Reports

VIA is an arts-based research project that explores the social lives, cultural practices, intersecting identities, and experiences of gender-based violence among newcomer 2SLGBTQIA+ youth. In this project, participants create visual journals using media such as drawing, painting, or photography to reflect on their identity, family relationships, and how they navigate gender identity and related experiences.

This report is a part of a three-year project (2025-2028), SettleSMART: Supporting Message and Assistance Resource Technology. The goal of SettleSMART is to develop an Al-powered Chatbot and Group Chat platform to help newcomers access timely and reliable settlement information, enhance service delivery, and support innovation and equity in the process of settlement integration of newcomers to Canada. As part of this work, this report presents an environmental scan of 362 Service Provider Organizations (SPOs) across major Census Metropolitan Areas and key urban centres in Canada, examining the adoption of emerging digital tools, including artificial intelligence (Al), chatbots, and group messaging platforms.

This report is part of the Tailored Attraction, Integration, and Retention Strategies for Northern Ecosystems (TAIGA RISE) project, a three-year initiative that launched in April 2025. Funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) through the Service Delivery Improvement (SDI) program, the project's goal is to co-create tailored, community-centric strategies to strengthen the attraction, integration, and retention of newcomers in Northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories. This environmental scan contributes to that goal by building a comprehensive baseline of online data and digital resources. It systematically identifies, reviews, and catalogs a wide range of stakeholders and service providers in both regions, using a culturally responsive, settlement-focused, and inclusion-oriented lens. The focus is on small population centres (1,000-29,999 residents) and medium population centres (30,000–99,999 residents), as defined by Statistics Canada's 2021 Census (Statistics Canada, 2022). It further explores the preparedness of these communities for attracting, integrating, and retaining newcomers, three strategic pillars of the project that will be explaind in details.

This report, part of the Hybrid Education for Literacy Learners Optimization (HELLO) project, analyzes full-time LINC Literacy classes at TIES from 2019 to 2022. Focused on adult immigrants and refugees with little or no formal education, it evaluates outcomes across hybrid, in-person, and remote delivery modes by examining attendance, completion, and CLB score improvement.

This study, part of the Calgary Local Immigration Partnership (CLIP) project and conducted by TIES, explores how Calgary’s immigrant-serving sector is evolving. Using a core-periphery model, it maps services and relationships among SPOs, non-SPOs, and informal networks through a webscan, survey, and interviews. The research captures service types, organizational interactions, funding, and how both providers and immigrants experience the system.

This report, part of the Hybrid Education for Literacy Learners Optimization (HELLO) project, explores the critical role of language training in newcomer integration, especially for adult refugees with disrupted education. Triggered by challenges faced during the shift to online LINC instruction during COVID-19, the project used participatory action research to co-develop a hybrid literacy toolkit, addressing low digital literacy and the need for interactive learning environments.

This final report from the Remote and Online Services for Professional Immigrants (ROSPI) project examines how technology can improve access to settlement services for skilled newcomers. In response to Canada’s rising intake of Federal High Skilled immigrants, ROSPI explores the barriers professionals face and how digital tools can help meet their specific information and service needs.

This report, part of the Empowering Communities Together Anti-Racism Initiative project, summarizes insights from the final stage “Unconference” on racism faced by newcomers in Calgary. Drawing from prior surveys and interviews, around 40 participants from immigrant services, government, and academia discussed real experiences and actions on five key themes: intergroup hostility, language-related racism, workplace discrimination, educational bias, and public safety. The event aimed to inform local anti-racism strategies through lived experiences and cross-sector dialogue.

This report, part of the Empowering Communities Together Anti-Racism Initiative, presents research led by TIES, CFN, ISC, and CENC, funded by FCSSAA. It explores how racism affected newcomers in Calgary during the pandemic, using surveys, interviews, and focus groups—including data from CFN's self-defence sessions and ISC's Unconference. Findings center on five themes: intergroup hostility, language-related racism, workplace discrimination, educational bias, and public safety. The report offers recommendations focused on identity, power, and inclusive action in public, work, education, and digital spaces.