PPCII - Peterborough Partnership Council on Immigrant Integration

Jaime lived in Canada when his father came from Mexico as a Master’s and PhD student at the University of Waterloo. When he arrived, he was about 9 months old; the family left when he was close to 4. He always knew that he would return to Canada to earn his own graduate degree.

He returned to Canada in December 2003 with his wife Evangelina and their daughter. After he completed his graduate studies in Guelph, he was offered a job in Peterborough. It was an attractive location for him and his family as it was close to Toronto and other points of interest.

Jaime recalls his initial arrival in Canada: “When we arrived, we were students living on a student’s salary but with expenses for a family of three arriving in a new country. We had to start from scratch - all the way from furnishing a student residence to figuring out how to get credit to buy a car.”

The family did not have credit as they were issued SIN numbers which identified them as temporary residents (i.e., international students). Before leaving Mexico, they had budgeted for the cost of living, but had based it on American prices which were more competitive than those in Canada. This left them short in their budget. They also faced some challenges with getting a family doctor and with getting daycare for their daughter. Evangelina recalled, “Once we got a spot, my daughter and I loved the daycare and the teachers.”

The family enjoys the beauty of the outdoors and often go camping. They love playing in the snow, but “not when you have to shovel your way to get through.”

Since arriving in Canada, Jaime and Evangelina have had their second child and bought a house. After completing his Master of Science degree, Jaime got a job, and was successful in finding another position after the plant he first worked at was shut down.

Evangelina made a career shift from accountant to holistic practitioner. She successfully opened her holistic studio in Peterborough just over a year ago, and will be co-facilitating the women’s group at the New Canadians Centre with her friend Rosie Schmidt: “I hope we will be able to share our experiences as newcomers with the other women, so that they will get support from other people who know what they are going through.”

Jaime and Evangelina’s tips for successful integration:

• Do your due diligence and read a lot - there are a lot of tax incentives and many sources of government support such as the child tax benefit that you can claim.
• Check with the Business Development Centre as you may be able to get support to start your own business more easily than you think.
• Get as much information as you can before arriving.
• Once you are here, find out what resources exist in your community for newcomers. Ask all the questions you can because people want to help you.