Canoo Access Pass

We Made a Promise.
We Kept It.

When we published our special Impact Report last year, marking 15 years of working to unlock Canada for newcomers, we made a huge promise. We told the world that we would give newcomers access to our one-of-a-kind Canoo Access Pass not just when they become citizens, but from the very first day they arrive in Canada. We kept that promise. Throughout 2021, our team worked endlessly to relaunch Canoo, resulting in two major changes:

1. Canoo is now available not just to new citizens but also to all permanent residents within five years of arrival. That’s roughly two million people and their families whose first experience of Canada will be positively life-changing.
2. We’ve added spectacular new benefits to Canoo, including free and discounted offers with Air Canada, film festival memberships, professional sports tickets, concerts, shows, classes, kids’ activities, volunteering, and so much more.

This expansion will allow hundreds of thousands of newcomer families to discover more than 1,400 of Canada’s top attractions and destinations and create memories that will last a lifetime.

Within 12 months, we aspire to serve more newcomers than all other federally funded settlement agencies, combined, at 0.5% of the cost.

As the Government of Canada’s largest ceremony partner, the ICC has delivered more than 400 enhanced citizenship ceremonies across the country in both official languages.  

While COVID-19 forced us to move online and temporarily pause our signature in-person roundtable discussions, it has not stopped us from ensuring meaningful Indigenous participation and creating a magical experience for Canada’s newest citizens. Throughout 2021, we were joined by leading Indigenous leaders from across the country, including AFN National Chief, RoseAnne Archibald, Elder Gilbert Whiteduck, and Elder Marcel Gagnon. Our Indigenous speakers inspired the newest members of our Canadian family, and reminded them that this privilege comes with the obligation to understand and advance reconciliation. 

To keep our ceremonies relevant and dynamic, we often tailor ceremonies to a special occasions or commemorative periods. In 2021, we hosted ceremonies in commemoration of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, Black History Month, Asian History Month, Education Month, Human Rights Day, and so many more important occasions. 

For our February 15^th livestream ceremony commemorating Black History Month and Flag Day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau surprised the new citizens with an unannounced special appearance, alongside Minister of Immigration, Sean Fraser. Other notable guests and performers include Commander Chris Hadfield, JUNO Award-winning conductor and composer Samy Moussa, Canadian novelist Esi Edugyan, The Melisizwe Brothers, and many others. 

The journey to full and equal citizenship is often obstructed by professional bodies and regulators that prevent highly trained newcomers from contributing their professional expertise to Canada.

For example, even when internationally trained medical doctors get their credentials recognized and pass Canadian qualifying exams, many are still systematically excluded from practicing medicine. Even after earning extra certifications, internationally trained doctors still aren’t allowed to apply to 90% of the total residency positions available in Canada. These thousands of internationally trained doctors in Canada are waiting on the sidelines to support the health of Canadians.

This is unwise in the best of times, but during a global health emergency, with ICUs overflowing and even critical surgeries being cancelled, excluding fully qualified immigrant doctors from working is quite simply reckless.

The ICC believes that it is not enough to simply “admit” immigrants into the country. For Canada to be truly welcoming and inclusive, we must ensure that immigrants have fair opportunities to contribute their skills and experiences to the Canadian economy – especially doctors, nurses, teachers, and other public service professionals. This is why, in May 2021, in partnership with Vancity, spark* advocacy, and Leger, we launched the #EqualChance campaign. 

#EqualChance called for urgent, essential changes that would finally allow internationally trained doctors, to contribute to the Canadian healthcare system.