OTTAWA — Canadians with ties to Syria say it's time for Ottawa to drop sanctions on the country and help nudge its new leaders toward a democratic, pluralistic future.
Those with roots in the country are watching closely as Canada tweaks its rules on engaging with the country.
"There's a lot to be lost if we do not support Syria at this vulnerable time," said Bayan Khatib, co-founder of the Syrian Canadian Foundation.
"The Syrian people liberated themselves and the least that the global community could do is … remove sanctions and give this new government a chance."
Syria has been led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — a group Canada has designated as a terrorist organization — ever since it toppled the brutal regime of Bashar Assad last December.
The group, commonly known as HTS, ended 51 years of dictatorship under the Assad family, which was supported by the Russian government, Iran and Hezbollah.
Canada has listed HTS as a terrorist organization since 2013 and the group had vowed for years to install an Islamic theocracy in Syria. But the group insists it wants a pluralistic society, officially celebrating Christmas as a sign of including Christians, and starting talks with Ismaili leaders.
Last week, Ottawa announced a six-month exemption to part of its sanctions to allow for "transactions in support of democratization, stabilization and the delivery of humanitarian assistance" though the order does not include development work. The Liberals also pledged $86 million in humanitarian aid for Syrians.
But experts say maintaining the terrorism listing and continuing to impose sanctions could lead desperate Syrians to turn for financial help to actors Canada considers hostile.
"Constructive engagement can actually help ensure that this process is steered in the right direction, instead of potentially ceding to pressure from more extremist groups that don't want to compromise with others within their own society," said Université de Montréal political scientist Marie-Joëlle Zahar, a former senior expert with the office of the UN's special envoy for Syria.
"There are some hopeful signs and the Syrians have been saying, 'Let's give them a chance and judge them on what they do, not what they said they would.'"
Khatib said there was surprise and jubilation when, after 13 years of civil war, HTS helped to bring about a swift and relatively peaceful end to Assad's rule in December.
But the initial excitement has given way to desperation because few Syrians can access cash, rebuild their damaged homes or launch businesses.
Canada prevents its development aid from flowing to regions run by designated terrorist groups. No Canadian development dollars have reached Afghanistan since August 2021, except through intermediaries.
Khatib said millions of displaced people in Syria could fix their damaged homes with a few thousand dollars, but sanctions prevent them from fundraising. She said the government has taken important steps recently for Syria, but could do more to advance democracy and rebuilding in the country she left at age 7.
"The situation is extremely dire right now," said Khatib, who was part of a roundtable of Syrian-Canadians who spoke with then-prime minister Justin Trudeau on Feb. 26, during his last weeks in office.
Trudeau's Liberals came to power in 2015 with a promise to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees in Canada. The federal government has since funded women's organizations and civil-society groups seeking a pluralistic society in Syria.
Khatib said she told Trudeau to drop the sanctions, boost humanitarian aid and infrastructure financing, re-open the embassy Canada closed in 2012 and send a high-level delegation to the country that includes representatives of the Syrian diaspora.
She's glad the government has appointed its ambassador in Lebanon as "non-resident ambassador to Syria," saying it can help build momentum toward democracy.
"This is a very, very fragile, vulnerable, important moment in time, where there's so much to be gained and so much to be lost if Syria isn't supported in the right ways," she said.
MP Omar Alghabra, Canada's special envoy for Syria, has said similar things in recent weeks and visited three countries neighbouring Syria last month — though not Syria itself.
A month ago, Trudeau spoke with Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa. A readout of that conversation provided by his office said Trudeau "offered congratulations on the success of ending the Assad regime."
At a summit in Paris last month, leaders from western countries and the Middle East promised to loosen restrictions on Syria if al-Sharaa follows through on implementing a multicultural society.
Zahar said Ottawa should consider sending a high-level delegation to the country. She said Canada could share its experience with maintaining a multicultural society and accommodating the views of minorities.
"Visits do not necessarily mean an endorsement, but they do signal the openness to dialogue and to constructive engagement, which seems to be what Syrians — including a lot of Syrians in Canada — have been asking for," she said.
Zahar spoke to The Canadian Press before various militias killed 800 people in ethnic violence near the Syrian city of Latakia.
Since those killings earlier this month, al-Sharaa has launched an investigation into sectarian violence and has taken steps to integrate Kurdish soldiers into Syria's armed forces. Khatib said Syrians have been watching closely, and will hold al-Sharaa to his promises of a peaceful, multicultural society.
Zahar said a stable Middle East is in Canada's interests, given how the Israel-Hamas war and the related conflict in Lebanon have reverberated on Canadian streets.
She said Western countries have dropped the ball on Syria — particularly when then-U.S. president Barack Obama failed to act after Assad used chemical weapons against his people, despite having warned the dictator that using the weapons would cross a "red line."
Khatib agreed.
"There was absolutely a feeling of abandonment and neglect by world powers during the Syrian revolution, which went on for over 10 years," she said.
"We really hope that Canada steps up to help fulfil that dream of a free Syria that we've all had for so many years."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2025.
Dylan Robertson, The Canadian Press
