Highlights from the 27th Metropolis Canada Conference in Toronto 

By Jessica Park and Lindsay Bodrug

The 27th Metropolis Canada Conference convened approximately 1,000 attendees on March 13 at the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto, overlooking Lake Ontario. The three-day event, under the theme “Resettling Canada’s Immigration Plan and Program for a New Era,” gathered a diverse group of academics, policy makers, and settlement sector leaders for substantive dialogue and knowledge exchange. On the opening day, the attendees met with a surprise keynote address by Marc Miller, Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, setting the tone for critical conversations on immigration policy and practice. 

The conference featured 141 sessions, addressing urgent and complex issues such as anti-immigration sentiments, the housing crisis, health inequities, challenges faced by LGBTQ2S+ newcomers, challenges impacting temporary foreign workers, and the implications of rapid technological advancements. These sessions fostered dialogue on advocacy strategies and service innovations, concerns over the Immigration Levels Plan released by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada in late 2024, and a shared commitment to improving settlement outcomes for newcomers. The conference emphasized collaborative approaches, critical reflection, and forward thinking solutions across the sector. 

Representatives from Immigrant Services Calgary (ISC) and the Newcomer Knowledge Hub (K-Hub) contributed to three block sessions. The following recaps highlight their key insights and contributions: 

Bridging Service Gaps: A Family-Centered Approach to Newcomer Settlement through Innovation and Collaboration by Wissam Shalaby, Tihana Radojcic, and Megan Gill 

This session spotlighted ISC’s Gateway program. Gateway supports newcomer clients through tailored settlement plans, coordinated referrals, and robust outcomes tracking. The client-centered model assesses multiple aspects of settlement, including economic stability, healthcare access, social and community integration, neighbourhood and physical environment, and education needs.  

Wissam Shalaby, Manager of Gateway Services, presented impact data indicating that 92% of clients reported improved access to services, while 72% experienced reduced stress and anxiety related to settlement in Canada. The Gateway program has connected 86% of its clients to additional services or organizations, facilitated through over 90 direct partnerships, offering more than 3,000 free services. Tihana Radojcic, Senior Manager of Communications and External Relations, reported that in 2024, the program facilitated 127,000 referrals for 12,230 clients, with employment and language services ranking as the most requested.  

Importantly, the Gateway Partner Success team engages partners to gather  feedback on referral processes and system navigation for the newcomers, ensuring continuous improvement. Notably, 100% of Gateway partners reported that the program positively impacts the community.  

Optimizing Newcomer Support: Leveraging Data and Research for Impact 
by Vibha Kaushik, Zohaib Ajaz Faridi, and Megan Gill  
This session examined the intersection of data, research, and newcomer service delivery. Vibha Kaushik, Director of Research and Policy Development at ISC, provided an overview of ISC’s operations, the Gateway model, and the K-Hub.  Gateway’s Partner Portal supports real-time tracking of personalized settlement plans and referrals outcomes, while K-Hub plays a critical role in identifying emerging newcomer needs and informing evidence-based programming.  
Zohaib Ajaz Faridi, Data Analyst with Research & Policy Development team at ISC, discussed the significance of dynamic dashboards in advancing organizational goals. He presented three categories of dashboards, each for a different audience.  

1. Operational: used daily to monitor routine operational activities. 

2.  Strategic: reviewed monthly by leadership to guide long-term planning   

3.  Research: focused on historical and predictive analysis of key performance indicators (KPIs) 

Megan Gill, Intern at the K-Hub, shared findings from her research on invisible work within the human services sector, utilizing institutional ethnography. Her study revealed that frontline service providers frequently undertake tasks beyond their job descriptions to meet client needs, highlighting a gap in organizational policies. The study also identified a lack of coordinated support overall in the sector.  Lastly, Megan offered four key considerations for researchers applying institutional ethnography in the settlement context:  

1. Build Trust and Rapport: Engage participants through authentic relationship-building and clear communication of the study’s purpose to foster trust and collaboration. 

2. Minimize Burden: Integrate research activities into existing workflows and offer flexible scheduling to reduce disruption and encourage participation. 

3. Ensure Transparency: Be clear about the researcher’s role and goals, and use member checking to validate findings and maintain trust. 

4. Acknowledge Positionality: Reflect on researcher’s biases and limitations. Address gaps by working with multilingual staff and adopting inclusive, culturally responsive methods. 

Megan emphasized that applying institutional ethnography requires adaptability, transparency, and a commitment to centering the experiences of frontline workers.  

Building Bridges: Collaborative Solutions for Immigrant Housing, Wellness, and Support by Tihana Radojcic, Kate Bowers, and Candice Giammarino 

This session explored cross-sector partnerships aimed at improving housing and wellness outcomes for newcomer clients.  Tihana Radojcic, Senior Manager of Communications and External Relations at ISC, opened the session by sharing how Gateway client stories and survey data revealed significant challenges for newcomers fleeing domestic violence. In 2024 alone, Gateway processed 718 referrals related to shelter, housing, and domestic violence support. Tihana emphasized the importance of using client feedback to drive partnership strategies and highlighted how ISC leveraged this data to build targeted collaborations addressing urgent client needs.  

A key partnership emerged between ISC, FearIsNotLove, and Safe Communities Opportunities and Resource Centre (SORCe). Candice Giammarino, Director of Programs at SORCe, detailed how their multi-agency model provides coordinated services for people facing homelessness, mental health issues, and addictions. She outlined the challenges posed by the Calgary Police Service’s exit and the COVID-19 pandemic, and how collaboration with ISC helped stabilize and strengthen service delivery for immigrant and refugee clients, serving 603 newcomers in 2024 alone. 

Kate Bowers, Program Consultant at ShelterLink, described ShelterLink’s web-based platform developed by FearIsNotLove and YW Calgary. The platform tracks real-time shelter occupancy across 23 sites in Alberta. The collaboration with Gateway allowed frontline workers to provide onsite services within domestic violence shelters and make rapid referrals through ShelterLink’s centralized system. Kate shared key insights, emphasizing that while many organizations conceptually agree on systems change, true transformation requires a willingness to adapt internal processes. She also stressed that leveraging existing tools, rather than duplicating efforts, enhances overall system efficiency. 

The K-Hub is proud to have contributed to these critical conversations at Metropolis Canada. These sessions underscore the importance of research-informed practice, cross-sector collaboration, and the ongoing evolution of service models to better meet the needs of newcomers in Canada.