Blog Entries

PEI's Provincial Immigration Partnership (PIP)

PEI Association for Newcomers to Canada

Established in PEI on Oct 2015 through IRCC Funding (note: PEI ANC had a 2011-2016 welcoming community project through Health Canada, which provided a foundation for the PIP)

LIP Coordinator: Melanie Bailey, PEI ANC melanie@peianc.com

Municipal Leadership: Welcoming Newcomers to Charlottetown, Aug 2016

Municipal Leadership: Welcoming Newcomers to Charlottetown, Aug 2016

 

Achievement/Success:

PEI’s Provincial Immigration Partnership, funded by IRCC, is a multi-faceted initiative that involves consultations, research, strategies, working groups, newcomer advisory sessions, conferences to share information, events to connect established and new residents, and regular meetings to provide practical support and advice to the Province and multiple municipalities in the area of improving newcomer settlement and integration for retention. The PIP can be defined as, ‘an initiative that is engaging a remarkable group of leaders, who have a keen interest in newcomers and are willing to collaborate with one another in the interest of growing and retaining PEI’s immigrant population’.

Of note is a PEI-wide municipal working group that emerged from the PIP in September 2016.

After four months of collective impact sessions, consultations, and focus groups, seven priorities were identified in the area of improving overall newcomer retention. Within these seven priorities, two required municipal leadership and a municipal group was initiated.

The Municipal Working Group includes nearly all major PEI municipalities. The idea of “one Island Community” is seen very clearly in how this group is working in collaboration for all immigrant residents.

The Municipal Working Group is proving to be ground breaking and is garnering rapid results. There is remarkable synergy and potential within this group, which includes municipal leaders from across PEI, this includes: several Mayors’, several CAO’s, several Councillors, Economic Development managers, and several Event Coordinators. Each of these municipal leaders has previously demonstrated commitment, willingness to take action, or a keen interest in newcomers.

The PIP is an ideal facilitator, being removed from the municipality and able to bring settlement expertise to the table through PEI ANC staff. The PIP is able to represent the interests of newcomers regardless of municipality, while facilitating PEI-wide collaboration- where municipalities can learn from one another, share their experiences, and develop strategies for improved newcomer attraction and retention together. 

In less than one year, Municipal leaders within this group have achieved the following results:

Increased events for immigrant residents, have municipal diversity committees or meetings to provide newcomer’s civic engagement opportunities (three municipalities; one was existing), strengthen existing services to accommodate newcomer residents, assign a municipal staff member the responsibility of newcomer residents (four municipalities), organize and deliver regular municipal orientations or receptions for newcomers (three municipalities, two more are planning theirs), all are carefully considered municipal policies or strategies in support of diverse residents, and all are demonstrating the power of municipal leadership in the work of immigration, within a PEI-wide municipal working group. 

PIP Results from the period Jan 1, 2016- Oct 31, 2016

Within just a year, significant outcomes have been reached. But perhaps the greatest measure of success is the municipal working group itself, where true commitment and collaboration is demonstrated. The commitment to newcomers has never been so high; the energy and desire to collaborate has never been so high. Both the commitment and the results to date assure us that it will be PEI’s municipal leaders that will lead the way for improved integration and retention of immigrants, one community at a time.

Together, we are doing a better job of supporting new immigrants and together we are influencing one another to create more inclusive and strategic communities that are better able to attract and retain immigrants.

Strengthening the Future of PEI through Immigration - Presentation (PDF)

Federal – Provincial – Municipal – Community Collaboration

 

Collective Impact Sessions: May – July 2016

Links to News Articles, Photos, and Participants:

 

Feedback (Dec 2015 - Nov 2016):

“Great Session yesterday! The panel was excellent” – Director, PE Gov.

“It is always such a pleasure to work with people like yourself and others in your organization. That's how great things get done collaboratively” – Deputy Minister, Province of PEI

“It'll be both an honour and a pleasure for me to be a part of an advisory meeting for improved newcomer integration and retention. As a newcomer myself, I am personally invested in contributing” – Newcomer to PEI, PIP Participant

“…what a powerhouse group!” - Stakeholder, PIP Participant 

"Many thanks!!  All together we can make our life in new country much happier" – Newcomer to PEI, PIP participant

"Increased collaboration with organizations, lots of opportunity here!" – Stakeholder, PIP Participant 

"I was excited to meet many people during the event this morning and was encouraged by many people after I shared my experience" – Newcomer to PEI, PIP Participant

"I was glad that I participate in it (conference) and get to share my stories and talk to different people who are willing to help" – Newcomer to PEI, PIP Participant

"I certainly enjoyed and gained a lot of insight from the Partners in Immigration Forum” Director, Holland College

"I want to thank you and your team for allowing us to be part of such an exciting event. I work out of our NS office and I’m always telling my team how progressive PEI is when it comes to welcoming international community members" – Conference Sponsor, PIP

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