Temporary Foreign Workers - Southern Alberta

✨The countdown is on! Join us for the 2nd annual Celebrating Together Multicultural Powwow in honour of Canadian Multiculturalism Day!

📅 Saturday, June 27 | 2:00 – 6:00 PM
📍 23 McDougall Court NE, Calgary (parking lot across the street)

✨Enjoy vibrant cultural performances, traditional dances, and powerful Indigenous drumbeats.

🌍 A family-friendly celebration—bring your kids and experience the richness of cultures together!

🥻👗Planning to attend? Wear something that represents your culture and celebrate with us!

🍪 Enjoy Indigenous and multicultural snacks and visit cultural vendors on site.

🤳 FREE event—register today:
www.ccisab.ca/celebrating-together

🎉 Stay tuned—more highlights coming soon!
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✨Le compte à rebours est lancé! Joignez-vous à nous pour la 2e édition de la Célébration commune d’un pow-wow multiculturel!

📅 Samedi 27 juin | 14 h 00 – 18 h 00
📍 23 McDougall Court NE (stationnement en face)

✨Profitez de performances vibrantes, de danses traditionnelles et de chants de tambour autochtones.

🌍 Un événement familial—amenez vos enfants!

🥻👗Portez une tenue qui représente votre culture!

🍪 Collations autochtones et multiculturelles et des vendeurs culturels sur place.

🤳 Événement GRATUIT—inscrivez-vous :
www.ccisab.ca/celebrating-together

🎉 Restez à l’écoute—plus de détails à venir!

June is National Indigenous History Month, a time to recognize and celebrate the cultures, traditions, and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples across Canada.

At CCIS, we acknowledge the deep histories of this land and the strength and resilience of Indigenous communities. As we support newcomers, we also see the importance of learning about the original peoples of these lands and encouraging meaningful understanding and respect.

This month is an opportunity to listen, reflect, and learn. We invite our community to explore Indigenous histories, support Indigenous voices, and take part in ongoing conversations that foster respect and connection.

Visual description:
An image featuring intertwined illustrated symbols representing First Nations, Inuit, and Métis cultures, including a feather, a narwhal, and a fiddle, rendered in a flowing rainbow gradient. Surrounding these central elements are decorative motifs reflecting cultural traditions and connections to land, water, and community. Text reads: National Indigenous History Month and .

✨Join us for the 2nd annual Celebrating Together Multicultural Powwow in honour of Canadian Multiculturalism Day!

📅 When? Saturday, June 27 | 2:00 – 6:00 PM
📍 Where? 23 McDougall Court NE, Calgary (parking lot across the street)

✨Experience vibrant cultural performances from diverse communities, traditional dances, and powerful Indigenous drumbeats in a celebration of community, diversity, and cultural pride. 🎶

🥻👗Wear something that represents your culture and tells your story—just make sure it’s comfortable for this outdoor celebration!

🍪 Enjoy delicious Indigenous and multicultural snacks and refreshments!

🤳This FREE event is open to everyone—scan the QR code or visit the link below to register and help us plan for our guests: www.ccisab.ca/celebrating-together

🎉 Mark your calendar and join us for an unforgettable afternoon!
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✨ Joignez-vous à nous pour la 2e édition de la Célébration commune d’un pow-wow multiculturel à l’occasion de la Journée canadienne du multiculturalisme!

📅 Quand? Samedi 27 juin | 14 h 00 – 18 h 00
📍 Où? 23 McDougall Court NE (stationnement situé en face)

✨Découvrez des prestations culturelles vibrantes mettant en valeur la richesse de diverses communautés, accompagnées de danses traditionnelles et de puissants chants de tambour autochtones—une véritable célébration de la diversité, de la culture et du vivre-ensemble. 🎶

🥻👗 Portez une tenue qui représente votre culture et raconte votre histoire—tout en restant confortable pour profiter pleinement de cet événement en plein air!

🍪 Savourez une variété de collations et de rafraîchissements autochtones et multiculturels!

🤳 Cet événement est GRATUIT—scannez le code QR ou visitez le lien ci-dessous pour vous inscrire et nous aider à mieux organiser l’accueil de nos invités : www.ccisab.ca/celebrating-together

🎉 Inscrivez la date à votre agenda et venez célébrer avec nous!

🌈 It’s Pride Month 💛

At CCIS, we’re holding space for 2SLGBTQIA+ newcomers—for their stories, their journeys, and everything they bring to our community.

This month is about showing up, celebrating who people are, and continuing the work of making sure everyone feels like they belong here.

Sending love and support to all who are celebrating.

🔗 Learn more about our programs: https://ccisab.ca/

📢Tomorrow!

⚠️Newcomer Mental Health: What Happens When Men Don’t Talk?

He says “I’m fine.”

But what does that really mean? 💡

During Mental Health Awareness Month, and under this year’s theme “Come Together, Canada,” we’re creating space for an important and often difficult conversation — the mental health of newcomer men.

Many carry the quiet weight of expectations: to provide, to adapt, to stay strong. But what happens when those pressures go unspoken?

Join us for a live conversation featuring:
🟢Afraa Akasha (Calgary) – Registered Psychologist, Centre for Refugee Resilience, Calgary Catholic Immigration Society
🟢Shibu Angadiyath (Medicine Hat) – Mental Health Therapist, Recovery Alberta.

Together, we’ll explore:
🗣️Silence, stigma, and identity
🗣️The realities of urban vs. rural support
🗣️What “coping” can look like beneath the surface
🗣️And how we can begin to shift the conversation

📅 Wednesday, May 27, 2026 | 12:00 PM (MT) | Live on LinkedIn

📲👀To view the live talk, you can visit CCIS’s LinkedIn page at 12:00 PM on May 27.
Go to the LinkedIn website or app, search Calgary Catholic Immigration Society, click View Page, then select Posts — the live talk will appear on the page feed.
For Facebook, visit the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society page, where the live talk will be streaming directly on the feed.

This conversation is for anyone who wants to better understand, support, or reflect.

Because sometimes, starting the conversation is the most powerful first step.

Happy Victoria Day! 🍁

Please note our offices will be closed on Monday, May 18. We’ll be back and ready to support you on Tuesday, May 19.

Wishing you a wonderful and well-deserved long weekend!

📢📢 The 14th Edition of Our Fresh Start Newsletter Is Here!

In this month’s issue:

👉 Youth in Action: CCIS hosted the second annual Youth Employment Summit 2026, empowering young people with skills, connections, and pathways to success.

👉 Celebrating Culture & Community: From Arabic Heritage Month events in Okotoks to regional ArabFest celebrations in Cochrane and Airdrie, communities came together to share culture, art, and traditions.

👉 Building Knowledge & Access: BCIS partnered with the City of Brooks to deliver a Census Information Session, helping newcomers better understand and engage in civic processes.

👉 Health & Well-being: A Women’s Health & Wellness event, offered in partnership with Praxus Health, creates a welcoming space to access care, information, and support in multiple languages.

👉 Mental Health Awareness Month: This issue highlights an important conversation on newcomer men’s mental health under the theme “Come Together, Canada.”

👉 Across CCIS: From Red Dress Day commemorations to financial literacy workshops, trades training programs, and community celebrations across Southern Alberta.

💛 This month, we spotlight youth empowerment, cultural connection, mental health, and the many ways newcomers are supported to thrive and belong across our communities.

📩 Read the full issue & subscribe:

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/CCIS-Fresh-Start-Newsletter-May-2026.html?soid=1141912671447&aid=eba9KbMoFzc

🔴 Red Dress Day | May 5 🔴

Today, we pause to reflect, remember, and acknowledge Red Dress Day, a national day that brings attention to the ongoing crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S) across Canada.

Red dresses displayed in public spaces represent absence — daughters, sisters, mothers, aunties, and community members whose lives were taken or remain unaccounted for. They also serve as a visible reminder that this violence is rooted in systemic injustices that continue today.

For many newcomers, learning about Red Dress Day and the realities faced by Indigenous communities is a vital part of understanding Canada’s history and present. At CCIS, we are committed to supporting learning, awareness, and respectful relationships grounded in truth and reconciliation.

Today, we encourage you to:
🔴 Wear something red
🌹Take a moment to reflect
📖 Learn about the MMIWG2S Calls for Justice: https://cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/52964.html
🤍 Show respect and solidarity with Indigenous communities

This is a day for listening, learning, and honouring lives that matter.

Today isn’t about titles. It’s about what keeps everything moving.

The emails that don’t fall through the cracks.
The calendars that somehow always work.
The small problems solved quietly before anyone else even knows they exist.

Our administrative professionals are often the first point of calm, clarity, and care for staff, for clients, for the community we serve. Their work isn’t always visible, but its impact is everywhere.

Today, we’re taking a moment to say thank you, not for “doing it all,” but for doing it with intention, patience, and heart.

We see you. We appreciate you. And our work is better because of you.

Happy Administrative Professionals Day to our CCIS admin team. 💙

📢📢 The April 2026 13th Edition of the Fresh Start Newsletter Is Here!

In this month’s issue:
👉 CCIS Turns 45: We mark a major milestone—45 years of welcoming newcomers, building community, and creating pathways for successful settlement and integration across Calgary and Southern Alberta.

👉 National Conversations on Immigration: CCIS staff share reflections from the 28th National Metropolis Canada Conference in Halifax, contributing to key discussions on labour market integration, refugee mental health, rural settlement, and more.

👉 Celebrating Volunteer Impact: Honouring an incredible 23,905 hours of volunteer service—heart, hope, and helping hands that make our work possible.

👉 Youth Employment Summit (YES): It’s time to say YES! Learn more about CCIS’s second annual Youth Employment Summit taking place on May 5.

👉 Career Pathways & Training: Highlights from programs including ENERLINC, YYCTrades, and Calgary: A New Chapter—supporting newcomers in transitioning into meaningful careers.

👉 Community Connections & Events: From free income tax clinics and community kitchens to Canada Connects volunteering and Foothills LIP highlights, discover upcoming opportunities to get involved.

💛 This month, we celebrate legacy, leadership, volunteerism, and the collective effort that continues to shape newcomer success in our communities.

📩 Read the full issue & subscribe: https://ccisab.ca/newsletter-archive/