The Irish Canadian Immigration Centre was established in January 2012 to assist in meeting the needs of newly arrived Irish immigrants to Canada by offering outreach and information on areas such as employment, accommodation, social services and immigration. We have been up and running since January 9th.  Our grand opening took place on March 17th with a visit from An Tánaiste Eamonn Gilmore TD, His Excellency Ray Bassett Irish Ambassador to Canada, and the Honourable Jason Kenney Minister of Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism Canada. We are a national organization reaching out to newcomers across Canada and those in Ireland...

Finding a place to rent in Toronto can be a real pain in the arse. We had no idea how good we had it back in Ireland with Daft.ie. Here in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), there is nothing even close to it. Instead of having one  convenient, popular and modern website, Torontonians are stuck trawling through no less than 6 sites, all of which are confusing, incomplete and rougher than a whiskey hangover. It’s exhausting, frustrating, and no matter how long you search, you leave feeling like you still haven’t seen everything available. I experienced this first hand when I moved to Toronto last year. The house hunt was a...

In the words of Bonnie Tyler “Where have all the good men gone?”. Well the answer it seems is mainly to the UK and Australia. Although personally I believe the really good men have gone to Canada. Using this fantastic interactive graphic from Locus Insight we can very easily see where Irelands Emigrants have gone to in the last 6 years. Some interesting facts from the graphic In 2011, 7 people a minute left Ireland In 2006, 2285 people emigrated to Canada In 2011 that number jumped to 5779 The most popular countries to emigrate to are the UK and Australia Since 2006 the number of people emigrating each year has more than...

As luck would have it, this year St Patrick’s Day falls on a Saturday and, as such, the party starts at 11am! St. Party’s Day will be the place to be this St. Paddy’s Day, as this indoor/outdoor event includes a heated tent outside the St. Lawrence Market stretching from King Street to Front Street, some of the country’s best live bands inside the St. Lawrence Market’s north building, Irish Imposters and some of the city’s hottest DJs. You can choose from one of three arrival times and pre-buy your ticket online so you don’t miss out. Not a bad idea on a day where everywhere is sure to be packed. What: St....

Barbara Deignan and her boyfriend Cian McDevitt moved to Toronto just over a year ago, and have made a short film about the Irish diaspora, capturing “the fears and hopes of those calling the city their new home”. DIASPORA was screened at the Toronto Irish Film Festival over the weekend, and received a huge response from recently arrived emigrants and older, more settled Irish who said they would have loved to have seen a film like this when they first landed in the city to remind them that they were not alone.   DIASPORA from Barbara on...

Come join us for a guaranteed spot (and no standing in line before 7.30pm) on March 16th at Grace O’Malley’s to kick off the St.Patrick’s Day weekend in style! For all the newcomers to Toronto, St. Patrick’s weekend is THE biggest event in Toronto’s calendar, with massive line-ups at every pub, and especially the Irish ones! So the Young Leaders at the Ireland Fund of Canada have this amazing deal with Grace O’Malley’s, where you can pre-book your spot, avoid those long lines and have a nice free drink waiting for you inside! Check out the poster for info, and...

Have you decided that you are here to stay Canada for the long term and want more security than a work permit? Then it’s time to look at permanent residency and the various options you have. There are different potential routes for permanent residency applications. Below I have outlined the four most popular routes. For more information on each check out the CIC (Citizenship and Immigration Canada) website: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.asp Provincial Nominee Program The Provincial Nominee Program (“PNP”) accelerates the Permanent Resident application process for skilled and/or experienced workers, experienced business...

A number of small Irish bands will be visiting Toronto in March for the Canadian Music Fest. For those that are not aware the “Canadian Music Fest (CMF) is Canada’s largest new music festival.  It is the festival component of Canadian Music Week, which spans over 5 nights of performances, with over 900 showcasing bands, from more than 40 countries at over 60 live music venues in downtown Toronto”. Most Irish bands will be performing on March 22nd in Rivoli at the aptly named “Music from Ireland” gig. The bands playing this gig are Windings Marc O’Reilly Daithí Fred Cloud Castle Lake Squarehead Two other...

Air Canada has announced that it is to reintroduce its non-stop service between Dublin and Toronto this summer, operating up to seven flights per week from 8 June 2012. The Dublin to Toronto service will be operated by Boeing 767-300 aircraft, offering customers Economy Class and Comfort Plus seats. From 18 June 2012, the B767-300 will be equipped with both Executive First and Economy Class seats on outbound Dublin to Toronto flights on Mondays and Wednesdays, and on inbound Toronto to Dublin flights on Sundays and Tuesdays. “We are pleased to serve the Irish market once again this summer. For several years Toronto has proved a popular...

Join the Ireland Fund of Canada’s Young Leaders at an amazingly different Pub Quiz Night. Tickets are only $10 and can be purchased at the door. This is the quiz with a difference, with lots of mixed-up questions and mixed up teams- maximising the potential for socialising and fun! Shake off those winter blues and come join us! The Ireland Fund of Canada is dedicated to raising funds to support programs of peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education and community development, in all of Ireland and across Canada. Date: 9th February 2012 Time: 7PM Location: The Jason George Price: $10 To get more information or RSVP you can...

One of the things I miss most from home is the full Irish. This is especially true around this time of year. As you stumble out of bed with a raging hangover from the Christmas party you know that the one thing that could sort you out is the Full Irish. This time of year I’m sure a number of parcels crammed with Sausages, Pudding, Taytos, Barrys Tea, Cadburys Roses and all manner of delights are winging their way across the Atlantic from the legions of Irish Mammies. But what is the Irish Alien to do when all of these are eaten and you’ve redeveloped a taste for the Irish food? Where can we get those tastes of home a...

You will obviously need to start buying groceries etc when you get here, keep in mind Canada can be quite expensive so it is important to find the right location to buy items. As mentioned previously get to know your local area, depending where you live things can cost significantly more/less, rule of thumb Down town will cost a lot more than in the suburbs. Don’t be afraid to buy groceries from local shops even if they dont appear to be English speaking, they will all stock milk, bread so go for these premises initially. There are franchises such as Sobeys, Metro, Price choppers that are good for storing big brands at cheap rates,...