Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Personally Greets Refugees to Canada

Canada’s national defence minister is describing how emotional it was to greet the first wave of Syrian refugees who arrived in Canada on Thursday.

Trudeau’s government will settle 10,000 refugees by the end of the month, and another 15,000 by February.

While headlines in the U.S. have been dominated by calls from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to ban all Muslims from entering the country in the wake of the deadly attack by a Muslim couple in San Bernardino, in Canada the government has pledged to go ahead with its refugee resettlement plan. A second flight is scheduled to land in Montreal on Saturday.

They applied for refugee status in January and learned Monday that they would be on the first government-arranged flight, she said. “We felt ourselves at home”.

“You’re home. You’re safe at home now.”

For corporations, McCallum said that means money, and lots of it.

Toronto’s airport authority urged Canadians not to come to the airport to greet the refugees or drop off donations, saying: “We’re so proud that our community wants to help, but such a response would be very overwhelming for those arriving”.

While there would be less fanfare for the arrival of the rest of the families, all were welcomed by a large contingent of staff at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport and given winter coats, boots, hats and gloves before resting a few hours in a hotel.

On Thursday, Trudeau was on-hand to welcome 163 Syrian refugees to the country as part of Canada’s accelerated entry program, the New York Times reports, which promises to accept 10,000 refugees by the end of the year.

Syrian refugees receive welcome bags at the Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on December 11, 2015.

Greg Keoushkerian, 26, waited at the airport for his best friend, whom he sponsored.

“Welcome to your new home”, Canada’s Prime Minister told her and her family as they were surrounded by government workers and volunteers who seemed almost as excited to see them as they were to finally make it Canada.

“Canada has been so welcoming, the US doesn’t seem like that”. The US doesn’t seem like that. People here respect each other here.

“I am reaching out to the Canadian business community to show a similar generosity”, said McCallum.

Andrew Harris, 51, said he wanted to counter the fearful messaging about Muslims that has circulated since the Paris attacks.

Syrian refugees now in Turkey will be able to fly to Canada directly without transitioning in another country, he said, adding that 100 people were processed the first day the centre was operational.