Immigration Canada

By AR Vasquez

Canada's Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, announced this week that entrepreneurs from around the world can apply for the new Start-Up Visa Program as of April 1, a "first of its kind".

The program's objective is to attract the "world's best and brightest entrepreneurs from around the world" to bring innovative business ventures to Canada. The catch is that they must find financial backing from Canadian investors.

"Canada is open for business to the world’s start-up entrepreneurs. Innovation and entrepreneurship are essential drivers of the Canadian economy. That is why we are actively recruiting foreign entrepreneurs - those who can build companies here in Canada that will create new jobs, spur economic growth and compete on a global scale - with our new start-up visa.”--Minister Jason Kenney, Citizenship and Immigration Canada

The Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) state in their official press release that they are working with Canada’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (CVCA) and the National Angel Capital Organization (NACO), two umbrella organizations, to find and designate the venture capital funds and angel investor groups who are interested in participating in the program.

To receive designation to participate in the Start-Up Visa Program, a venture capital (VC) fund had to be a full member in good standing of the CVCA. VC funds that met this criterion and manage over $40 million in capital were automatically eligible to participate. VC funds that manage less than $40 million had to apply to the CVCA to participate in the Start-Up Visa Program. A number of factors were considered, including referrals from current CVCA members and interviews that the CVCA conducted with the limited partners of the fund. --CIC

Interested immigrant entrepreneurs who want permanent resident status via the new start-up visa program need to find the financial support from these Canadian investors to launch their new start-up business in Canada. Other requirements for applicants are that they have a minimum one year of post-secondary education and that they meet language proficiency skills at a Canadian Language Benchmark 5 in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

CIC has posted the list of venture capital funds and angel investor groups on their website.

The Start-Up Visa program is a five year pilot program focusing on the "quality of the applicants and on establishing a track record of success."

Thompson Rivers University (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By bcummins on March 25, 2013

Researchers at Thompson Rivers University are playing an important role in a federally-funded research network aimed at fostering welcoming communities and supporting the integration of immigrants into communities across Canada, including small and medium-sized centres.

Julie Drolet, associate professor at TRU’s Faculty of Human, Social and Educational Development, is leading the BC node of the project with co-investigator Paul Bramadat of UVic. The Pathways to Prosperity Partnership involves 50 universities and over 100 partner organizations across five regional nodes. The Partnership will research and support policy development on immigration to communities across Canada.

Drolet helping research immigration Canadian communities

Julie Drolet

“Historically most of the research on immigration has considered the role of newcomers in metropolitan cities of Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver,” says Drolet. “With secondary migration we need to know more about the experiences of immigrants and newcomers in smaller communities. This project addresses the urgent need to understand the social and economic issues faced in these communities and we are pleased that we are able to play an important role in this kind of research initiative.”

Drolet says that work during the first year of the Partnership includes developing the infrastructure of the nodes and consultation with immigrant-serving organizations, community groups, and all levels of government. The BC node is planning to take the lead in developing one or two proposals for pan-Canadian projects, and will also have opportunities to engage in local research of specific interest to communities in BC. Drolet notes that this kind of research will be of benefit to both immigrants and the communities they enter. “Newcomer integration is a two-way process,” she explains. “Newcomers are adapting and Canadian residents are also adapting.”

While issues such as the economic impact of immigration are often considered, Drolet says that it is also important to consider the social dimensions of immigration. “Many small communities in BC have declining populations, so it’s important to ask how immigrants can be attracted to small communities, and how well they are able to integrate into these communities.”

Drolet notes that TRU researchers will be working collaboratively with researchers from other universities and also with local stakeholders such as Kamloops Immigrant Services. “This is a great opportunity for TRU,” she explains. “Research we conduct here will develop new knowledge about immigration, and we can share practices with other parts of the province and nationally.”

MORE INFORMATION
Julie Drolet
School of Social Work and Human Service, TRU
Office: 250-828-5258 | Cell 250-574-5258 | Email: jdrolet@tru.ca

Source: http://inside.tru.ca/2013/03/25/tru-researching-immigration-to-communities-across-canada/