1. Who Will Help

It used to be draft-age men who needed to flee from the US to Canada. These days it’s at least 2SLGBTQI+ folks and existing refugees. It may soon be more: the number of young women who want to emigrate from the US quadrupled to 40% between 2014 and 2025. https://news.gallup.com/poll/697382/record-numbers-younger-women-leave.aspx

Gilead is coming true.

This chapter lists organizations who can help you right from the beginning. Subsequent chapters will list additional organizations and web documents related to the subject of the chapter.

As always, this book is not legal advice. For that, please see immigration lawyers, below.

1.1 “Please Move to Canada” Guides

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/pdf/pub/welcome.pdf

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada site has the current statuses of everything, all written in a Canadian dialect of “bland”. A good sample and starting point is “Settling in Canada”, https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/settle-canada.html

A typical provincial guide is Ontario’s  “Settlement.Org, Welcome To Ontario”, a

https://settlement.org/

This is a web page of helpful information, including about provincial workshops you can attend for a deeper dive into some of the techniques you may need, and the whole gamut of the Ontario Settlement Services help program.

A related effort is the Ontario Immigrant Nominee Program  (OINP)

 at https://settlement.org/ontario/immigration-citizenship/immigrating-to-ontario/immigration-categories/what-is-opportunities-ontario-provincial-nominee-program-pnp/

This is for people with job offers in Ontario, to “nominate” them to immigration.

Quebec has a similar program, “Choosing to Immigrate to Québec”. It is oriented toward people who have conversational french and want to live in Quebec.

https://www.quebec.ca/en/immigration/permanent/choose-quebec

There are also programs for french-speakers who wish to work elsewhere in Canada, part of the federal “express immigration” program. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/rural-franco-pilots/franco-immigration.html

The rest of the province and territories’ guides are

These are all quite general: their advice is good for almost every form of immigration.

Individuals also do “please move here” videos: I recommend Todd Maffin’s “I Am the Very Model of a Modern-Day Canadian”, 2025, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k7OUowPPMQ

1.2 What Programs to Apply For

• •moving2canada.com
  https://moving2canada.com/immigration/canada-immigration-quiz/?utm_source=news.moving2canada.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=resources-for-newcomers-march-1-2026
  
  An interactive guide in the form of a quiz, to see what immigration program or strategy to use 

• •University of Toronto Safe Haven Toolkit
  https://haven.utsc.utoronto.ca/index.php/a-guide-for-lgbtqi-asylum-seekers-crossing-the-canada-u-s-border/ 

The Asylum lab at the UofT has written a lovely quick-reference toolkit to immigration, with flowcharts and maps. It is aimed primarily at the community of gender and sexually diverse people, and at asylum seekers. I used some it to guide the structure of this resource guide. For example, page 2 says

• •

  

   

  Project Haven also has a map of services, shelters, pride centers and IRCC offices at https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=1Ycmn2RnXbPcceYpjzie8sCQDumshNyA&ll=52.54292139355158%2C-87.64755717922108&z=4Map 

1.3 Resources Especially for Gender and Sexually Diverse People, and for Women

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (really!)

https://www.prearrivalcanada.ca/e-library/

The government would like everyone who comes here to know what they’re doing. In part that’s to save themselves effort, and in part because Canadians work hard at being nice. They offer some on-line e-learning and a web/youtube e-library, and more importantly, they offer personalized planning sessions, immigrant workshops and live webinars in the real world.

The 519

https://www.the519.org/

The 519 is a broad-based support network for the whole community of gender and sexually diverse people, and is supported in part by the City of Toronto. The name refers to its address, 519 Church Street in Toronto.

It has a rich collection of services, at least twenty-odd, specifically including:

• •New to Canada – Support for LGBTQ+ Refugees and Newcomers, https://www.the519.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Resource-Guide.pdf 

• •Newcomer Information Session https://www.the519.org/programs/nis/ 

• •Mock Hearing Program For LGBTQ+ Refugee Claimants, to prepare you for an immigration hearing https://www.the519.org/programs/mock-hearing-program/ 

• •Legal Initiatives 

  • ◦The 519 Pro Bono Legal Advice Clinic, LegalClinic@The519.org, https://www.the519.org/programs/legal-clinic/ 

  • ◦Gender Affirming Care Legal Support Clinic https://www.the519.org/programs/gender-affirming-care-legal-support-clinic/ 

  • ◦Notary Clinic for 2SLGBTQ+ Communities https://www.the519.org/programs/legalclinic-notary/ 

• •Trans-Specific  

  • ◦Racialized Trans Collective – bi-weekly meetup group for all racialized Trans identities to hang out and build community. 

  • ◦Trans People of Colour Project (TPOC) drop-in at https://www.the519.org/programs/trans-bipoc/ 

  • ◦Trans ID Clinic https://www.the519.org/programs/trans-id-clinic/ 

• •Financial services https://www.the519.org/programs/project-unlock/ 

• •Health Services 

• •Housing Services 

• •Trans Youth Mentorship Program (TYMP) 

• •a large collection of YouTube videos are there as well, 

and links to other organizations, like

• •Volunteer Toronto https://www.volunteertoronto.ca 

• •The Amnesty International LGBTI+ Caucus https://amnesty.ca/what-we-do/lgbti-rights/ 

In particular, The 519 Pro Bono Legal Advice Clinic reports (paraphrased) that it can provide support to 2SLGBTQ+ Community Members through a one-time consultation with a lawyer, over telephone or video. Advice given is free of charge for advice and referral purposes only.

Compass Refugee Center

https://compassrefugee.ca/

https://compassrefugee.ca/programs/assist/refugee-claim-process-support/

A charitable organization, based in Kitchener, Ontario, helping immigrants navigate the refugee process in particular.

Rainbow Railroad

https://www.rainbowrailroad.org/the-latest/a-future-in-the-balance

Rainbow Railroad helps LGBTQ individuals to move to other countries to escape persecution and violence, in countries where their sexual orientation or gender identity puts them at risk. They are now receiving about two-thirds of their requests from US transgender individuals.

Metropolitan Community Church

http://www.mccchurch.org/

 A supportive church for 2SLGBTQI+ people.

 Capital Rainbow Refuge, in Ottawa

https://capitalrainbow.ca/qrhp

This volunteer group aims at “Helping LGBTQI+ Refugees Arrive and Thrive”. Notably, it provides a toolkit for preparing for refugee hearings, both as a downloadable document, and in the form of a do-it-yourself online toolkit for collecting the required information. (IMHO, this is a huge help)

Friends of Ruby, in Toronto

http://www.friendsofruby.ca/

This group concentrates on shelter for 2SLGBQTIA+ youth, from 16 to 29, with a drop-in center and a 100-bed shelter of their own.

1.4 Canadian Government Services

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/come-canada-tool.html

This Is by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. We’ll be back to this site many many times. An example is the tool above, a guided process to generate a visa application

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_By8F5jD_zM

As we mentioned above, they also provide Prearrival Canada, a guide for people to prepare to come here.

https://www.youtube.com/citimmcanada

They also have loads of YouTube videos in 9 categories of about 30 videos each.

1. 1. The “please move here” guides we mentioned above from the federal and provincial governments are also valuable. 

1.5 Refugee Sponsorship

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/refugees/sponsor-refugee/private-sponsorship-program/refugees-information.html

Canada has a program for groups to “sponsor” existing refugees who are trapped in another country. Notably the US.  The groups provide financial support for up to a year, or until they can get employment. Refugee claimants can apply for a work permit, while accepted refugees can immediately work in Canada. It’s called the “Private Sponsorship of Refugees (PSR) program”. It’s not related to family sponsorships of relatives.

Groups organizing sponsorships include:

United Church of Canada Refugee Program

 https://united-church.ca/social-action/justice-initiatives/sponsor-refugee

Canada is one of only a few countries in the world with an LGBTIQ2+ Refugee program, and the United Church is one of only three national faith groups that can sponsor LGBTIQ2+ refugees. 

Anglican Church Refugee Sponsorship

https://www.toronto.anglican.ca/diocesan-life/social-justice-advocacy/welcoming-refugees/?lang=en

Mennonite Central Committee

https://mcc.org/what-we-do/initiatives/migration-refugees/refugee-sponsorship-canada

Since 1979, MCC has helped existing refugees who have no prospect of returning home to start a new life in Canada through their sponsorship program.

Jewish Immigrant Aid Services (JIAS)  

https://jiastoronto.org/

JIAS Toronto is the only Jewish Sponsorship Agreement Holder, allowing JIAS to sponsor existing refugees.

Rainbow Refugee 

https://www.rainbowrefugee.com/

Supports LGBTQ refugees and refugee claimants in British Columbia who are seeking protection in Canada, including individual support in navigating the Canadian system. 

End of the Rainbow Foundation

http://endoftherainbow.ca/

The End of the Rainbow Foundation in Calgary, Alberta creates refugee sponsorship circles (groups of five), and hosts support groups.

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency

https://help.unhcr.org/canada/how-to-apply-for-asylum-new/where-to-claim-asylum/

1.6 Resources for Health-industry People in Particular

https://engageq.notion.site/infusionhosts

Because Canada has a shortage of doctors and nurses, a series of volunteer efforts have spring into being. There may well be other industry-specific groups, but the one I know about is Canada’s Healthcare Infusions.

This started in Nanimo, British Columbia, and has 19 chapters across the country. It’s been notably successful at the other end of the country, in Nova Scotia. There are approximately 6,000 positions open in the province, and they’re doing their best to help Americans get a job and move here. Nova Scotia Health hired 50 Americans in the last year alone.

I know about it because it was written up by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) in an article called  “A no-brainer: Why some U.S. health-care workers are moving to Nova Scotia”, at https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/american-healthcare-workers-moving-nova-scotia-9.7025866

They describe a five-step process in detail, starting at https://novascotiahealthcareinfusion.notion.site/Nova-Scotia-Healthcare-Infusion-297e74c53bba81a4b908cd47106894a6

1. 1.Get Free Advice & Check out our Communities, 

2. 2.Get a Job 

3. 3.Start the Immigration Process 

4. 4.Move to Nova Scotia (or 18 other places) 

5. 5.You did it! You're here! Now What? 

They have a discord server for several kinds of discussions, at https://engageq.notion.site/Join-the-correct-Discord-2f43dc1abb94801ebe5ff41529f494e1?pvs=25

It’s working: “Hundreds of American nurses choose Canada over the U.S. under Trump”, NPR, Feb 2026,  https://www.npr.org/2026/02/25/nx-s1-5725354/nurses-emigrate-us-canada-trump Both British Columbia and Ontario have streamlined their process of licensing US-trained nurses.

For doctors in particular

Licensing of doctors can be trick: there are programs to help internationally-trained ones, described in How To Work in Canada as a Doctor: A Guide for Internationally Trained Physicians,  https://moving2canada.com/features/how-to-work-in-canada-as-a-doctor/

1.7 Resources for Everyone

COSTI Immigrant Services

https://www.costi.org/

https://learn.costi.ca/moodle/

Supported by Employment Ontario, it provides numerous online services, concentrating on career and employment counselling for workers,

 Centre for Public Legal Education Alberta (CPLEA)

• •https://www.lawcentralalberta.ca/en/refugee-hearing-preparation-guide 

Legal support for the general public, and preparation for refugee hearings,  many videos on a wide range of subjects at

CICS, Centre for Immigrant and Community Services

https://www.cicscanada.com/en/

Volunteer charitable group in Toronto. Includes “Employment Programs for Newcomers and Internationally Trained Individuals”

CISO, Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization

https://ociso.org/

Charitable group in Ottawa, providing the gamut of services

Canada-U. S. Border Rights Clinic.

• •This group provides resources and free consultations for legal advice, online or by phone https://canadaborderclinic.org/ 

My Refugee Claim

https://myrefugeeclaim.ca/en/orientation-booklet,  

The booklet is substantial, with 26 pages of help.
They also provide “ready tours”: free, virtual workshops at https://myrefugeeclaim.ca/en/ready-tours/

Reddit Discussion Groups

https://www.reddit.com/r/Canadiancitizenship/

https://www.reddit.com/r/ImmigrationCanada/

Todd Maffin

YouTube videos about

• •11 Things Americans Must Know Before Moving to Canada! 2025,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnux5kWrvPs  

• •Moving to Canada: A Guide for Americans, 2024,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egRvtVTbPnY  

He is one of the founders of “Canada’s Healthcare Infusion”

1.8 Books about Moving to Canada

• •SADE: We're Moving to Canada! by Yewande Daniel-Ayoade  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49263990-sade 

• •He's President And I'm Moving To Canada by Stephen Cadigan, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34328348-he-s-president-and-i-m-moving-to-canada 

And a plethora of specific technical books about parts of the process, including one about tax planning.

• •AMERICANS MOVING TO CANADA  … - Tips To Maximize Your Assets, by Tariq Nadeem https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5944894-americans-moving-to-canada---how-to-move-what-you-need-to-know-for-str 

Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/ is a good place to start. When I last looked, there were about 120 or so books on the subject.  It’s popular!

If anyone has recommendations, please post them at https://codeberg.org/tokugawa-behr/Fleeing-to-Canada/issues and I’ll list therm here.

1.9 The Hard Part

In Toronto Life’s, “Dear Americans: Moving to Canada is Hard”,  https://torontolife.com/life/dear-americans-moving-canada-hard, Steve Kupferman tells about his struggles in moving here as a grad student and applying for permanent residence. As he says,  “Canada’s immigration system is, for the most part, designed to deal with four different types of people: students, wealthy-ish business people, skilled workers and refugees”.

That’s a fair description: he came here as a grad student and had to work his way through a process aimed at “average” business applicants, and currently under both load-stress and political attacks by the far right. And he had an immigration consultant that was suspiciously cash-only.

All the programs from our governments are like that. Some people fit well, or are just lickey: they breeze through. Others put a foot wrong and get stuck in the mud.

1.10 Commercial Resources

Batista Migration Law Group

https://www.migrationlawgroup.com/post/applying-for-a-canadian-visitor-visa-considerations-and-tips-for-avoiding-refusals

Applying for a Canadian Visitor Visa? Considerations and Tips for Avoiding Refusals, a good resource on applying for a Canadian Visitor Visa, with dos and don’ts.

See 1.9, Law Firms. https://www.migrationlawgroup.com/

ICC Immigration

https://iccimmigration.ca/new-express-entry-category-for-physicians-with-canadian-work-experience-pr-pathway-explained-2026-update/

For-money consultancy, with a good article on an express entry program for doctors

Immigration.ca

https://immigration.ca/

A lawyer-sponsored advice site, sponsored by the Colin R. Singer law office.

moving2canada.com

https://moving2canada.com/

This is a free consultancy, funded by contributions and commissions from the services it recommends (eg, The Bank of Nova Scotia). One of the services is it’s own sister company, Outpost Recruitment.

It has a number of step-by-step guides, which will be mentioned throughout the book.

• • ◦A quiz on what immigration program or strategy to go for
    https://moving2canada.com/immigration/canada-immigration-quiz/?utm_source=news.moving2canada.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=resources-for-newcomers-march-1-2026 

  • ◦A list of which programs are open
    https://moving2canada.com/immigration/pnp/pnp-canada-live-tracker/?utm_source=news.moving2canada.com&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=resources-for-newcomers-march-1-2026 

  • ◦They provide a large collection of short videos at https://www.youtube.com/c/Moving2Canadainfo 

Visa HQ

https://www.visahq.com/canada/

 A for-money consultancy with some initial steps and guides available free, funded by affiliate marketing and charging for visa application processing.

1.11 Immigration Law Firms

For non-contentious immigration cases, there is a large community of immigration consultants. Their college has a list at https://college-ic.ca/

For the kind of cases we’re looking at, there are a number of law firms specializing in immigration. They’re there to help you from getting stuck in an overloaded and/or bureaucratic process.  

Four firms which have specifically 2SLGBTQI+ experience, with their contact information, are:

The Canadian Bar Association, Ontario Immigration law section and Ontario Immigration Lawyers Association have membership lists at, respectively,

• •https://cba.org/ontario 

• •https://cila.co/directory/ 

A colleague speaks well of Battista, and Smith was the lawyer in Jenkel v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2025 FC 1178 (CanLII), which was a rare case of Canada giving refuge to a US resident.

Organizations like the519 will provide referrals to firms they have found helpful.

If anyone has specific experiences, post them at https://codeberg.org/tokugawa-behr/Fleeing-to-Canada/issues and I’ll add them here.

1.12 Planning Ahead

This is a live document. These links will change. Always refer to the government pages for current rules. And please file an issue at https://codeberg.org/tokugawa-behr/Fleeing-to-Canada/issues so I’ll know what needs updating.

In Short