Brandon immigration survey aims to identify needs of newcomers to rural Manitoba

A Brandon organization is looking to survey newcomers about their experiences settling in the southwest Manitoba city.

Brandon Local Immigration Partnership, run through the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation with funding from the federal government, launched the survey last month and is looking to speak with newcomers until March. 

"Learning to live somewhere completely different than where you've lived your entire life on its own presents so many challenges for people," said Leyna Wilks, the Local Immigration Partnership's co-ordinator.

"Our job is to see how best we can make it just a little bit easier."

Her organization is conducting the survey by interviewing people via Zoom. They've reached out to multicultural organizations in the area to help find participants.

Wilks, herself a newcomer to Canada from Jamaica, said everyone who moves to Canada from a different country will have different experiences when it comes to settling in a new home. 

She felt her settlement in Canada was relatively easy compared to others. 

The survey will ask others about what services they've used since arriving, what information they wished they had known before coming to Canada, and whether anyone helped them get settled, Wilks said.

"It will show us where the gaps are. Right now we don't have a clear insight of where the gaps are."

Hannah Holt, the community outreach manager at Westman Immigrant Services, said weather, employment and help finding adequate housing have all been identified as recurring challenges for newcomers when they first come to Canada.

Her organization is able to adapt to the needs of newcomers, offering a wide variety of services and information for their clients, she said.

"You've got to be able to have a hybrid approach," Holt said. "That's how we've been able to be so responsive and flex to the clients' needs."

One recent demand that has been identified by clients is the need for additional supports in getting international education recognized in Canada, she said.

"We've recognized that that is a very big area where clients want to grow, get better jobs, get help with interviews," she said. "We now run weekly night sessions." 

Since the COVID-19 pandemic begin, Holt said there has also been increased demand from parents who want help adapting to virtual learning for their children, and assistance with getting online platforms such as Zoom working in their homes.

In the first 11 months of last year, 780 new permanent residents moved into Brandon, on track to being Westman Immigrant Services' busiest year yet, she said.

That is also driving the need to figure out how agencies can better serve the newcomer population through things such as interpretation services in health care — one of the emerging gaps that's been identified through the survey so far, said Wilks.

"A lot of people have issues going to health care because English isn't their first language," she said. 

"It's easy for people to say 'learn English,' but it's not that easy to learn English, and that shouldn't be a barrier [to care]."

She said most newcomers already find Brandon to be an inclusive community, but more could be done — such as more people educating themselves about the topic of immigration.

"It's important that people see the importance of immigration," she said.

"Brandon definitely is a warm and welcoming community … but there are things that we can do to make it even better." 

People who would like to participate in the survey can contact the Brandon Local Immigration Partnership at blip@bnrc.ca.