A comparative analysis of the Canadian news media portrayals of refugees from Syria and Venezuela

This research paper explores and analyzes the extent to which the Canadian news media portrays Venezuelan refugees and Syrian refugees differently. The scope of this research spans from the years 2011-2019 and analyzes the news media sources of the Toronto Star and the  Toronto Sun. The two refugee populations from Syria and from Venezuela were used due to their similar size, with each country having produced 5-6 million refugees. The analysis included examining the frequently used words in the titles, as well as content analysis of the articles to find common trends and themes. The results demonstrated a noticeable and significant difference between the news media framing and portrayals of each refugee population. Furthermore, a strong connection to, and influence from, the Canadian government during an election cycle was identified as playing an important role.

Keywords: refugee, Venezuela, Syria, Toronto, media, newspaper, government, Canada