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04/20/2023
This year Canada aims to welcome 465,000 immigrants into the country—an annual influx of people that is crucial for the economy and demography of the world’s second largest nation.
So question as a newcomer you would ask yourself What services am I eligible for as a new Canadian permanent resident?
What services am I eligible for as a new Canadian permanent resident?
All settlement services can broadly be broken down into:
Help with daily life;
Help finding a job;
Help preparing for the citizenship test;
Finding a mentor as a newcomer / Becoming a mentor for a newcomer;
Language assessments and general language training;
Job-specific language training;
Specific services for: refugees, women, seniors, youth, and 2SLGBTQi+ individuals; and
Other services.
How can I access settlement services as a newcomer?
Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has compiled these services into a useful tool, with a filtered search by postal code to find the closest available services. The tool also covers specific settlement programs for women, seniors, youth, and 2SLBTQi+ individuals.
In addition, IRCC funded websites like Compass to Connect also provides easy-to-search directories of settlement services, also delivering announcements on upcoming events and workshops for newcomers.
If one is unsure what services apply to them, and what they need, they can look at settlement counselling and referrals, which will connect them with a settlement counsellor who can better determine what services may be of use.
Newcomers can also directly contact their municipal or provincial settlement service providers to inquire about available services. One of the easiest ways to do so is simply to search for settlement services in your province or neighborhood.