May 12, 2022—Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan—Newcomers to Canada play a crucial role in our country’s future and our economic recovery from the pandemic. They enrich our communities, and they work every day to create jobs, care for our loved ones and support local businesses.

To help newcomers settling in small and rural communities across the Prairies access essential services during their first year in Canada, Marie-France Lalonde, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, today announced an investment of more than $14 million. These funds will help expand critical resettlement capacity and settlement services in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Settlement services help newcomers, including refugees, with language training, finding employment and connecting to their communities, so that they can successfully integrate into and contribute to Canadian society. Following the Resettlement Assistance Program and case management services call for proposals in August 2021, 14 projects were selected to provide additional services to help refugees and vulnerable newcomers settle and adapt to life across the Prairies.

These investments include $10,113,176 to extend case management services in 11 communities in both English and French, which will help more vulnerable newcomers with support and referrals to successfully settle into their new communities. In addition, $4,244,506 will be provided to add 3 new Resettlement Assistance Program service providers in Fort McMurray and Grand Prairie, Alberta, and Winkler, Manitoba. These organizations are key to enhancing access to support services for refugees in smaller and rural communities, and to providing newcomers with the tools needed for their long-term success in the years ahead.