From Exclusion to Expression: How Creative Expression Supports Refugee Youth in Canada

Refugee youth use creativity to heal, feel belonging, and shape new identities as they navigate life in Canada.

As refugee youth resettle in Canada, many face exclusion, discrimination, and social pressures – especially in schools. Dr. Sofia Noori’s research explores how young people use storytelling, music, and creative expression to navigate these challenges, heal from trauma, and rebuild a sense of belonging within Canadian classrooms and society.

Key Findings

• Many refugee youth in Canada face racism and bullying in schools. These forms of exclusion build up over time and leave youth feeling emotionally disconnected and uncertain of who they are.
• Storytelling, music, and self-reflection practices can create spaces where refugee youth piece together their past and present situations to feel more supported and included.
• Higher education opens space for creative expression and self-exploration. Colleges and universities offer refugee youth outlets that support personal, community, and artistic growth.

Recommendations

• Incorporate refugee voices in policy development. Youth with experiences being refugees can and should help shape the programs and policies that affect them, especially in education.
• Offer comprehensive mental and emotional well-being programs for refugee youth. In addition to therapy, other forms of healing that encourage reflection, creativity, and identity exploration should be accessible.
• Equip educators with additional teaching support and training that focus on the needs and useful teaching practices to best support refugee youth and newcomers.

Implications for Current Events

Given programs like Canada’s Economic Mobility Pathways Pilot (EMPP) and efforts to create new work and study streams for refugee youth, there is an urgent need to consider how educational environments can support, rather than just accommodate, these young people. Dr. Sofia Noori’s research highlights how, for refugee youth, the journey doesn’t end at arrival. Many refugees face emotional hardship and cultural pressure in schools, which can further alienate them.

Resettlement must include more programming and emphasis on creativity through music, art, and storytelling. Educators, policymakers, and school leaders must integrate refugee voices into curricula, fund creative arts programs, and ensure that schools and colleges foster spaces where identity is not suppressed but explored. As Canada continues to think creatively about its refugee resettlement programs, it should also develop innovative and effective educational policies that ensure refugee youth are not only settled but also feel welcome and supported.

About the Authors

Sofia Noori is an Assistant Professor at UBC’s Faculty of Education, Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy. Her research and writing focuses on how refugee youth navigate schooling systems in Canada, in the aftermath of living in civil unrest or war, migration, transitory states, refugee camps, and resettlement. Her work is informed by postcolonial theory and developmental psychology. She is working with educators from across the country to develop resources, materials, and strategies to help meet the academic and psychosocial needs of newcomer students from war zones.

Marjorie Rugunda is a PhD student in the department of Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice at the University of British Columbia. She holds a BA degree from Rhodes University, South Africa and a Master’s degree from the University of Calgary. Her current research studies how institutions within Africa represent entrenched colonial legacies that shape contemporary social and political relations in (post)colonial contexts.

This publication is part of the CMS Migration Insights Series. The research briefs synthesize peer-reviewed, published academic research by CMS affiliates.