As 2025 draws to a close, we pause to reflect on a year that was meaningfully built through partnership, vibrant celebration, and the simple yet powerful acts of heartfelt welcomes.
It was a proud year for us, as our CEO, Gordana Radan, was honoured with the Alberta Immigrant Impact Award. This recognition beautifully underscores a career dedicated to designing pathways that successfully integrate newcomers into the very fabric of our workforce and community.
Our deep commitment to building bridges was powerfully expressed through two landmark cultural gatherings showing our indigenous connection. At the Land of Dreams Urban Farm, a multitude of cultures merged joyfully during our Multicultural Powwow on Canadian Multiculturalism Day, creating a vibrant tapestry of dance, music, and shared meals. Later in the summer, under the wide-open sky at Onespot Crossing, our newcomer refugee clients were warmly welcomed and embraced at the Healing Together Traditional Powwow. For many, it was a first glimpse of Canada’s soul—a sacred experience of drumming, ceremony, and cross-cultural understanding that fostered a true sense of belonging on this land.
Looking firmly toward the future, we focused intently on building opportunities. Our first-ever Youth Employment Summit directly empowered young newcomers with skills, confidence, and—for some—immediate job offers. Complementing this, our Employer Appreciation Event in December convened partner Alberta employers to strengthen the vital links between exceptional newcomer talent and Alberta’s evolving economic landscape, highlighting how collaboration fuels our province’s growth.
We also proudly marked an extraordinary milestone: the 40th anniversary of our foundational Canada Connects program. What began in 1985 as a simple “Host Program” has, for four decades, consistently turned gestures of hospitality into lasting friendship. This program stands as a testament to the idea that successful integration is, at its heart, built person-by-person and story-by-story. To date, we have matched over 16,000 newcomer clients with close to 4,000 volunteers.
However, this year’s story is not ours alone. Every client who arrived at the airport, stayed at the Margaret Chisholm Resettlement Center or walked through CCIS offices; every connection made, skill learned, and every moment of success was possible because of our incredible clients, steadfast staff, dedicated volunteers, generous funders and donors, as well as community partners.
We finish 2025 on a high with gratitude. We look forward to a better 2026, trying to build a stronger, more inclusive Alberta.
