My nomination is an indication that our hard work in building Canada is recognized. All we do is to serve the community in return for embracing us when we needed it.  

Mehdi Mahdavi
Ottawa Immigrant Entrepreneurship Awards Nominee
Canada has been shaped by people who came from all over the world to build this country. WOW offers a platform for us to celebrate this history and the future it will help…

Alex Munter, Chair of the OLIP Council and President and CEO of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario and Ottawa Children’s Treatment Centre
The Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre is so happy to have joined the OLIP Health and Wellbeing Sector Table. It is clear that OLIP cares about immigrants and refugees and…

Wendy Tang, Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre
The OLIP Council is committed to leadership.  In only a few years, we have a common vision and priorities, and are up to the task of implementing the Ottawa Immigration Strategy.

Salimatou Diallo
OLIP Council Vice Chair, Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario
I’m really impressed with the level of energy and commitment around the Health and Wellbeing table and look forward to continuing collaboration between OLIP and OPH.

Marcela Tapia
Ottawa Public Health
The work and expertise that OLIP brings to our community is so important as it helps us to build bridges and break down silos.  I look forward to our continued work together. 

Jim Watson, Mayor of Ottawa
I was happy to see integration to Algonquin territory and indigenous culture related programming in 2014 WOW. Please continue to involve local Aboriginal organisations and…

Linda Manning
WOW 2014 participant, Senior Fellow, University of Ottawa
All the WOW events that I went to were great – WOW does give a sense of a community trying to improve its attraction and retention!

Caroline Andrew
Professor, University of Ottawa
OLIP helps to unite and share scarce resources for greater impact by working together in the field of student education.

Walter Piovesan
Associate Director of Education, Ottawa Carleton District School Board
The WOW seminar on immigrant women’s nutrition and health was a step in the right direction towards closing the gap between academic researchers and service providers.

Josephine Etowa
Associate Professor, School of Nursing, University of Ottawa

Forum Overview

August 21, 2015
On June 22nd, the 3rd Biannual Ottawa Immigration Forum convened at the Marriott Hotel in Ottawa.  The Forum kick-started the 2015 Welcoming Ottawa Week (WOW) and tackled the theme: “Moving Forward on our Vision ǀ Building on our Accomplishments”. The Forum was co-hosted by OLIP and the City Of Ottawa, and showcased  the City’s active role…

Partnership’s Progress Report by Carl Nicholson and Caroline Andrews

August 21, 2015
The Ottawa Immigration Forum is a key platform for the OLIP partners to report their collective progress on the goals of the Ottawa Immigration Strategy (OIS) to the Ottawa community. This commitment is in keeping with OLIP’s governance principles of transparency and accountability. Carl Nicholson and Caroline Andrew, OLIP Executive Committee members,…

Keynote Speech by Corinne Prince St. Amand

August 21, 2015
The forum keynote presentation was delivered by Corinne Prince St. Amand, Director General of the Integration-Foreign Credentials Referral Office, Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Corinne’s presentation titled: “Trends and Policies Affecting Ottawa’s Progress” provided…

Keynote Speech by Cohen Langerak

August 21, 2015
Cohen Langerak, Senior Business Consultant at the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship, Immigration and International Trade, provided the 2nd keynote speech of the Forum. Cohen’s speech focused on leveraging immigrants’ global connections to strengthen Ontario’s economic development,…

Highlights of the 2015 WOW & Presentation of the 2015 Faces & Stories of a Welcoming City

August 21, 2015
Louisa Taylor and Sarah Onyango, Co-Chairs of the Welcoming Ottawa Week (WOW) presented the highlights of the 2015 WOW Calendar and presented the WOW Ambassadors Exhibit, showcasing stories of friendships and mutual learning and support between Ottawans and newcomers to the City. WOW Ambassadors initiative is now a permanent feature of Welcoming Ottawa…

Expert Input in Planned Areas of Action by Dr. Michael Haan and Dr. Branka Agic

August 21, 2015
The Forum objectives included bringing expert attention on two areas of planned action by OLIP partners: How Ottawa leverage administrative data to inform local planning by Dr. Michael Haan an Associate Professor at Western University and Canada Research Chair in Population and Social Policy; and How to tackle mental health challenges among immigrants…