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Immigration Matters toolkit

The Immigration Matters initiative aims to show the benefits of immigration at the local, community level.

We are seeing how long-time residents and immigrants work side by side in response to labour shortages and global inflation. In particular, temporary and permanent immigrants are playing a key role in Canada—from taking care of our seniors to putting food on our tables. Canada will continue to attract immigrants who bring the skills our economy needs to grow, while we maintain border security to protect the health and safety of Canadians.

We’re looking for your help to find and amplify stories of immigrants who are making a strong contribution to cities, towns and neighbourhoods across Canada. We would also like your help starting the conversation in the community you know best—your own.

We encourage you to adapt and use the parts of this toolkit you feel are helpful, given the particular circumstances of your community. We’ll update the toolkit with new materials as the initiative unfolds, and we’re always open to your feedback.

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Welcoming Week

Welcoming Week

Welcoming Week is an annual opportunity to bring together new and long-time residents to build strong connections. It affirms the importance of welcoming and inclusive places in achieving collective prosperity.

The Welcoming Week toolkit provides shareable content to help you spread messages about inclusion and the benefits of immigration.

Check out the Welcoming Week toolkit

Background

Recognizing the economic, social and cultural benefits of immigration, the Government of Canada sets targets by category for the number of immigrants coming into the country. Immigrants are selected for their economic contribution, their humanitarian needs and to reunite families. This plan for immigration helps to distribute the benefits of immigration throughout Canada.

In the current global context where we see increased polarization of views about immigration, research conducted by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) shows that Canadians continue to be supportive of immigration. In March 2023, 52% of Canadians said that the number of immigrants coming to Canada is about right, and 22% said there are too few immigrants coming to Canada.

The research also shows that while Canadians support immigration at a national level, they are less likely to see the benefits at the local level. The objective of Immigration Matters is to highlight the benefits of immigration in communities across Canada.

Our approach

Immigration Matters combines storytelling and facts to dispel common myths about immigrants and promote positive engagement between Canadians and newcomers. By sharing and promoting stories of communities enriched by immigration, we want to start a conversation about the importance of immigration at the local level.

Why stories? Stories are an effective way to promote connections between people and to share factual information so that it is retained and believed.

What is the focus? The focus is on how immigration is strengthening Canada and helping communities succeed, rather than on how Canada has helped newcomers succeed.

Immigration Matters has ties to a global movement. Canada is one of many countries helping to promote a balanced narrative on migration through the international #ItTakesACommunity campaign, led by the Global Forum on Migration and Development.

The simplest thing you can do is to link to the Immigration Matters home page from your website or social media channels .

Follow us and share our content on social media

You provide a valuable connection to your community. Below are some ways to identify and share content that is relevant to where you live. Sharing is the heart of the initiative and your support will make a difference.
Start by following our social media accounts, where we share content relevant to the initiative and to your community:

Share the content that will resonate with your audience. Choose something they can see themselves in or will take value from. When posting, add your own local insights and build connections for your audience. We encourage you to use the hashtag #ImmigrationMatters and tag IRCC in your post.

Here are examples of social content that might be pertinent to your community. Ideally, you would situate the story or facts in your own local context. We encourage you to share these messages with the people in your network and invite them to join the conversation!

#WelcomingWeek2023. An illustration of a public setting with business storefronts, where various people interact with one another.

A warm welcome can make a difference to newcomers in our communities. Share stories on social media about how you, your neighbours, friends and colleagues have come together to create spaces of belonging. Find out how you can get involved.

https://bit.ly/3tEZr6 e

#ImmigrationMatters

Download Facebook or Instagram image (JPG, 519 KB) Download Twitter or LinkedIn image (JPG, 435 KB) Download ALT text for image (TXT, 1 KB)
We’re glad you’re here. #WelcomingWeek2023. September 8 to 17. An illustration featuring 5 windows, showcasing various people interacting.

Interested in how immigrants are selected, screened and set up for success? Read what the research says about how Canada’s immigration system works for all of us.

https://bit.ly/3tD6PPJ

#ImmigrationMatters

Download Facebook or Instagram image (JPG, 1.04 MB) Download Twitter or LinkedIn image (JPG, 887 KB) Download ALT text for image (TXT, 1 KB)
#WelcomingWeek2023. 
An illustration of 4 people huddled together, 2 of which are waving.

Curious about the benefits of immigration to Canada’s economy? Learn more about how immigrants contribute to different sectors like sports, business and health care.

https://bit.ly/401xVfk

#ImmigrationMatters

Download Facebook or Instagram image GIF (GIF, 3.02 MB) Download Twitter or LinkedIn image GIF (GIF, 1.51 MB) Download ALT text for GIF (TXT, 1 KB)
#WelcomingWeek2023. An illustration of a public setting with business storefronts, where various people interact with one another.

Discover how immigrants are enriching our communities and making a difference in our lives. Check out some of our #ImmigrationMatters stories and share stories with us about any remarkable newcomers in your lives.

https://bit.ly/3s4xBQj

Download Facebook or Instagram image (JPG, 546 KB) Download Twitter or LinkedIn image (JPG, 405 KB) Download ALT text for image (TXT, 1 KB)
We’re glad you’re here. #WelcomingWeek2023. September 8 to 17. An illustration featuring 5 windows, showcasing various people interacting.

Want to know more about how immigrants contribute to Canada’s economy? Learn how our immigration system helps keep our economy growing.

https://bit.ly/46DAS8g

#ImmigrationMatters

Download Facebook or Instagram image (JPG, 756 KB) Download Twitter or LinkedIn image (JPG, 407 KB) Download ALT text for image (TXT, 1 KB)
#WelcomingWeek2023. 
An illustration of 4 people huddled together, 2 of which are waving.

Immigrants deliver and improve our health and social services. Know any newcomers who have made a difference in your community? Use #ImmigrationMatters to share their story.

https://bit.ly/3rZa1EI

Download Facebook or Instagram image (JPG, 550 KB) Download Twitter or LinkedIn image (JPG, 367 KB) Download ALT text for image (TXT, 1 KB)

Here are some suggested social media tips:

Share our key messages

Here are some suggested messages that you can include in your conversations or social media posts about why immigration matters:

Immigrants contribute to the economy and create jobs for Canadians

Immigrants deliver and improve our health and social services

Immigrants are thoroughly screened and respect our laws

Immigrants settle in communities across the country

Immigrants integrate fully into Canadian society

Order our products

Contact us to order Immigration Matters buttons or business cards for use at local events. We’ll do our best to accommodate your request, but please be aware that quantities are limited.

Buttons – available in blue, purple , green and pink

Example of #ImmigrationMatters button design in purple

Business cards – available in blue and purple, or green and pink

Example of business card design. One side is in English: “Share your stories #ImmigrationMatters” with a link to Canada.ca/immigration-matters. The other side is in French: “Partagez vos histoires #ImmigrationÇaCompte” with a link to Canada.ca/immigration-ça-compte.

Share your own stories

Below are resources to develop stories on your own. We invite you to share your own stories on social media, in your newsletters and with us! If you post or publish a story, email us. When you uncover and share such success stories, use our hashtag #ImmigrationMatters.

We can then help promote your local stories through our website, our social media channels, and at events, speaking opportunities and panel discussions.

Story guidelines

All stories should clearly show the positive impact of immigration in a community. The focus should be on the community as much as the individual.

This positive impact can have a wide scope and can come from any point in the immigration process, including from first-, second-, third- and fourth- generation immigrants, and onward. One common theme is that perseverance and hard work pay off. An essential part of this initiative is to address the obstacles to integration and show that they’re surmountable.

Showing how people have overcome challenges makes a story more compelling. However, the challenge may not be an obstacle the immigrant faced. For these stories, it will more likely be a challenge the community faced that the immigrant helped overcome. These stories are about how a community was transformed thanks to an immigrant or immigration, so it is important to show the transformation that takes place.

We’re looking for clear and compelling stories that you want told and retold. These stories could be about:

Interview tips

Sample interview questions

Community influencer:

Community member:

Immigrant:

The focus here should be on the values the immigrant shares with Canadians and their reasons for wanting to contribute to the community.

Promote your story with media

Media coverage is earned by developing good relationships with the people and organizations who create the content we consume. This means “pitching” a unique or captivating story to bloggers, social media influencers, reporters, editors and producers.

Step 1: Identify your outreach objectives.

Step 2: Research influential content creators in your area.

Step 3: Develop a proposal for a story (or stories) that may be of interest to each content creator, reporter, editor or producer.

Step 4: Tailor your pitch to each recipient.

Step 5: Pitch the story by email, a direct social media message or a phone call.

Step 6: Wait 2 to 3 business days, then follow up with a phone call.

Step 7: Work closely with anyone who chooses to cover your story.

Step 8: Monitor the coverage your story receives and evaluate your efforts.

When dealing with reporters, keep in mind that their job is to report critically. While a media story may be largely positive, there may also be some opposing views because the reporter’s job is to present multiple perspectives on a topic.

Remember that earning media coverage is not easy. It requires strategy, tact and persistence. For every 10 pitches, you may only get 1 positive response— but that coverage can still be very influential.

The more you reach out , the stronger your relationships with content creators, reporters, editors and producers will be, and the easier it will be to get earned media coverage in the future.

Host a community conversation

The Community Conversations Toolkit is designed to help you organize your own community conversation on immigration. It provides guidance and tips on

We encourage you to use and adapt the parts of the toolkit that you feel are helpful. We are always open to your feedback.

Download the Community Conversations Toolkit (PDF, 1.6 MB)

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