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Hi, it’s Dozie!
Welcome to today’s From the Editor.
In today’s newsletter: Fifteen years ago, Shivani Dhamija couldn’t find a job in her field after moving to Canada from India. Today, her products sit on shelves at Sobeys, Walmart, and Costco.
Also in the news: Quebec’s population fell in 2025 for the first time since the 1950s; Nova Scotia launches its Critical Vacancies initiative.
See past issues here.
She landed in Halifax with no network
Shivani Dhamija built Shivani's Kitchen from a tiffin delivery service into a food manufacturing company stocked in Sobeys, Walmart, and Costco. The path included a failed web design business, a pandemic restaurant closure, and a lot of crying.
Dhamija moved to Nova Scotia, Canada from India in 2011, to be with her partner, Abhishek Asthana. She studied public relations at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario but couldn’t find a job in PR. So, she took a cashier job at McDonald's, worked the front desk at Canada Games Centre, and volunteered with the Lung Association of Nova Scotia.
But she was already looking for business opportunities. Her first attempt was a website design company she marketed on Kijiji. She didn't know how to build websites herself. She contracted the work out and tried to sell. "The thing about doing a business is you don't need to have the exact skills of the job you're doing," she said. "You need to know how to sell it."
The web business didn't last. She was 25, had no mentor, and faced heavy competition. But the instinct to build something stuck.
In 2014, Dhamija registered a food delivery business. She had wanted to call it Homemade Tiffin Services, but the name wasn't available. After two failed attempts at the registry, she tried Shivani's Kitchen. It went through.
The early operation was simple: she cooked Indian meals and delivered them to doorsteps around Halifax, serving Dalhousie University students and workers who missed home-cooked food. She marketed through a Facebook page and bought groceries only after securing orders.
Read Shivani Dhamija’s full story including how the pandemic forced her to change tack ⬇️
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From our newsroom
Quebec’s population fell in 2025 for the first time since the 1950s. A 51,400 drop in temporary residents, combined with deaths outpacing births for a second straight year, pushed Quebec into its first population decline in roughly seven decades. — Full article here.
Nova Scotia launches its Critical Vacancies initiative. The province's new Critical Vacancies initiative searches the federal Express Entry pool for candidates whose skills match urgent local job openings, then connects them with employers for interviews and potential offers. — Full article here.
The Newcomers resources & guides
Where to live in Calgary: a newcomer’s guide to choosing a neighbourhood. A one-bedroom in the Beltline rents for around $1,774 a month. The same money can get you a two-bedroom in Saddle Ridge, forty minutes from downtown by car and over an hour by transit. But between paying for proximity and paying for space is the question every newcomer has to answer before signing a Calgary lease.
Credit score vs. credit history and which matters for rentals, phone plans, and mortgages. If you've recently moved to Canada, you've probably already been told you need "good credit." But good credit what, exactly? Two terms usually come up: your credit score and your credit history. While they sound interchangeable, they aren't.
Want to work with us? Check out The Newcomers Media Kit.
Want more immigrant interviews? Listen to The Newcomers Podcast.
Looking to find out what Canadian immigration program you’re eligible for? Check out our Who’s Eligible For series.
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