Up to 175 Ukrainian refugees set to arrive in Newfoundland from Poland

A plane from Poland chartered by the provincial government is carrying up to 175 Ukrainian refugees as a part of a massive effort led by the provincial government.

It was less than a month after Russia invaded Ukraine when Kelly Power got a message from an old friend asking if she’d take in her 16-year-old brother, that is if he could make it to Newfoundland.

The boy was in Ukraine, and his sister was trying to get him out. She’d lived in Newfoundland and worked with Power at a pharmacy four years before. They got along and stayed friends, even after the sister moved away.

Power, 52, said she didn’t think twice about agreeing to take the boy in.

“If I said no, he wouldn’t have anywhere to go,” she said in a recent interview. “I was his way out.”

The teenager is now scheduled to arrive in Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital on Monday, aboard a plane from Poland chartered by the provincial government and carrying up to 175 Ukrainian refugees. The flight is part of a massive effort led by the provincial government and buoyed by a network of unaffiliated volunteers and people like Power, working to bring Ukrainians to Canada’s easternmost province and ensure they’re safe, housed and cared for.

The province opened a satellite office in Warsaw, Poland, in March to help Ukrainians fleeing Russian attacks resettle in Newfoundland and Labrador, beating Ottawa to the punch by almost two months.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday that the federal government would open an office in Warsaw to help Ukrainians come to Canada, and made a surprise visit to the capital city of Kyiv on Sunday to formally reopen the Canadian Embassy.

Newfoundland and Labrador Immigration Minister Gerry Byrne insists the plane arriving Monday is the first government-chartered flight to bring Ukrainian refugees to Canada. His department had not confirmed how many would be on board as of Sunday evening, but a spokesperson said Friday 175 was the “working number.”