Canada’s Growing Population Benefits from Immigration, Celebrated by Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards.
Toronto— Canada’s population is experiencing significant growth, largely fueled by immigration. Individuals from various parts of the world are choosing Canada as their new home, enriching the country in the process. For the past 16 years, the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards have recognized the contributions of these immigrants, celebrating their positive impact on the nation.
The 2024 Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards, presented by Western Union, continue this tradition by sharing the inspiring stories of immigrants and refugees from diverse backgrounds across Canada. This year’s awards are also supported by COSTI and Windmill Microlending.
The 2024 honorees include a comic book author, a celebrity chef, a college president, a provincial politician, and a range of other professionals such as entrepreneurs, academics, filmmakers, and poets. In addition to the Top 25 awards, the program will feature a Youth Award winner and introduce the COSTI Entrepreneur Award during the ceremony.
“For 16 years, we have been inspired by the stories of our Top 25 recipients,” said Sanjay Agnihotri, publisher of Canadian Immigrant. “As newcomers arrive in Canada to start new lives, it’s important for them to have role models to look up to, like our Top 25. Congratulations to all of this year’s inductees, and thank you to Western Union for partnering with us on these awards.”
Ari Hagnas, Vice President of Western Union North America, highlighted the significance of the awards. “Western Union’s mission has always been purpose-driven, connecting people and communities through financial inclusion while keeping the customer at the center of everything we do. The connection between our Canadian customers and their families abroad, along with the role our services play in creating better lives, is closely tied to our support for these awards. We celebrate the contributions of those who call Canada their new home and support them in their journey toward prosperity.”
The inaugural COSTI Entrepreneur Award, sponsored by COSTI, celebrates innovation and resilience in entrepreneurship. Samina Sami, CEO of COSTI, emphasized the importance of this award. “This award signifies our commitment to fostering economic empowerment for diverse communities through innovative programs. By supporting entrepreneurship, we are building a more prosperous and inclusive country. We celebrate the significant impacts these remarkable trailblazers have made.”
Windmill Microlending also supports the awards through its Empowerment Award, which honors individuals making exceptional contributions to newcomer integration. This year’s honoree, Uzma Bhutto, was recognized for her advocacy on behalf of racialized women and immigrants. Claudia Hepburn, CEO of Windmill Microlending, praised Bhutto’s work. “Her efforts have transformed countless lives and strengthened our community. Congratulations to all of this year’s extraordinary award winners.”
The selection process for the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants of 2024 involved extensive nominations, judging, shortlisting, and public online voting. The judging panel included past award recipients such as Edward Cruz, Archana Medhekar, Hanen Nanaa, and Raymond Ngarboui.
In addition to the Top 25, the Windmill Microlending Empowerment Award was introduced for the second time, recognizing an individual who goes above and beyond to empower and support the successful journeys of immigrants and refugees in Canada.
About Canadian Immigrant
Canadian Immigrant is a national multimedia platform dedicated to helping immigrants succeed in Canada. It offers content, resources, and events related to careers, education, and settlement. The brand produces cross-country Canadian Immigrant Fairs, the IEP Career Path Web Conference Series, and the First Generation podcast on the Torstar Podcast Network. Canadian Immigrant is a division of Metroland Media Group, a leading community and daily news organization with innovative websites such as save.ca, wonderlist.ca, and travelalerts.ca. Learn more at canadianimmigrant.ca.
About Western Union
Western Union is a global leader in cross-border, cross-currency money movement and payments. Its platform facilitates seamless cross-border flows, connecting over 200 countries and territories and more than 130 currencies. Western Union’s network spans businesses, financial institutions, governments, and consumers, offering access to billions of bank accounts, millions of digital wallets and cards, and approximately 600,000 retail locations. Western Union’s mission is to connect the world, bringing boundless possibilities within reach.
About Windmill Microlending
Windmill Microlending works to reduce poverty, inequity, and labor shortages by offering affordable loans to help skilled immigrants and refugees restart their careers in Canada. The organization’s vision is to ensure skilled newcomers are equitably integrated into the workforce, contributing their expertise to Canada’s economic and social success. Windmill is the country’s only national charity providing financial support to new Canadians to achieve their accreditation, training, and professional development goals. Since 2005, Windmill has provided more than 8,000 microloans to skilled newcomers.
About COSTI
Established in 1952, COSTI is a community-based social impact agency that provides employment, education, settlement, and social services to all immigrant communities, new Canadians, and individuals in need. COSTI’s programs are designed to ensure that people can overcome language or cultural barriers to access information, use their existing skills, and learn new ones that help them fully engage in Canadian society. With 18 locations across Toronto, York Region, and the Region of Peel, COSTI offers services in more than 60 languages and assists over 39,000 individuals each year.