Definitely Not the Opera

Welcome to Altona - population 4,500 plus 45 new refugees

Welcome to Altona, Manitoba! The town's population just jumped by one per cent thanks to its 45 new Syrian refugees. But newcomers aren't a new thing in this small town. We discovered that for years, Altona has been welcoming the world.

In Canada, the big cities get most of the credit for being multicultural. But the face of small town Canada is changing, too. This week, DNTO takes you to tiny Altona, in southern Manitoba, where the population just jumped by one per cent thanks to the arrival of five new Syrian families. It's a mini-boom that's changing the town in ways it never expected — and we went along for the ride.