New Canadians Centre

In partnership with the New Canadians Centre, located in Peterborough, the goal of this research is to find ways to assist immigrants with entrepreneurship which will in turn lead to growth of the economy of the City of Peterborough as a whole. As Canadians, we live in a highly multicultural society in which immigration is the norm. Many of the immigrants that immigrate to Canada choose Peterborough to call their new home. The New Canadians Centre works closely with immigrants in Peterborough to help their transition to the city go as smoothly as possible, while also drawing attention to programs and opportunities in Peterborough that will help with economic, health, along with social needs. Immigrants have established businesses in many cities within Canada, thereby contributing to Canada's economy, society and culture. The City of Peterborough currently has the highest percentage of immigrant entrepreneurs in Canada; it is therefore especially important to focus on implementing programs in order to better assist new and potential immigrant entrepreneurs in Peterborough to help them to realize their full potential in the community. This research will focus specifically on immigrant entrepreneurship in the City of Peterborough, while drawing from identified best practices of programs and supports available for immigrant entrepreneurs in other communities.

This short document offers key findings and conclusions from research I carried out from 2015 to 2017 as part of my Master's degree at Trent University in Canadian and Indigenous Studies. The purpose of the research was to document an oral history of the New Canadians Centre and immigration to Peterborough, focusing on the period from 1979 to 1997. I have prepared this document as a summary of the full Master's thesis for research participants. In sharing this document, I invite participants to share their feedback on the research. I will incorporate participants' feedback as I prepare the final version of the thesis, to be submitted to Trent University in January 2018.

The primary purpose of this research project was to assess the effectiveness of programs and services currently offered by or in cooperation with the NCCP as well as to determine what services or programs, if any, are needed but are not in place.

The New Canadians Centre Peterborough (NCCP) is a not-for-profit organization based in [sic] Peterborough, Ontario which seeks to assist people who have recently immigrated to Peterborough from outside of Canada. NCCP offers a variety of services to integrate and provide a sense of belonging to New Canadians, and also provides links to other organizations in the area.

The purpose of this project was to document the oral histories of immigrants in the Peterborough area. It was designed to increase awareness of Peterborough's vibrant immigrant community and to shed light on their experiences since arriving in Canada.

The main purpose of the evaluation is [sic] to look at the (EAS) program for Foreign Trained Professionals. The evaluation is [sic] to determine the success and relevance of the program in relation to: - [t]he milestones set out in the beginning and - [n]eeds expressed by clients participating in the program.