My Canada Podcast: Recent Episodes
YMCA-YWCA
Welcome to My Canada.
Approximately 300,000 people immigrate to Canada each year, and for many, the YMCA-YWCA is a first stop for information and help as they settle.
The Y’s My Canada podcast introduces listeners to these new neighbours by sharing the stories of immigrants in the national capital region. Learn about the modern immigration journey through intimate interviews and hear about the impact, struggles, and celebrations experienced on the journey to building a new life in Canada.
My Canada is brought to you by Build ON and the YMCA-YWCA of the National Capital Region.
Meet Daniele,a Brazilian of dutch heritage who loved the idea of travelling and learning new languages and ended up in Switzerland on an internship. After meeting and falling in love in Switzerland, Daniele and her husband returned home to Brazil, but several years later, they made the decision to move to Canada, where they began the arduous work of obtaining post-graduate degrees and completing their Canadian immigration applications. The couple arrived to Canada during the height of the pandemic in March 2020; learn about their trial and tribulations of finding employment and settling.
On this episode Amin, a former Information and Referral Specialist at the Newcomer Information Centre at the Y, talks to Daniele about her dream to live in Canada, her immigration experience, and how she ended up in Ottawa.
“[…]the language, not being able to speak the language. You feel that you don't fit, you don't feel part of that community. […] So as much as you can prepare in terms of the language, in terms of knowing what you are going to face […] And in that sense, I've encouraged every newcomer to really look for newcomer centers or for employment centers, to really have to use those services that are offered for free by the government, especially to integrate […] into the society.”- Daniele
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Newcomer Information Centre (NIC) website
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Language Assessment and Referral Centre website
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Meet Irene, a mother of two who never gave up on her dream to move to Canada. After years of planning, hard work and dedication, she received an offer for employment in Canada but almost didn’t take it. After she was reminded about how opportunities can be fleeting by her husband, she decided to follow her dream. Shortly after, Irene, her husband and children settled in Edmundston, New Brunswick.
On this episode, Fereshteh, an Employment Consultant for the YMCA talks to Irene about her dream to live in Canada, her immigration experience, and how she ended up in Ottawa.
“the limits of your dreams are in your mind”- Irene
Build ON website
Newcomer Information Centre (NIC) website
NIC Facebook
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Meet Marshall, a lover of soccer, food, cooking and a civil engineer who moved from his home country, India, to Dubai the hub of civil engineering and finally settled in Canada.
On this episode, Yalda, an outreach worker for the YMCA talks to Marshal about his immigration experience to Canada, his reasons for moving from the hub of civil engineering to Canada and his experience using YMCA-YWCA post arrival services to land his first job within his first month of living in Canada.
This is an insightful episode on career transition.
“For people applying for Canada, I would say you are not going to regret it. I have definitely not been regretting it. I've been thankful for every minute that I've been here, and I'm enjoying it.”- Marshel
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Join Brianna, the former Program Coordinator for the YMCA-YWCA Build ON program, as she interviews Julie, who immigrated to Canada as a teen.
Julie shares how she learnt English, the culture shock, discovering herself, pursuing her education and career, connecting with people and what she has learnt throughout the years living in Canada.
Julie’s story teaches us that immigration is not a destination, it is a journey that involves constant learning.
“don't put too much pressure on yourself. Take it easy. It's okay to take your time to figure things out. And just be yourself and you will figure out who you are along the way. Enjoy the journey.”- Julie
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Yalda, a former Outreach Worker at the YMCA-YWCA of the National Capital Region, shares her story about how she came to Canada during a very difficult time of her life.
Join Brianna in learning about Yalda’s beautiful childhood, her adventurous spirit, her love for her family and how she spread her wings and came to Canada.
“reach out to community centers even reach out to libraries, any resources out there, ask them for help ask them for resources and go to non-profit organization asking for support. some of these non-profit organization they can provide you with a mentor. be patient, be patient, be patient, no one's going to judge you. And everyone knows that you are here right now.”- Yalda
Build ON website
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Edita, now a director at the YMCA-YWCA Newcomer Information Centre, grew up and lived in the Philippines for most of her life until five years ago when she immigrated to join her mother who had already been living here for eight years.
On today’s episode, Edita walks us through her immigration story, working survival jobs, going back to school and establishing her career in the profession she wanted.
Edita also shares with us her advice as both an immigrant herself and someone who works at a Newcomer Information Centre.
Who better to hear from than someone who has not only walked the immigration path but also works with new comers every day.
“my advice for newcomers is to be patient. Of course, moving to a different country is very challenging. There is a lot of highs and lows. […] Look for resources in the community. Sit down, picture the life you want. Write down your goals and write the steps you need to get there.”- Edita
Newcomer Information Centre (NIC) website
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Join Yalda as she interviews Kevin, an internationally trained project manager in construction who moved to Canada with his family during the height of the Pandemic.
Kevin talks to us about his job search experience, how he came to learn and interact with the YMCA-YWCA employment services, job tips that worked for him and the advice he would give to anyone who is considering making the move to Canada.
This is quite an insightful episode for anyone looking to transfer their career, experience and skills to Canada.
“I think Canada is the ultimate leveler. Like you come with your resume, your education, you're a high flying guy, where they're coming from, when you come here, you have to, you know, the system has a way of humbling you. You have to, you know, be ready to be humbled.”- Kevin
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Join host Edita on today’s episode as she interviews Consuela about her immigration experience. Consuela, who was an Information and Referral Specialist at the YMCA-YWCA, talks to us of her mothers dream to study and work in Canada and how that led to them moving to Montreal when Consuela was 5 years old.
We get a glimpse of her mother’s resilience, courage and determination to live her dream and how Consuela continues to use the knowledge from her mother as well as her own experiences to help newcomers settle in Canada.
“sometimes in life, yes, we're going to have to go through the mountains, the ups and downs, but you'll get to your journey. It may take time, yes, but you'll get through so as a newcomer, you always have to remember you have to go through the process. And there's a process in life and not to give up. You're here for a reason; you have goals, even if a place doesn't work out, somewhere else will work out for you. And keep pushing.”- Consuela
Newcomer Information Centre (NIC) website
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On this week’s episode, Anil interviews Bassim on his journey as a young man who worked in the music industry and transitioned his career to a safety officer in the oil, gas and construction Industry in his birth country, Algeria.
Bassim later on transferred his skills to Qatar where he worked for years as a health and safety officer in the same industry until he decided to move with his family to Canada where he quickly learnt that finding work in the same field was a challenge for him.
Fortunately, Bassim loves a good adventure and saw this an opportunity to re- invent himself, yet again.
"do not fear leaving your comfort zone [...], embrace the change. When you see an opportunity in front of you [...], don't hesitate and go for it. Worst case scenario, you're going to fail [...] And so what you're gonna succeed again."- Bassim
Newcomer Information Centre (NIC) website
NIC Facebook
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On today’s episode, Raziyeh talks to Brianna, the program coordinator for the YMCA pre-arrival settlement services, on her experiences as an international student from Iran who first moved to Turkey to study for a PHD in English literature and how that experience led to her applying for a Master’s program at McGill university in Montreal, Canada.
Raziyeh walks us through her journey of moving to these countries as a lone traveler, the differences in the education systems, her integration into different societies, her love for volunteer work and life as a new graduate.
An insightful episode for anyone who is looking into international studies.
"if they (immigrants) are, they feel like they are, I don't know 70% 80% ready to come, but they are still hesitating whether to make it or not [...] I would say, just trust life and let things happen. You cannot calculate or count everything in advance, you have to be open to new chances"- Raziyeh
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Growing up, Ana had always dreamt of travelling outside of Mexico and exploring the world, so when an opportunity came to travel to Canada on a 2 month university program, she took it!
Join host Jessica on today’s episode as she interviews Ana about her immigration experience. Over 10 years later, Ana, now a Canadian citizen, shares how she ended up moving to Canada, her career change journey, the lessons she learnt along the way, as well as how volunteer work led to her finding employment in a career path she enjoys.
"if you're searching for jobs, there are great programs also for that. So don't feel like you are by yourself because there are lots of organizations out there ready to help you."- Ana
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Myreille, who left Congo Brazzaville as a child for safety reasons, moved to France with her father where she lived for 26 years before moving to America with her husband. She lived as a permanent resident for 18 years in America as a homemaker, raising 3 children, and then moved to Canada with her family to be closer to her husband’s relatives. Myreille now proudly holds Canadian citizenship and has worked for over five years as an Information and Referral Specialist at the YMCA-YWCA in Ottawa.
Join host Amin as he interviews Myreille about her different immigration, work and cultural experiences living in three different countries on top of her birth country. This is an excellent episode not just for newcomers in Canada but, for newcomers everywhere.
“being a newcomer is a wonderful thing. I mean newcomers are resilient just for the fact that coming to a new country, sometimes without families, leaving their families behind, their relatives behind starting in a new place, learning a new language, that takes a lot of resilience. And just that one thing. I mean, you're wonderful. So never put yourself down and just embrace the adventure that it is and just be proud of your accomplishment.”- Myreille
Newcomer Information Centre (NIC) website
NIC FaceBook
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Many immigration stories we hear are from people who move to Canada as adults. But what is it like through the eyes of a child? Join host Edita on today’s episode as she interviews Anil about his immigration experience of moving to Canada from Turkey at 12 years old.
Anil shares his journey as a youth, who spoke no English at the time, about learning English, his experience joining the Canadian school system, making friends, as well as challenges he and his family faced in those first years in Canada.
This is an amazing story for anyone who is looking to hear the immigration journey from a young adult’s perspective as well as for people who love a happy ending!
“I wish I knew somewhere like the Newcomer Information Centre existed … because it just makes your life so much better … don't be afraid to ask for help”- Anil
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