.

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The adjustment was not easy. “It was difficult to feel at home. It has taken me several years to familiarize myself to this country that is our home,” she said. “The ease with this hardship was the kindness with which we were treated — from schools, to doctors, to courts. I had nothing but my truth and the patience with which Canadian officials and courts heard. It was something I had never experienced before.”

“I felt more accepted by the system than the people I had trusted all my life.”

Seeking divorce and child custody was the next challenge. It took a long time, but she won custody of all four children. They are now permanent residents of Canada.

“I feel this is a country where strenuous effort with honesty does not go waste. Canada has given me and my children a new meaning to life. Thanks, Canada.”

What This Story Teaches About Canadian Compassion

Amna’s story carries lessons, especially for women in similar situations. She tolerated emotional and personal abuse for years, trying to make the marriage work — a pattern common in South Asian cultures, where fear of the future after separation keeps tolerance levels high. But enough was enough, and she finally took a bold step: leaving home to build a good, happy life with a bright future for her four children. Today, she is living happily, and all her children are doing well in school.

That success was not possible without Canada’s immigration system. But it also required boldness and courage. Courage is nothing but an affirmative answer to the shocks of existence.

For every critic who says Canada’s refugee and humanitarian programs are too generous, Amna Nawab is the answer: a mother of four who arrived with nothing but her truth, and was heard.

Maplestime will provide updates on Canadian immigration and humanitarian programs as announcements are made.

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Does Canada do enough to protect women fleeing violence — or is our compassion still buried under too much red tape? Tell us in the comments. And share this with every Canadian who believes this country should be a refuge for those who need it most.