In response to the increasing immigration flow to Canada's northern territories this, there have been new immigrant settlement service agencies setting up in these Canadian northern territories to help newcomers with the transition into Canadian society and the Canadian workforce. It is part of the Centre for Northern Families and works with immigrants to help them with language training, immigration and citizenship issues, and settlement issues.

Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, joined provincial, municipal and community partners to launch the "Tool Box of Ideas for Smaller Centres," a resource aimed at attracting & supporting immigrants to smaller communities in Canada. The Tool Box was funded through a contribution agreement from Citizenship and Immigration Canada. The objective of this Tool Box is to help smaller communities across the Canada to benefit from immigration and develop their own immigration strategies.

The Canadian Minister of Citizenship and Immigration recently announced the details of the Canadian Experience Class, a proposed new avenue for immigration for certain temporary foreign workers and foreign student graduates with Canadian work experience. Unlike other existing programs, the Canadian Experience Class will allow certain temporary foreign workers and certain foreign student graduates with managerial, professional, or technical or trade...

On June 20, 2008 Canada celebrated the World Refugee Day by joining many countries around the world in honouring the strength and courage of refugees everywhere. With this year's theme of "Protecting Refugees: Rebuilding Lives in Safety and Dignity," the day was an occasion to celebrate the remarkable determination of refugees who have lived in hardship and who now have a chance to rebuild their lives in security.

In 2007 Canada accepted the highest number of immigrants (temporary and permanent residents) to date. This is based on the preliminary data released by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) on March 14th 2007. In 2007, Canada admitted 429,649 permanent residents, temporary foreign workers and foreign students. This number is more than 60,000 higher than it was just four years ago.

The results of a recent Statistics Canada survey tracking the successes, challenges and attitudes of new immigrants to Canada over a number of years revels that recent immigrants are giving the thumbs-up to their newly adopted nation. The initial report presents a very positive picture and the conclusion that Immigrants to Canada Shows High Level of Satisfaction.

The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, Diane Finley recently announced new federal funding to assist in the settlement and integration of new comer immigrants to Canada. the new funding of $121.6 million will be provided over the next three years. This funding is in addition to the $1.3 billion provided in Budget 2006, bringing the total investment to more than $1.4 billion over a five-year period.

Most recent immigrants to Canada are settling in the 5 largest Canadian cities. Approximately 80 per cent of Canadian immigrants have chosen to settle in Canada's five largest urban centres including Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary and Ottawa. The census metropolitan area of Toronto attracted the largest share of new immigrants, nearly 3 times greater than its share of the total population in Canada.

On December 7, 2007 The Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Diane Finley announced a $38 million in funding for 15 partner agencies in the Halton and Peel Regions of Greater Toronto Area to deliver settlement and integration services to immigrants in the community. This funding, will help more than 150,000 newcomers access settlement services including help finding a job through employment related services, orientation, translation and interpretation services; help with referrals to community resources; and counselling services.

National headquarters of Citizenship and Immigration Canada is issuing a national Call for Proposals for the following 2 programs:

• programs and services to support the settlement and integration of newcomers into Canadian society
• refugee resettlement and assistance programs.

Proposed activities must meet the criteria identified in one of the following areas: Overseas Activities; Needs Assessments; Resettlement; Service Bridging; Language/Skills Development; and Social Engagement.