Milestones in
OLIP’s Journey
Significant moments that reflect OLIP’s growth, innovation, and ongoing efforts to adapt to the evolving needs of immigrants and the communities that support them.
2010-2013
In 2010, OLIP established a 33-member Partnership Council spanning six sectors, laying the foundation for cross-sector collaboration. The Ottawa Immigration Strategy was first launched in 2011 and has been renewed every five years. The Strategy has guided efforts to enhance immigrant integration.
Initiatives like the Ottawa Newcomer Health Centre (2010), Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards (2012), and Welcoming Ottawa Week (2013) have fostered inclusion and recognized immigrants’ contributions.
2022-2023
Recent milestones include a Regional Newcomer Attraction and Retention Strategy (2023) and a renewed Ottawa Immigration Strategy (2022).
With ongoing initiatives in mental health and workforce integration, OLIP remains a catalyst for positive change, ensuring Ottawa continues to be a welcoming and equitable city for all.
Driving Integration, Building Community
OLIP is a multi-sectoral partnership of 60 organizations, created as part of a policy agreement between the federal government and the province of Ontario to involve municipalities and local institutions in immigrant integration. Rooted in this collaborative framework, OLIP partners work toward a more prosperous, vibrant, and inclusive Ottawa through the successful integration of immigrants.
Our Partners Include:
- City of Ottawa departments
- Local Agencies Serving Immigrants (LASI)
- School boards
- Universities and colleges
- Community health centers, hospitals, and other healthcare providers
- Business associations and economic development agencies
- Housing agencies
- Social service agencies
- Researchers and academics
- Civic groups and grassroots associations
- Representatives from all levels of government
Milestones in OLIP’s Journey
| Year | Accomplishments |
|---|---|
| 2009 | The Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP) is established with the support of the City of Ottawa and Local Agencies Serving Immigrants (LASI), the initial founding partners. |
| 2010 | The OLIP Partnership Council, made up of 33 local organizations from six sectors, is formed in May 2010. These sectors include settlement, health and wellbeing, education, economic development, language training and interpretation, and socio-civic integration. The Ottawa Newcomer Health Centre is established through a collaboration between the Catholic Center for Immigrants and Somerset West Community Health Centre, with championship and funding support from the Champlain Local Health Integration Network. |
| 2011 | The Ottawa Immigration Strategy (OIS) was launched in June 2011 and has been refreshed every five years, most recently in 2022. |
| 2012 | Ottawa Immigration Forum is introduced, setting forth a new tradition in Ottawa for connecting partners across sectors. Equity Ottawa Initiative is introduced, charting a new course for OLIP partners to build internal organizational capacity to be equitable and inclusive of immigrants. The Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards is introduced to recognize the contribution of immigrants as employers, innovators, and creators of jobs and economic opportunities via diaspora connections. |
| 2013 | The Ottawa Immigration Strategy is endorsed by the City of Ottawa Council and establishes new Terms of Council Priorities outlined in a new Municipal Immigration Strategy. Welcoming Ottawa Week is launched with the aim of showcasing Ottawa’s genuine welcome to newcomers. The Multicultural Health Navigators Initiative is established through a collaborative effort among partners in OLIP’s health and settlement sectors. |
| 2014 | Annual Welcoming Ottawa Ambassadors Awards are introduced to recognize Ottawans who support immigrants’ journeys to make Ottawa their new home. Walk-in Clinic for Mental Health Counselling is established collaboratively by the Jewish Family Services, health and resource centers, and settlement organizations. The Clinic started with three sites in 2014 and grew to 13 sites by 2021. |
| 2015 | The Ottawa Language Access Initiative is established by OLIP, Immigrant Women Services Organization, and Somerset West Community Health Centre. A participatory and evaluative review of partners’ accomplishments is conducted. The results show that their efforts have been effective and impactful overtime. Equity in Education Initiative is created to help students in low-income neighbourhoods graduate. |
| 2016 | OLIP catalyzes a collaborative response to the resettlement of the Syrian Refugees. The Ottawa Immigration Strategy is renewed with the same goals but a stronger focus on immigrants’ mental health. There’s also a greater emphasis on economic integration and the need to measure success across different sectors using data infrastructure. City Council renewed its Term of Council Priorities on Immigrant Integration, and a Refreshed Municipal Immigration Strategy was launched. The Champlain Local Health Integration Network prioritizes immigrant health in its Integrated Health Service Plan 2016-19. Priorities to address the needs of immigrant seniors are established. These priorities are based on research and engagement activities to understand their unique challenges. Priorities to address Anti-black Racism in Ottawa are established. These priorities come after a forum hosted by OLIP, City for all Women Initiative, Justice for Abdirahman, and various grassroots groups. |
| 2017 | A plan is launched to expand the Equity Ottawa Initiative. This will involve more partners, introducing a theory of change, and an action plan to build internal capacity for equity and inclusiveness towards immigrants. Immigrant Heritage Walking Tours are introduced as part of OLIP’s celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary and become a permanent feature of Welcoming Ottawa Week. OLIP launched a research project to understand how Ottawa resettled Syrian refugees. The study has seven recommendations to improve how refugees are resettled in Ottawa. |
| 2018 | OLIP establishes a Leadership Group of top executives of key partner organizations across sectors. This strengthens the common agenda and builds a unified voice for engaging with government. LIPs from across Canada gather in Calgary to discuss a national agenda and enhance their capacity. The conference results in the decision to create a National LIPs Secretariat. OLIP & IRCC co-host a cross-sectoral consultation on settlement and resettlement priorities. Over 80 representatives of OLIP partner organizations discuss priorities for IRCC investment. This sets a new practice of IRCC-OLIP collaboration for bottom-up investment- priority setting. OLIP and LASI establish a strategic alignment and collaborative governance framework to guide their joint efforts to create a network of interconnected settlement, health, education, and social services that are accessible, relevant, and respond to immigrants’ needs. |
| 2019 | OLIP signa a data agreement with IRCC to develop a joint data strategy. This includes data sourcing and delivery to support local planning for immigrant integration. Ottawa City Council approves the creation of an Anti-racism Secretariat. This unit will guide the city towards greater equity and inclusion for immigrants and racialized populations. |
| 2020 | OLIP adjusts its partner engagement to focus on addressing COVID-19 health risks for immigrants. The pandemic response involved partners across sectors. OLIP hosts a community dialogue on the impact of COVID on immigrants and racialized populations and facilitates reflection on how to best protect the community from the spread of the virus. OLIP creates a community-engagement model to leverage the leadership and networks of the communities most affected by the pandemic as a key step to COVID education and health promotion. Equity Ottawa enters its fourth phase, focused on supporting partners in implementing the Community Action Plan on Equity. OLIP signs a data partnership with Ottawa Public Health to analyze disaggregated socio-demographic data on the local population that contracted COVID. |
| 2021 | OLIP recommends prioritizing the vaccination of residents in low-income neighbourhoods. The Vaccine Sequencing Task Force accepts this recommendation. This happens before the Ontario government’s directive on priority neighbourhoods for vaccinations. Ottawa Public Health adopts OLIP’s community engagement model as a permanent addition to the organization’s health promotion and health protection strategies. OLIP enters a data partnership with the Labour Market Information Council. This collaboration aims to improve understanding of immigrant integration into Ottawa’s workforce. |
| 2022 | The OLIP brand gets a fresh new face to reflect its strong and ongoing momentum, growth, and impact of the partnership. The City of Ottawa launches a new Talent Strategy, developed with OLIP and other stakeholders. This strategy highlights immigrants as a valuable, untapped workforce, especially for post-pandemic recovery. OLIP and CESOC lead a new Secretariat tasked to develop a mental health response strategy in Ottawa. This group will work with a Council of community stakeholders, the City of Ottawa, and the Ottawa Police Service to create a patient-centered approach for those in extreme mental health crises. OLIP partners renew the Ottawa Immigration Strategy after a series of stakeholder consultations, research, and strategic discussions. The refreshed priorities will guide efforts to improve immigrant integration over the next five years. |
| 2023 | OLIP teams up with Local Immigration Partnerships in Eastern Ontario to launch a Regional Strategy to Improve Attraction and Retention of Newcomers. OLIP Introduces an Annual Lecture series. |
Our Story
Working together to build capacity to attract, settle, and integrate immigrants.
Governance
A structure designed to leverage the experience and leadership of each sector, bringing together different perspectives to plan and act on shared priorities.
Partners
More than 80 organizations dedicated to helping immigrants settle and integrate in Ottawa.