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Steven Kabuye didn't know what it was like to be gay and safe before he came to Canada.
He fled from Uganda, where an Anti-Homosexuality Act is in place. In January, he was stabbed in the neck, arm and stomach just a few kilometres from his house.
"This person tried to end my life while shouting," Die you homosexual," he said.
In March, he arrived in Canada and applied for refugee protection on the basis of persecution because of his sexual orientation. He's now living and studying in Vancouver while awaiting a decision by Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB).
According to advocacy groups like Rainbow Railroad, Kabuye is one of hundreds of a so-called wave of "rainbow refugees" who are choosing Canada as a safe haven.
Since 2021, Rainbow Railroad says it's seen an 80 per cent increase in requests for assistance from 2SLGBTQ+ people around the world. The like-minded Rainbow Refuge in Edmonton has also seen its membership triple in the past year as gay newcomers seek legal services, counselling and housing after arriving in the city.
The IRB, which makes decisions on asylum claims, told CBC News it doesn't keep numbers on applications in process, only ones that have been accepted or rejected and couldn't comment on claims of a spike by 2SLGBTQ+ groups.
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