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Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Sean Fraser announced new funding supporting victims and survivors of human trafficking on Thursday.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
The federal government is providing nearly $3.35-million in new funding for a group of survivor-focused organizations combatting human trafficking, as cases of the crime continue to rise steadily across various parts of Canada.
Nine organizations in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and British Columbia will receive the funding over three years to support projects for victims and survivors, Justice Minister Sean Fraser announced Thursday.
Mr. Fraser made the announcement on the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, established by the United Nations in 2013 to push governments to take action and raise awareness about the persistent global issue.
“Today’s investment signifies an important step in our efforts to end human trafficking, and solidifying a justice system that responds to the needs of victims and survivors while putting their safety and dignity first,” Mr. Fraser wrote in a statement.
Online sex ads reveal routes used to traffic Indigenous women and girls across Canada
The non-profit groups intend to use the funding for a range of projects that include advocacy support for victims navigating the criminal justice system, tailored services in French and digital outreach programs on the Prairies.
Over the past decade, trafficking cases have soared in Canada, with both police-reported incidents and calls to national crisis lines hitting record highs.
Experts have said human trafficking is one of the most challenging crimes to detect, investigate or prosecute because it overlaps with issues such as drug addiction, poverty, homelessness and systemic discrimination. Often, victims may not know or believe that they are being trafficked.
Statistics Canada has repeatedly warned that human trafficking figures – including its own data, which recorded 5,070 incidents nationwide between 2014 and 2024 – only provide a partial picture of the “extremely under-reported crime.” Still, despite the caveat, the agency says recorded cases have consistently increased year after year.
The Canadian Human Trafficking Hotline, meanwhile, says it reached an all-time high of more than 5,900 calls in 2025, representing a jump of 14 per cent from the previous year.
Short-term rentals fuel human trafficking in Canada. One Prairie city is trying to fight back
Earlier this week, The Globe reported new findings from a Thomson Reuters report that showed traffickers have been exploiting the country’s highways and airports to establish corridors for moving victims between major Canadian cities.
By examining thousands of sex ads claiming to feature Indigenous women and girls, researchers highlighted active routes for predator networks: Toronto to Vancouver; Edmonton to Fort McMurray, Alta.; Calgary to Edmonton; and Belleville, Ont., to Edmonton.
The report dovetailed with a Globe investigation published last month that demonstrated how predators are utilizing online platforms for short-term rentals to move victims in Canada. In one case, a Quebec teenager was pressured into providing sexual services to at least 50 men in the span of 15 days, The Globe reported, as she was taken westward from Montreal through Ontario before winding up in Manitoba.
In another case that highlighted how extensive trafficking can tend to be, on Tuesday, police in the Toronto area announced more than 80 charges for nine men as part of a network spanning Ontario and Western Canada. Halton Regional Police Service Superintendent David Costantini called it “just the tip of the iceberg.”
Nine people charged in human trafficking probe spanning Ontario and Western Canada
“Human trafficking is a devastating form of gender-based violence that demands a coordinated response,” federal Minister of Women and Gender Equality Rechie Valdez said in a statement about Thursday’s funding announcement.
Federal Emergency Management Minister Eleanor Olszewski added that the crime “robs people of their freedom.” She said she is particularly pleased with a $450,000 share of the funding going toward Edmonton-based CEASE: Centre to End All Sexual Exploitation – which she noted will “help address the growing connection between online exploitation and human trafficking.”
Cristina Scarpellini, founder and executive director of Sudbury, Ont.-based Angels of Hope Against Human Trafficking, said she is honoured to receive $85,640 in funding to further increase socio-legal services for French-speaking survivors.
“This investment is more than funding; it is an investment in hope, healing and second chances,” she said.
“Together, we can continue building a future where survivors are empowered, traffickers are held accountable and human trafficking has no place in our communities.”