The Canadian Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Health Care

What The Canadian Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Health Care does

The Canadian Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Health Care (CCRIHC) is a registered Canadian charity founded in 1999 in Scarborough, Ontario, that delivers free humanitarian medical, dental, mental-health, and social-care services to uninsured and precariously insured refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented newcomers, and Canadian permanent residents in their 90-day coverage gap. Volunteers — historically starting in a borrowed church basement with a handful of doctors and now a 70-member interdisciplinary team — provide primary care, mental health counselling, paediatric care (via the POP Clinic), women's healthcare (via the SWAN Clinic), diabetes and vascular care, chiropody, dietitian, social work, and dental services, supplemented by evening and weekend Community Volunteer Clinics, mobile/pop-up clinics in shelters and places of worship, and a house-call program. Operating as a free-to-patient service with no health-card requirement, CCRIHC funds its operations through a hybrid model in which government support has covered 40% of costs since 2018 and donations plus corporate sponsorships cover the remaining ~60%, with more than 90% of donations directed to patient care and the organization's leadership (notably Co-Founder Dr. Paul Caulford) remaining active as volunteer physicians.

The organization has scaled through strategic embedded partnerships: Hospital for Sick Children (pediatrics since 2007), Mt. Sinai Hospital / University of Toronto Global Health Program (women's health via Dr. Rachel Spitzer), Scarborough Health Network (vaccinations), United Way (community response), and Global Medic (humanitarian logistics). During the COVID-19 pandemic CCRIHC administered 70,000 vaccines, ran 200+ pop-up clinics, made 9,000+ house calls, and onboarded 6,000+ new patients — demonstrating operational agility and a community-rooted distribution that mainstream providers lack. Outreach and donor development now include the Canadian Health Equity podcast, a 25-year Journey of Healing Gala, and a published newsroom; in May 2024 the Northpine Foundation invested CAD $1.1 million to expand primary care capacity, screening, and community navigation. Over its 25-year history the clinic has served more than 40,000 refugees across 20,000+ visits in 2025 alone, with women representing 70% of those treated and uninsured children/youth representing roughly a third of visits.

Name

The Canadian Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Health Care

Legal name

The Canadian Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Healthcare

Website

https://healthequity.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Canadian Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Health Care is a registered Canadian charity operating volunteer-driven free clinics in Scarborough, Ontario, delivering primary, dental, mental-health, and social care to uninsured refugees, asylum seekers, and other newcomers to Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Refugee and Immigrant Healthcare Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Social Assistance (624)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAFAGAN

Primary Care for Underserved Populations (e.g., migrant, homeless, refugee clinics)

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Healthcare Providers & Systems/Primary Care & Community Health Providers

SECONDARYHLAFACAI

Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) & Public Behavioral Health Providers

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Healthcare Providers & Systems/Behavioral Health & Substance Use Treatment

Keywords

• Refugee healthcare services
• Immigrant health programs
• Free primary care clinics
• Community dental services
• Humanitarian medical care

Headquarters

HQ city

Scarborough

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: Government support covers 40% of funds needed to provide medical, dental and social/mental health care services. This support was first received in 2018, almost 20 years after first opening clinics.
2. Public Donations: Public donations and corporate donors cover the remaining 60% shortfall. Over 90% of all donations go directly to support newcomer patient care including testing, nurses, NPs, medical supplies, dental care, mental health care, and diagnostic testing.
3. Event Fundraising: Special events such as the 25 Year Gala provide fundraising opportunities. Ticket cost was $250 per person for the Journey of Healing Gala.
4. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate sponsorship opportunities available for events and ongoing support of healthcare services for refugees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

CCRIHC provides free, volunteer-staffed medical, dental, mental health, and social services to medically uninsured refugees, asylum seekers, undocumented newcomers, and precariously insured immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area. Its portfolio of programs includes primary care, pediatrics, women's health (SWAN), diabetes management, chiropody, dietitian services, mental health counselling, social work, and dental care, delivered through a Scarborough clinic, evening/weekend Community Volunteer Clinics, mobile pop-ups, and house calls.

Product overview

The Canadian Centre for Refugee & Immigrant Healthcare (CCRIHC) is a non-profit humanitarian healthcare organization offering a portfolio of interconnected clinic programs and services. The core offering consists of volunteer-driven free medical clinics providing General Medicine & Primary Care, supported by specialized programs including the Gavin Pape Diabetes and Vascular Health Clinic, Chiropody Foot Care Program, Dietitian Program, Mental Health Care & Counselling, Pediatrics Outreach Program, SWAN Women's Clinic, Social Work, and Urban Dental Clinic. These programs work collaboratively, with the Dietitian Program integrated into the Diabetes clinic, and referrals connecting patients across services. The organization also produces the Canadian Health Equity Podcast as an outreach and awareness initiative.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Canadian Health Equity: A podcast launched by CCRIHC to share stories from staff and guests connected to the centre, examine systemic issues creating healthcare barriers, and build community around healthcare equity issues affecting refugees and newcomers.

Products and services

• Chiropody Foot Care Program Free foot care providing assessment and management of foot pain, diabetic foot assessment and education, infection and wound care, and treatment of skin lesions and toenail deformities, with emphasis on preventing lower limb amputations among persons with diabetes and/or vascular diseases. Target users are uninsured refugees, immigrants, and medically underserved newcomers.
• General Medicine & Primary Care Clinics Comprehensive primary medical care including diagnosis, treatment, and management of acute and chronic medical problems for children, youth, and adults, plus vaccines and specialist referrals. Delivered free by volunteer nurses, nurse practitioners, and physicians to uninsured refugees and displaced migrants.
• Gavin Pape Diabetes and Vascular Health Clinic Diabetes care and management clinic providing screening, diagnosis, treatment, education, prevention, and referrals to dietitian, chiropody, and specialists for refugees and medically uninsured migrants at risk of or living with diabetes.
• Dietitian Program Nutritional and dietary assessment services supporting food security, acute and chronic disease management, improved diabetes control, and obesity management, provided at no fee to all CCRIHC patients.
• Mental Health Care & Counselling Program Free trauma-informed counselling providing safe, non-judgmental, and confidential mental health support for refugees and displaced migrants who have experienced loss and traumatic events, delivered in culturally appropriate and individual-centred approaches.
• Pediatrics Outreach Program (POP Clinic) Free specialist clinic for uninsured and precariously insured refugee children and youth, providing paediatric consultation, specialist care, and immunizations, operated in partnership with Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children.
• Scarborough Women's At-Risk Newcomer's (SWAN) Clinic Safe, confidential, and culturally sensitive healthcare home for refugee and medically uninsured women providing assessments, diagnosis, treatment, cancer screening, family planning, FGM medical care, mental health support, and refugee claim assistance.
• Social Work Program Social work support assisting refugees with food security, housing and resettlement, Canadian status applications, access to community resources, employment and skills development, and form completion.
• Urban Dental Clinic Low-cost urgent dental care provided by volunteer dentists and hygienists, offering emergency procedures, X-rays, extractions, fillings, and dentures to low-income uninsured Torontonians.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 40,000 refugees served in 25 years
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and significant.

• Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2007Partnership since 2007 with volunteer team of paediatric residents and paediatrician staff to open POP Clinic, Canada's first free specialist clinic for vulnerable refugee kids and youth. Provides paediatric consultation, specialist care, and immunizations for children and youth new to Canada.
• Dr. Rachel Spitzer (Mt. Sinai Hospital / University of Toronto Global Health Program)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerObstetrician and Gynaecologist from Mt. Sinai Hospital and University of Toronto's Global Health Program approached CCRIHC to offer specialist support for the SWAN clinic, which continues today through her team. Provides women's healthcare including FGM care, cancer screening, family planning, and mental health support.
• Scarborough Health NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership during COVID-19 pandemic for vaccination campaign. CCRIHC with support from hundreds of volunteers and Scarborough Health Network administered 70,000 COVID-19 vaccines to hard-to-reach populations including refugees, undocumented migrant workers, homeless, and frontline factory workers.
• Global MedicsignificantOthersProvided field tents for outdoor COVID-19 treatment clinics during pandemic. Outdoor clinics set up in tents provided by Global Medic had transmission rates ten times lower than indoors.
• United WaycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partnership with United Way as part of response to escalating COVID-19 needs. United Way supports community response efforts for marginalized populations.
• Provincial GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with provincial government vaccine table during COVID-19 pandemic. Provincial government recognized CCRIHC efforts and sought expertise in establishing best practices for vaccinating marginalized communities.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Canadian Red Cross: National humanitarian organization providing health and emergency services, including to newcomers. Comparable in donor-driven humanitarian health delivery and partnerships with governments, though at far larger scale and with a broader mandate.
• Médecins Sans Frontières Canada: Canadian branch of the international humanitarian medical organization. Comparable humanitarian-medicine mission and donor-driven model, though operating at global scale rather than focused on a single GTA clinic.

Direct peers

• Romero House: Toronto refugee housing and support organization serving newly arrived refugee claimants with settlement assistance. Comparable newcomer-services focus and GTA footprint, although focused on housing rather than medical care.
• Crossroads Clinic (Women's College Hospital): Toronto-based refugee health clinic embedded in Women's College Hospital serving newly arrived refugees and uninsured patients with primary care, mental health, and women's health services — directly competing for the same patient population in the GTA.
• Sanctuary Refugee Health Centre: Volunteer-driven refugee health clinic in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. Closest Canadian comparable to CCRIHC — same model of free medical care for uninsured refugees and newcomers, similar reliance on volunteer clinicians and donor funding.
• Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture: Toronto-based non-profit providing medical, psychological, and social services to refugee claimants and survivors of torture. Strong overlap with CCRIHC's trauma-informed counselling and refugee medical care mission.
• COSTI Immigrant Services: Large Toronto-area non-profit delivering settlement, language, employment, and newcomer-support services. Comparable in serving refugees and uninsured immigrants in the GTA, though with a much broader settlement-services mandate rather than direct medical care.
• FCJ Refugee Centre: Toronto non-profit serving refugees and newcomers with settlement, documentation, and health-navigation support. Highly comparable in target population and the 'community navigator' role CCRIHC is now expanding into.

Emerging players

• Inner City Health Associates: Toronto-based physician group providing care to homeless and precariously housed individuals, including many newcomers and uninsured patients. Comparable mission of healthcare for marginalized populations in Toronto, though with a broader homelessness focus.

Regional players

• Vancouver Coastal Health Refugee Health Program: Publicly funded refugee health clinic network serving newcomers in the Vancouver area. Operates a similar primary-care model for refugees/claimants but is publicly funded rather than donor-dependent, and is geographically separate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/healthequitycan
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UChNp-A5KlJLoO8Dr6SSYe4Q?
• Facebookfacebook.com/healthequity.ca
• Instagraminstagram.com/healthequity.ca

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Canadian Centre for Refugee and Immigrant Health Care