The Government of Canada is proving its commitment to help immigrants succeed by announcing it is investing $686,000 in a Newcomers’ Centre that provides settlement services to immigrants in Scarborough, one of the most diverse and multicultural areas of the Greater Toronto Area.

The Agincourt Community Services Association runs the Immigrant Settlement & Adaptation program (ISAP) at its new Newcomers’ Centre in Scarborough. The objective of ISAP is to increase the capacity of newcomers in the community through orientation, counseling, referral, and labor market integration The services include orientation sessions, counselling and interpretation specifically for newcomers in the Dorset Park and Steeles-L'Amoreaux neighbourhoods. Services are available in different languages and aim to provide newcomers with information about services and resources to help meet their immediate needs. The Newcomer Centre is innovative in that it will provide newcomers with access to a full range of settlement expertise and services all under one roof.

This is an important investment by the Government of Canada as a significant portion of Scarborough area’s population is composed of immigrants and descendants. In 2006, almost 60% of residents were foreign-born.

In 2005 the provincial government of Ontario and the federal government signed the Canada-Ontario Immigration Agreement, which has since tripled the annual spending on settlement services for newcomers in Ontario. For the 2010-11 fiscal year, the Government of Canada is investing $428 million in Ontario for settlement services for newcomers. These services include language training, and job search workshops.

Settlement services are instrumental in helping immigrants succeed in the Canadian economy and integrate well into the communities that welcome them.  

For more information on settling in Canada, visit our Settlement in Canada section.