Syrian refugee resettlement to Canada so far, by the numbers

Once the target of 25,000 by the end of February, McCallum said he expects Canada to bring in at least 10,000 more in 2016, for a total of 35,000 to 50,000 refugees helped by the government and private sponsors.

They then pledged to bring in 10,000 refugees before the New Year, but with only a relatively modest target of 2,000 to be sponsored by government, while the rest would be sponsored privately.

"We will certainly deliver 25,000 refugees by the end of February", he said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was elected to a surprise majority in October, promising to accept more refugees more quickly than the ousted Conservatives. "But more important than that, we also wanted to do it well", said McCallum.

The first government plane of Syrian refugees arrived in Canada on the evening of December 10. Many families were not prepared to travel to Canada on just a few days notice, they said.

Canada takes in an average of 250,000 refugees from around the world each year.

Storms delayed flights earlier this week - and weather was cited by the Immigration minister last week as one of the reasons the government wasn't guaranteeing its year-end target could be met.

Immigration Minister John McCallum and Health Minister Jane Philpott are scheduled to hold a briefing in Toronto on Thursday to discuss the resettlement plan.

"This is something that we will look back at and not be talking about the timelines a decade from now but be talking about the fantastic new Syrian Canadians who have become part of our community", she said.

To meet the already reduced 10,000 arrivals target, 6,299 additional refugees would need to land before midnight on Thursday.

McCallum reiterated two reasons for the delays: the "human element", and the unprecedented scale of the operation for Canada.

"It is better to do it well and fast, but doing it well is the highest priority", McCallum said.

The Canadian Council for Refugees added that the rate at which the government was bringing in Syrian refugees was a significant achievement. The real estate tycoon-turned-Republican presidential hopeful recently said he would kick all Syrian refugees out of the United States and implement a ban on Muslim immigrants.

"Not only did this minister (McCallum) irrefutably fail to live up to the promise Liberals made to Canadians in the last election, but he even failed to meet his own lowered expectations", she said.

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