In 2016, more than 46,000 refugees were resettled in the city of Toronto.
The majority of them were Syrians escaping war.
These photographs attempt to show the experiences they faced in their first year in Canada.
The Toronto Plaza Hotel was a temporary home for as many as 600 government-sponsored Syrians.
Children's artwork hangs in the lobby.
Osama Aldeen in his hotel room.
Children occupy their time by playing games in the hotel hallways.
The al-Daher family fled Homs, Syria in 2011 as fighting escalated. After staying with family in Jordan for several years, they were told on Christmas Day they would be going to Canada. Until a permanent residence was found, the family made the Toronto Plaza Hotel their home for the next month.
Before leaving the hotel for their new apartment, 12-year-old Nour al-Daher asked to have her photo taken with a neighbour's baby.
The family loads their belongings onto a baggage cart.
The al-Daher family has their first meal in their new apartment seated on the floor since furniture had yet to be provided.
Nurse practitioner Ghazala Hussain checks the forehead of 16-month-old Miral al-Shehadat, who is being held by her father Yassin.
Hussain is part of a makeshift walk-in clinic operating at the Toronto Plaza Hotel
Dr. Alexa Caturay examines Miral al-Shehadat. The infant was suffering from a fever.
The Syrian refugee crisis touched Canadians from coast to coast. In Toronto, some local businesses brought Syrian newcomers onto their payroll in a show of support. Former auto body mechanic Agop Kojounian got a job in the meat department at Adonis Supermarket in Scarborough.
Members of the Refugee Career Jumpstart Project met with Syrian newcomers to help them find work.
A job fair was held at the Toronto Plaza Hotel to assist Syrian newcomers eager to find employment. Children play in the conference room as their parents await interviews.
A group of Syrian newcomers set out to experience a taste of Canadian winter at Arrowhead Provincial Park in Huntsville, ON.
A teenager pauses to take a photograph during a walk through the snowy woods.
The group gets back on the bus after a dinner sponsored by a local community group.
The last of the government-sponsored refugee families prepare to leave the hotel they've called home for the past several months.
Amad Al Hasan (crutches) says goodbye to his friend Abdullah Al Mukataran.
Al Hasan and his family are moving to Mississauga while Al Mukataran and his family are changing hotels until they can find housing.
A van carrying some of the last Syrian refugees leaves the hotel.
Just months after landing in a new country, Grade 8 student Mohamad Saer Alashmooty graduated from Military Trail PS in Scarborough.
Before the ceremony, students waited in the library. For the most part, Mohammad stood alone and looked on as other children joked and laughed.
Mohammad leads his class out of the gym after graduation.
After the ceremony, Mohammad played tag with classmate Rahim Saleem.
After nearly a year of refugee resettlement in communities across Canada, the federal government's financial commitment will come to an end.
Many of the Syrian newcomers will face tough economic realities. Bedrettin Al Muhamad and his wife Mariam have been busy taking English classes and immersing themselves in Canadian culture, but will likely have to quit their schooling to find work to support their five children.
Kevork Jamgosian was the first Syrian refugee to be greeted by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after a Canadian military plane touched down at Toronto's Pearson International Airport. Jamgosian now lives in Montreal and works at a car dealership.
Jamgosian's wife, Georgina Zires, gets two-year-old Madlen ready for daycare at their home in Montreal.