#6. Canada hasn't been fair to temporary residents & intl students
And it means thousands of people are stranded and frustrated.
Hello from rainy Calgary,
The sun finally came out before I hit send.
If you just subscribed to The Newcomers, our From the Editor newsletter is where I try to keep you up to date with all we’ve published the past few days.
In today’s newsletter: Alyanna Chua thinks Canada hasn’t been fair to international students and temporary students.
Also: Victoria Patenaude knows why you struggle with accent anxiety.
Plus: We published a list of resources for newcomers to the city of Toronto.
By: Dozie Anyaegbunam
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Canada hasn't been fair to temporary residents & intl students
One of my biggest gripes with the dominant immigrant conversation is we often seem to disregard the human in the loop. Policies change overnight (for good reasons they say), and suddenly folks who have followed all the rules find themselves stranded.
That is Alyanna's story. She moved to Canada, paid 10X the fees of domestic students to study, excelled academically, gained Canadian work experience, and integrated into the country.
She did everything the immigration system told her to do. But by the time she graduated, Canada had moved the goalposts. The same pathway that led to permanent residency now led to... uncertainty.
Continue listening ⤵
The story we tell ourselves is why we struggle with accent anxiety
"I want to sound like a native speaker."
Well, my fellow immigrant, that's such a vague goal. Plus it isn't the biggest barrier to communicating confidently. When you move, you are dealing with cognitive overload, cultural uncertainty, and the biggest one:
The stories we tell ourselves about what our accent "means."
Trust me, I know. Victoria Patenaude, a communications coach who helps immigrants find their voice (literally) also knows. She joined me on The Newcomers Podcast to chat about accent anxiety, practical tips you can try out for building language confidence, and more good stuff.
Continue listening ⤵
A list of resources for newcomers to Toronto
All of the resources we can find to help newcomers to the city of Toronto settle in and get to normalcy as fast as possible.
If there’s something you think is missing from the list, please reach out.
Share the list with one newcomer to Toronto who might find it helpful ⤵
What am I excited about?
Our new content partnership with Black Business Edmonton. So much to love about the collaboration and the possibilities. Watch out for some interesting stories in the coming months.
To celebrate hitting the 100th episode mark, I’m working on a colouring book for kids. Would you buy one if I published it?
Have you shared our list of newcomer-friendly rentals with a new immigrant looking for their first home in Canada?
Events
Coming home to yourself webinar with Nisrine Maktabi
Who: Nisrine Maktabi, registered psychotherapist and newcomer success strategist
When: Wednesday 25th June, 2025 at noon
Where: Zoom
What: A webinar for newcomers and children of immigrants who feel torn between two worlds and long for clarity
Free