One in four Canadians were born outside the country, and Saskatoon is taking part in a country-wide, multi-day event to welcome newcomers to the Great White North.
Jasmine Calix, a coordinator with Immigration Partnership Saskatoon, said events will be running across the city as part of Welcoming Week from Friday until Sep. 17.
“The idea behind this is to have a community-based approach to help integrate newcomers to our city,” Calix said.
Immigration Partnership Saskatoon is federally funded through Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Calix said Saskatoon is one of the many Immigration Partnership locations across the country.
She said it works directly with settlement agencies and indirect stakeholders to find solutions to integrate newcomers.
Calix said immigrants often leave behind a lot when they come over to Canada, and Welcoming Week is a way for immigrants and other residents to come together to feel like they are part of the same community.
“When we were planning this, we wanted to make sure there was a wide variety of events that appeal to different people, and that we’re at different times throughout the day so that it can be really accessible.”
A full calendar list of events can be found on the Immigration Partnership Saskatoon website, and includes things like a cultural showcase, a pancake breakfast, yoga, tai chi, a family story time, and a pop-up market.
Calix said that the organization will be at other events already going on around the city, and that it will be handing out some free transit passes.
Between 2016 and 2022, 1.69 million people were welcomed to Canada as permanent residents.
Immigration Partnership Saskatoon added that there are about 3,700 immigrants who come to Saskatoon each year.
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