Free help for newcomers in Canada
Immigrants in Canada can get very good help, but statistically, most don't use it because they don't know.
The Canadian government offers free services to immigrants, and many charities in Canada help those who have recently moved. These services include help with housing, employment, filling out paperwork, and even free food. It helps to save money and quickly adapt to the new country.
Free food
In Canada, there’re special food banks where groceries are handed out to those who are in need. Don't think of the needy as homeless, any immigrant can be considered needy by Canadian standards.
I think there's nothing bad with taking food from foodbanks, because when you don't have a job yet, but you have a lot of expenses for housing, furniture, and so on, saving money on groceries helps a lot. People often arrive in foodbanks in expensive cars, wearing expensive clothes, so it's not just the needy who take advantage of it.
To get help, you have to apply directly to one of the food banks. The food package depends on how many people there are in your family. Some immigrants register with several food banks and don’t buy groceries at all. But once you start working and paying taxes, you can't do that anymore.
Search for food banks in Canada.
Help with housing
Next is free housing. You can get it for 30 to 90 days, but it's not a freebie, it helps in an emergency, for example, when a person's situation is very bad and they found themselves on the street.
Examples of organizations that help immigrants
- search for immigrant services by location;
- support before arrival in Canada;
- Canadian employment network;
- immigrant integration program;
- Canadian initiative for refugees abroad;
- assistance for francophones before moving to Canada;
- IT talent program.
Help by province
- Ontario (job search);
- Ontario (adaptation);
- Ontario (employment and pre-arrival assistance);
- British Columbia (adaptation and employment);
- British Columbia (immigrant integration);
- Quebec (job search);
- Nova Scotia (job search and adaptation).
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