During the federal election campaign, Prime Minister-designate Justin Trudeau made one of his most ambitious election promises -- to accept 25,000 Syrian refugees into Canada by the end of this year.               

In an interview with CTV's W5, Trudeau said he intended to keep that promise.

“I know this is a surprise to certain people within the political universe, but the commitments I made in that platform I am going to keep,” he told CTV’s Lisa LaFlamme.

His remarks are welcome news for Syrian Canadian Council spokesperson Faisal Alazem.

“We suddenly feel that our loved ones, whether it's our family or people that we know, are seen as human beings and not suddenly associated to a security risk and danger and catastrophe,” he said.

Certified immigration consultant Dina Yaziji works with the St.George Antiochian Orthodox Church, one of many congregations in Quebec helping families sponsor Syrian refugees.

Every Sunday afternoon, she meets with families hoping to sponsor Syrian refugees, helping them with their applications and making sure the papers are in order.

So far, 160 applications from church members have been approved by both levels of government.

Yaziji says they're now just waiting to get the all-clear from Canadian embassies, which do the security and medical background checks. And in recent weeks, the process seems to be faster.

“When we send [the application], usually we expect eight to 10 months to get a call for the sponsored to go to the interview. Instead of waiting eight to 10 months, we got [an answer] in two months,” said volunteer Salma Abdoulmajeed.

But the question for many is how feasible is Trudeau’s promise? There's red tape and rules – how can is he supposed to speed up the process?

Alazem says there are several options, including encouraging more family reunifications.

“It could be through temporary visas or it could be to bring them as refugees to reunite with families. That could be maybe an easier approach because it would also facilitate their integration as they already have a home in Canada,” he said.

Either way, many are watching and hoping this election promise is one that will be kept.