2022 Was a Year of Expansion and Innovation for the Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC).
ICC Welcomed Thousands of New Citizens Through Enhanced Citizenship Ceremonies
The ICC worked with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to host 61 enhanced citizenship ceremonies, in-person and online, welcoming 4,739 newcomers into our Canadian family.
Newcomers welcomed through enhanced ceremonies in 2022
Enhanced Citizenship Ceremonies
Canoo Went to New Heights
Additionally, Canoo, our one-of-a-kind app that gives newcomers free VIP access to +1,400 of Canada’s best cultural and outdoor experiences, saw remarkable growth and has the highest number of activated accounts since launching in 2019.
Canoo makes it possible for newcomers to experience our rich culture and build memories with their families. In 2022, there were more than 61,000 Canoo check-ins by adults and just under 50,000 by children. During this holiday season alone, there were more than 10,000 check-ins to various winter events, activities and venues.
10,000+
check-ins during the holiday season
61,000+
adult check-ins
50,000+
children check-ins
ICC Research Uncovered Interesting Findings
This year, in collaboration with Andrew Griffith, the ICC also launched the Citizenship and Immigration dashboard, which tracks permanent resident admissions and new citizens using #IRCC data.
This dashboard makes available important stats and information, including how many permanent residents are admitted each month, the number of new citizens, how many people are inquiring about Canadian citizenship and more.
The ICC also works with partners and program participants to drive research and develop cutting edge insights on inclusion and citizenship.
In 2022, the ICC worked with Canada Research Chair Dr. Rupa Banerjee to produce the report ‘Time to Change Focus? A Review of Immigrant Labour Market Barriers, Outcomes and the Role of Employers in Canada‘.
This report reviews the current state of research on immigrant labour market barriers and outcomes in Canada, highlighting the need for future research that explores the impact of employers on immigrant labour market outcomes.
The LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture Welcomed Canada’s Governor General
On October 6th, 2021, together with the University of Calgary, the ICC hosted the 19th Annual LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture, delivered by Canada’s Governor General, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon. It was beautiful to see guests in person and nearly 400 Canoo members were in attendance!
Her Excellency addressed the importance of teaching Canada’s true history – the good and the bad – both as acts of reconciliation and citizenship for all Canadians, including newcomers. This was followed by a moderated conversation with ICC co-chair John Ralston Saul on the lecture theme: Reconciliation and Evolution of Canada.
Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon delivered the 19th LaFontaine-Baldwin Lecture.
The ICC and 1000+ attendees learned that we, as Canadian citizens, must know, advocate and amplify the stories of indigenous peoples, as they have been silenced for too long.
How are newcomers to Canada valuable in advancing reconciliation? We think newcomers are more supportive and eager to learn Canadian history. Newcomers who have faced biases and understand the legacies of colonialism worldwide push for an equal and inclusive country, advancing human rights for all.
In 2023, we will continue to work towards making Canada the most welcoming country in the world. We look forward to sharing more research, positive results, and Canoo success stories in the months to come.
The Canoo Impact
Canoo was initially offered to new Canadian citizens, who make up the majority of members. With the relaunch of Canoo in May 2022, Canoo is now offered to permanent residents for the first time, and more than 15,000 permanent residents have become members since.
$1.9+ million
in value delivered in 2022
110,000+
canoo member check-ins
> 40%
of members bring children on their visits
Meet Canoo Members
Toni Agbaje-Ojo, at the ICC, interviewed Canoo members on their experience using Canoo and covered a range of topics, from understanding what their transition to Canada was like to how Canoo helped them find a sense of belonging in Canada.
Highlighted below are two Canoo members who explain their journey in Canada and use Canoo to create memories and feel connected to Canada.
What is a Canoo Insights Report?
This is the next installment of our first Canoo Insights Report, a quarterly series started by Ideas & Insights at the Institute for Canadian Citizenship. Through these quarterly reports, we hope to:
- Give readers a sense of the Canoo program
- Reveal how Canoo is the bridge that unlocks the best of Canada to newcomers
- Give readers a glimpse into the moving parts of the Canoo program that make it the biggest welcome network in Canada
What is Canoo?
Canoo is a distinctly Canadian innovation that translates our country’s openness to newcomers. Through the Canoo app, Permanent Residents and new citizens get a 12-month membership that unlocks free VIP access to over 1400 locations and experiences across Canada.
Learn About the Canoo Members
Canoo was initially offered to new Canadian citizens, who make up the majority of members. With the relaunch of Canoo in May 2022, Canoo is now offered to permanent residents for the first time, and more than 15,000 permanent residents have become members since.
$45+ million
in value delivered
450K
newcomers have participated
> 40%
of members bring children on their visits
Who is eligible to become a Canoo member?
- Any Canadian who received their citizenship in the last 12 months (365 days)
- Are within the first 5 years of receiving permanent residence status
- 18 years or older
Eligible immigrants can download the Canoo app, verify their immigration status, and gain access to tens of thousands of dollars worth of benefits + knowledge on what to do in Canada. The whole process takes less than 5 minutes.
Canoo Member Lifecycle:
Download Canoo
The first step is to download Canoo through Google Play or the App store
Verification
If eligible, members will verify their immigration status on the app by scanning their PR card or citizenship certificate
Activation
Once verified, members can choose when they want the 12-month membership to begin (some may choose to activate later depending on their schedule, upcoming offers they want to use, etc.)
Check-in to Places
Once activated, members gain access to arts and cultural venues, sports events, festivals, and more than 1400+ locations
Canoo Members since 2018: 194,760
Canoo transitioned from a paper pass to a mobile app in 2018. Since becoming digital, Canoo data show that 194,760 people have become Canoo members. Of this, there are 48,250 current active Canoo members.
Time frame: May 6th, 2022 – December 12th, 2022
Total Members Since 2018
| Currently Active PRs | 17,190 |
| Currently Active Citizens | 34,510 |
| Alumni | 102,250 |
| Downloaded | 40,810 |
| Total | 194,760 |
Gender Distribution of Active Canoo Members
| Female | Male | |
|---|---|---|
| PR | 8,950 (52%) | 8,170 (48%) |
| Citizens | 17,190 (50%) | 17,320 (50%) |
1) 67 Permanent Resident Canoo members identified as “no gender” or “non-binary”;
2) 25 citizen Canoo members identified as “no gender” or “non-binary
X-axis: Immigration Status, Y-axis: Canoo Members
Age Distribution of Canoo Members
Canoo serves diverse age groups, but a majority of active members are between 25 to 44 years old: 20,218 females, 19,222 males
| Age | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 1,217 | 953 |
| 25-34 | 9,630 | 8,017 |
| 35-44 | 10,588 | 11,205 |
| 45-54 | 2,696 | 3,324 |
| 55-64 | 763 | 798 |
| 65-74 | 339 | 364 |
| 75+ | 997 | 944 |
X-axis: Age, Y-axis: Canoo Members
Canoo Members with Children
In the last 12 months, the total number of adults admitted to Canoo is more than 50,000 members. Of this, 42 percent of Permanent Residents and 49 percent of new citizens brought children to Canoo partner sites.
| Has Children | No Children | |
|---|---|---|
| PR | 8,081 (47%) | 9,112 (53%) |
| Citizen | 19,684 (57%) | 14,826 (43%) |
X-axis: Immigration Status, Y-axis: Canoo Members
Time of Day Check-in
Most Canoo members, regardless of having children or not, visit places in the afternoon to evening.
X-axis: Time of Day, Y-axis: Canoo Members
Canoo members’ Countries of Origin
Active Users by Country of Origin
X-axis: Country of Origin, Y-axis: Canoo Members
Permanent Residents
(Top 10 Countries of Origin)
5,947
PR Canoo members of Chinese Origin
Citizens
(Top 10 Countries of Origin)
6,922
Citizen Canoo members of Indian Origin
In the last 12 months, the highest number of new citizen members were of Indian origin, while the highest number of permanent resident members were of Chinese origin. These trends in permanent resident and new citizen members are relatable to IRCC data on immigration and citizenship numbers, which are available to the public through the ICC’s immigration and citizenship dashboard here.
Days to Activation
Once a potential Canoo member downloads the app, how long does it take for them to activate their membership?
85% of members activate their membership within the first 30 days, and of those 67% of Canoo members check-in to their first location within the first week of activation.
% of members activating Canoo membership
Stories from Canoo
While empirical data is important, direct narratives from Canoo members are also vital. Toni Agbaje-Ojo, at the ICC, interviewed Canoo members on their experience using Canoo and covered a range of topics, from understanding what their transition to Canada was like to how Canoo helped them find a sense of belonging in Canada.
In conversation, Canoo members identified three transformative experiences:
- Exposure to new experiences, places, and people
- An increased sense of belonging in Canada
- Building memories and relationships within families, between newcomers and Canadians, and between newcomers and the cities they call home
Highlighted below are two Canoo members who explain their journey in Canada and use Canoo to create memories and feel connected to Canada.
As Canoo is evolving and becoming better every day, we hope that these quarterly reports help readers to understand what Canoo is, who are the people that Canoo serves, and get to know some of the partners and services that ultimately bring Canoo to life for newcomers.
Interested in following us? Please sign up here for more updates happening at the ICC and follow us to get upcoming content from Ideas & Insights at ICC.
Welcome to the first Canoo Insights Report
This is the first Canoo Insights Report, which is a quarterly series started by Ideas & Insights at the Institute for Canadian Citizenship. Through these quarterly reports, we hope to:
- Give readers a sense of the Canoo program
- Reveal how Canoo is the bridge that unlocks the best of Canada to newcomers
- Give readers a glimpse into the moving parts of the Canoo program that make it the biggest welcome network in Canada
What is Canoo?
Founded in 2010 and formerly known as the Cultural Access Pass (CAP), Canoo is a distinctly Canadian innovation that translates our country’s openness to newcomers. Through the Canoo app, Permanent Residents and new citizens get a one-year membership that unlocks free VIP access to over 1400 locations and experiences across Canada (e.g., Concerts, arts & culture, travel, volunteering, etc.). Canoo originally served new citizens within their first 12 months of citizenship, but in May 2022, the ICC relaunched Canoo and expanded eligibility to more than two million recently arrived permanent residents.
The Problem
The Canadian government pledges to welcome more than 1.45 million permanent residents between 2023 and 2025 and general support for immigration in Canada remains strong. However, the number of permanent residents choosing to become citizens has dropped significantly since 1996, and a survey commissioned by the ICC in March 2022 showed that 30% of recent newcomers under 35 said they are likely to leave Canada within two years.
Like other countries, Canada depends on immigrants, and without their contributions, Canada will struggle to provide good-quality public services and economic growth will decline.
The Solution
Through Canoo, the ICC is on a mission to unlock the best of Canada so that immigrants don’t just come here, but also see themselves as a part of Canada’s future, love it, and become citizens and equal contributors to the country’s shared prosperity and success.
The goal is to create the best possible experience for newcomers in their early years. The ICC has responded by:
- Expanding the range of benefits available through Canoo
- Opening the program to 2 million permanent residents in May 2022
- Providing opportunities for Canadian institutions and companies to join Canada’s largest welcome network
Who are Canoo Partners?
Canoo partners make up Canada’s largest welcome network; a unique model in the world.
Canoo has two partnership streams:
Canoo offer partners – Canoo’s backbone
Canoo offer partners join the network when they commit to bringing great value to newcomers via Canoo. These partners provide free access or significant discounts to their places, experiences, and products. It is about rolling out the red carpet and showing newcomers in tangible ways that they are welcome and wanted in Canada. In other words, they bring Canada’s welcoming spirit to life.
Canoo enables its offer partners to connect directly with newcomer audiences, the fastest-growing demographic in Canada, along with Indigenous peoples. The partnership also supports Canoo’s offer partners’ diversity and inclusion mandates, helping demonstrate impact in the newcomer sphere internally and externally.
All of Canada’s top cultural institutions and most parks are part of Canoo, as are Canada’s flagship airline, Air Canada, and rail company, VIA Rail. Three of the top five most recognizable Canadian retailers recently joined the network and will start publishing their Canoo offers in 2023.
The ICC’s success rate in securing the participation of major brands we’ve outreached to in 2022 is 100%. This is a testament to Canadians’ commitment to welcoming newcomers. We continue to expand our offering each month, bringing on new corporate, cultural, and civil society partners eager to join the Canoo welcome network.
Canoo’s partnerships with immigrant-serving organizations – Further connecting Canoo & the ICC to the newcomer community
Beginning in May 2022, Canoo has been forming a pan-Canadian network of immigrant-serving organizations, such as settlement agencies. These agencies connect newcomers to Canoo, link Canoo members to agency services, and provide valuable counsel to Canoo’s strategic planning.
Canoo places across provinces and territories
Some Canoo partners offer discounts and free admission to their places. These places are situated across all provinces and territories.
| Places per Province | No. of Sites |
|---|---|
| Other (parks, historical sites, museums, art galleries, festivals, theatres) | 340 |
| Ontario | 268 |
| Nova Scotia | 51 |
| British Columbia | 50 |
| Quebec | 50 |
| Alberta | 46 |
| Saskatchewan | 23 |
| Manitoba | 21 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 18 |
| New Brunswick | 11 |
| Northwest Territories | 7 |
| Yukon | 7 |
| Prince Edward Island | 4 |
| Nunavut | 3 |
Canoo partners by category
Canoo partners range from provincial parks and festivals such as the Vancouver International Film Festival, Calgary Stampede, and the Toronto Film Festival, and many discounted and free offers to venues and activities like museums, science centres, and art galleries. In 2022, Air Canada, Canada’s national airline joined Canoo to expand the program’s travel offerings with VIA Rail who’s been with Canoo since 2012. These travel offerings allow Canoo members to discover Canada barrier-free beyond their place of residence.
Places by Category
| Place Category | No. of Places |
|---|---|
| Park | 516 |
| Museum | 165 |
| Historic Site | 121 |
| Art Gallery | 69 |
| Theatre | 11 |
| Science Centre | 7 |
| Sports | 3 |
| Aquarium | 1 |
| Convention Centre | 1 |
| Festival | 1 |
| Library | 1 |
| Zoo | 1 |
Top 5 visited places by Province
Time frame: May 6th, 2022 – December 7th, 2022
Since the relaunch of Canoo in May 2022, Heritage Park Historical Village was the topmost visited site by Canoo members with 1,944 adults and 2,201 children. A living history museum and educational centre located in Calgary, the Heritage Park Historical Village exhibits western Canada from 1860s to 1950s along with amusement rides, restaurants, and event venues.
TELUS Spark Science Centre became the top most visited site for Canoo members with children, welcoming 2,319 children. An interactive science museum that has the largest dome theatre and ignites curiosity in the world of science, technology, and innovation.
Alberta: Top 5 Places Visited
Alberta: Top 3 Places Children Visited
In addition to the places featured in the above graphs, Canoo members received 500 free tickets to the 2022 Calgary Stampede, hundreds of complimentary and discounted tickets to performances by the Alberta Ballet, Calgary Opera, and Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, dozens of free tickets to the 2022 Calgary Folk Music Festival, and unlimited discounted tickets to Calgary International Fringe Festival.
The Vancouver Art Gallery was the top visited site by Canoo members with 413 adults. It is recognized as one of North America’s most innovative visual arts institutions that gives space and focus to First Nations artists and the art of the Asia Pacific region.
Science World recently joined Canoo in September 2022 and became the top visited site for Canoo members with children, welcoming 264 children. Science World is an interactive museum that attracts children with its live science demonstrations.
BC: Top 5 Places Visited
BC: Top 3 Places Children Visited
In addition to places featured in the above graphs, Canoo members received 400 free tickets to the 2022 Vancouver International Film Festival, with 200 additional free tickets being offered for their year-round film screenings. Members also received discounted paddling lessons with Dragon Boat BC, exclusive tickets to BC Lions sports matches, 75 free tickets to Ballet BC’s opening show of the season, and regularly-offered complimentary tickets to performances at Vancouver Island’s Belfry Theatre
Since the relaunch of Canoo in May 2022, Manitoba Children’s Museum was the most visited site in Manitoba – 403 adult Canoo members and 541 children. It is housed in the oldest train repair facility in Manitoba and it “exists to spark kids’ creative learning”.
Manitoba: Top 5 Places Visited
Manitoba: Top 3 Places Children Visited
Since the relaunch of Canoo in May 2022, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic was the topmost visited site by Canoo members with 281 adults in Nova Scotia. One of the oldest and largest maritime museums in Canada, it hosts a large collection of elements that highlight the province’s marine history.
The Discovery Centre is the top most visited site by Canoo members with children, welcoming 221 children. It is an interactive science museum located on the Halifax waterfront.
Nova Scotia: Top 5 Places Visited
Nova Scotia: Top 3 Places Children Visited
Since the relaunch of Canoo in May 2022, the Toronto Zoo was the topmost visited site by Canoo members with 4,043 adults who brought along 3,502 children on their visits.
Ontario: Top 5 Places Visited
Ontario: Top 3 Places Children Visited
Canoo members have had access to incredible events and experiences in Ontario such as:
- 1000s of free concert & show tickets offered by MLSE such as Amy Schumer, Disney on Ice, Eagles, Leon Bridges, and many more. Along with shows and concerts MLSE has also offered free and discounted tickets to check out sports matches for the Toronto Football Club, the Argonauts, and the Toronto Marlies
- 1000’s of free and discounted performance tickets to the National Ballet, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Canadian Opera Company, London Symphonia, Tarragon Theatre more
- Discounts to amazing immersive experiences with Lighthouse immersive
- Free tickets and membership to a variety of different Festivals such as the Toronto International Film Festival, HotDocs Film Festival, Toronto Fringe Festival, Syria Film Festival, Inside Out
- Canoo members have had access to learning how to camp and explore Ontario Parks with the Ambassador program offered by Ontario Parks
- Experience workshops for kids and parents alike with Little Canada, Aurora Cultural Centre, Robert McLaughlin Gallery
Since the relaunch of Canoo in May 2022, Montréal Museum of Fine Arts attracted the most Canoo members with 639 adults. It is the oldest museum in Canada (founded in 1860), comprising over 45,000 artworks showcasing Quebec, Canadian heritage, and international art.
The Montréal Science Centre is situated in the heart of Old Port of Montréal and attracted 416 children of Canoo members. The centre includes interactive, innovative, and educational activities and creates a scientific space filled with fun and wonder.
Quebec: Top 5 Places Visited
Quebec: Top 3 Places Children Visited
A network of four museums in Saskatchewan, the Western Development Museum attracted the most Canoo members to learn about the social and economic development of the province.
Since the relaunch of Canoo in May 2022, the Western Development Museum was visited by 69 adults and 103 children.
Saskatchewan: Top 5 Places Visited
Saskatchewan: Top 3 Places Children Visited
As Canoo is evolving and becoming better every day, we hope that these quarterly reports help readers to understand what Canoo is, and get to know some of the partners and services that ultimately bring Canoo to life for newcomers. Stay tuned for Canoo Insights: Part 2 which will be published on December 13th, 2022.
Interested in following us? Please sign up here for more updates happening at the ICC and follow us to get upcoming content from Ideas & Insights at ICC.
Labour shortages and processing backlogs have sparked lively debates about the impact of COVID-19 on Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). These debates also highlight the need for greater access to information. Through a collaboration with expert Andrew Griffith, the ICC is bringing monthly immigration and citizenship data to the public through a new dashboard.
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dan Hiebert (University of British Columbia) and Howard Ramos (Western University) were speculating about the possible impact of COVID-19 on immigration and citizenship in Canada. These discussions highlighted the unique value and importance of data and ultimately led to monthly tracking of IRCC data across the full range of programs: Permanent Residents, temporary workers, settlement services, international students, citizenship, and visitor visas.
The importance of data was made visible during the citizenship backlogs in the early 2000s and 2010s, which prompted the respective governments to increase funding to IRCC to reduce large backlogs.
We were curious how COVID-19 would change the complex set of push and pull factors that incentivize migration. Put simply, source countries have attributes that make life look more attractive abroad and host countries have features that attract newcomers. For instance, a weak economy or poorer quality of life at home compared to good jobs and good health abroad.
Monthly tracking of data would allow us to observe the downstream impact of COVID-19 on the number and origin of people moving through Canada’s various immigration and citizenship programs delivered through IRCC.
As it happened, the data revealed that COVID-19 did not significantly affect immigration source countries apart from China, where Chinese government restrictions and policies resulted in an ongoing decline compared to other countries.
In the end, it was the Canadian government’s immigration policy response after the initial shutdowns and restrictions that had a much greater impact on immigration and citizenship than our relative handling of COVID-19.
The government’s response included both short-term measures to address particular pressure points such as seasonal agriculture workers, greater flexibility for international students for remote study, and perhaps most significantly, the vast expansion of temporary residents transitioning to permanent residency (TR2PRR).
Picking up on earlier plans stalled by the pandemic, the government took full advantage of the opportunity to implement substantial increases in immigration levels, with the most recent plan committing to welcome 500,000 new permanent residents in 2025.
The citizenship program, briefly shut-down, moved to a mix of virtual and in-person citizenship ceremonies and has recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
Medium and longer-term measures included more online applications and tracking along with IT, AI, and associated investments to improve processing.
Each of these responses had an impact on the people moving through IRCC’s immigration and citizenship programs. But to what degree? The observable change can only be seen in IRCC’s monthly data tables, which remain complex and unapproachable to most.
The goal of this dashboard is to make basic immigration and citizenship data more readily available and accessible to the public. It focuses on permanent residents and new citizens in terms of overall numbers, immigration categories, the countries of citizenship and the year-over-year change. Application data is not included given the approximately six-month time lag. IRCC web data provides a sense of interest in immigrating to Canada and becoming a citizen.
The data series starts in 2018, two years prior to the start of COVID-19, and tracks the impact of COVID-19 and the related effects of the government policy and program responses to COVID-19.
Now, more than two years later, most of Canada’s immigration programs have recovered from the depths of COVID-19 health and travel restrictions.
A more in-depth analysis of COVID-19’s impact and Canadian immigration and citizenship’s recovery can be found in my article, “How the government used the pandemic to sharply increase immigration“.
The hope is that this dashboard will help to spark, substantiate, and contextualize more conversations about immigration and citizenship in Canada.
Andrew Griffith is the author of “Because it’s 2015…” Implementing Diversity and Inclusion, Multiculturalism in Canada: Evidence and Anecdote and Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias: Resetting Citizenship and Multiculturalism and is a regular media commentator and blogger. Find him on Twitter: @Andrew_Griffith
Spotlight on Canoo Members, sponsored by Canadian Western Bank
After getting his citizenship in 2019, Canoo member Smeet Pandya has embraced all that Canada has to offer, especially all the different types of weather. When we asked what he loved most of all about his chosen country, he said there was no contest. Having four seasons is the best.
About Smeet
Arriving from India and settling in Toronto, Ontario, Smeet and his wife have had a great time exploring Canada with the Canoo app. Smeet originally picked Canada for personal growth and to get to be a part of one of the most multicultural countries in the world. Getting to create memories in cultural places has been a big part of him feeling like he is a part of the mosaic that is Canada.
“Access to cultural places plays a vital role in building a strong community that feels inclusive and like home,” he said.
Smeet and his wife used their Canoo benefits to travel across the country and enjoy some of Canada’s most stunning natural sites with VIA Rail.
“Last year my wife and I decided to utilize our Christmas holidays by visiting the Canadian Rockies, so we explored the Canoo app and found out that free entry to National Parks is included,” Smeet told us. “We decided to use our discount at VIA Rial. We departed from Toronto Union Station in a VIA Rail Premium coach and the experience was breathtaking. This was the best trip we ever had.”
Smeet and his wife traveled on VIA Rail’s Great Western Way line, which runs from Toronto, Ontario to Vancouver, British Columbia. The trip offers unique views from beautiful northern Ontario to the awe-inspiring area of the Prairies, all the way to the stunning majesty of the Rockies. The Pandyas loved every minute of it.
“The train experience was so amazing, and we got to see the mountains as the train cruised through the dense forest and snowy hills. We visited Banff and Jasper National Park, and celebrated Christmas in the town with the locals. Skating on Lake Louise was an experience on its own. Our trip of 10 days went so fast, and we would love to do it again.”
“We got to see the natural wonders of the True Canadian North, which we would have never planned if it wasn’t for Canoo. Thanks a ton!”
We’re so glad that the Pandya family was able to see so much of this incredible country, and we’re wishing them a long, happy, and peaceful life in Canada, with many years of exploring the mountains ahead. Thanks to Canadian Western Bank for supporting Canoo so that Smeet and thousands of newcomers like him get to build incredible memories in Canada’s one of a kind cultural sites.
Are you interested?
If you’re interested in discovering some of the same incredible natural sites that Smeet enjoyed, check out Banff National Park and Jasper National Park in the Canoo app. The summer season is just getting started, and the parks are ready and waiting for you to build lifelong memories in them. Happy exploring!
Looking for other Canadian spots to explore over the summer, from coast to coast? Check out our guest post with Windmill Microlending, where we’ve spotlighted some of our member’s favourite places in Canada.
Want to discover Canada through the windows of a train? VIA Rail generously provides a one-time 50% discount on train travel to all Canoo members! To unlock this offer, open the Canoo app, select “More” on the bottom right of your screen, and then click Via Rail Offer and follow the onscreen instructions.
Would YOU like to be featured in our next newsletter? Fill out this questionnaire about your Canoo journey to be eligible to be featured in an upcoming Canoo Spotlight.
Canoo gives new Canadian citizens and their families access to more than 1400 arts and culture spaces and parks across Canada. While Canoo is free to use, it’s not free to operate. As a charity, we rely on donations to help keep Canoo available and free for new citizens. With your generous support, we can help thousands of new Canadians and their families feel like they belong. Give the gift of Canoo! Become a monthly donor today.
-FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — 11 May 2022
MEET CANOO 2.0 — FREE ACCESS TO OVER 1400 EXPERIENCES FOR MILLIONS OF NEWCOMERS
Institute for Canadian Citizenship Works With Canada’s Biggest Organizations and Brands to Relaunch VIP Access Program for Newcomers
TORONTO – The Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) — Canada’s leading citizenship-building organization and the world’s foremost voice on citizenship and inclusion — has relaunched its signature Canoo Access Pass, by making the app available to some two million permanent residents for the first time and adding hundreds of new free and discounted experiences and attractions for newcomers to enjoy in every province and territory.
Canoo is Canada’s only national welcome network for newcomers. The ICC created Canoo in 2010 to help new Canadian citizens celebrate their citizenship. Since then, Canoo has welcomed over 420,000 members and their families with free VIP access to more than 1,400 of Canada’s top destinations.
Canoo 2.0 massively expands the program’s reach to serve more than two million recently arrived permanent residents, and vastly extends the range of available benefits to include free and discounted access to live events, volunteer opportunities, travel, and exclusive deals with Canada’s leading brands.
Canoo 2.0 partners include:
-
- Parks Canada: free admission to national historic sites, national parks and other places administered by Parks Canada.
- VIA Rail: 50% off rail passes for one adult and up to 4 of their kids.
- Air Canada: 15% off up to four tickets anywhere in Canada
- Art Gallery of Ontario: free admission
- Calgary Stampede: free admission
- Dragon Boat BC: discounted intro to paddling classes and more
- Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21: free admission
- Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment: discounted tickets to Toronto FC and Toronto Argonauts home games
- Musée des beaux–arts de Montréal: free admission
- Postmedia: exclusive offer for 12 months of digital access to the National Post plus 16 of Canada’s leading news sites for $1
- The Toronto International Film Festival: free one-year membership that includes access to digital and in-person benefits and experiences
These are just a few of the many organizations and brands across Canada offering deals on travel, experiences and more to newcomers through Canoo, and the ICC will continue to add new partners and experiences to the app, including those that connect newcomers with First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, organizations and events.
“Newcomers to Canada are builders, dreamers, entrepreneurs, and job-creators. As a country, we are better, stronger and more competitive when newcomers don’t just to come to Canada, but love it here, become citizens, and make Canada their permanent family home. Yet recent surveys reveal that up to 30% of newcomers under 35 are likely to leave Canada within two years,” said ICC CEO Daniel Bernhard. “Canoo is a powerful way to invite newcomers to experience the very best of Canada. It provides tangible proof that Canada values them and believes in them, while also celebrating the people, places, and experiences that make Canada amazing.”
86% of Canoo members report feeling an enhanced sense of belonging to Canada after just one year of using Canoo. A further 92% of members will be continuing visiting Canoo partner attractions after their membership expires.
“In short,” said Bernhard, “We know that Canoo works as a tool to create a feeling of home at scale. As of today, it works even better, for many more people.”
To download Canoo 2.0 for iPhone or Android, visit canoo.ca or search for Canoo in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store.
From our partners
“VIA Rail has been a proud partner of Canoo for 10 years and we are excited to be expanding our 50 per cent discount offer on the best available fare to more than two million permanent residents for one trip to a destination of their choice during their Canoo membership. There is no better way to fall in love with this country, and truly make it your home, than to explore it by train. Encouraging newcomers to Canada to travel this country by rail is an enchanting way to welcome them, and support them, as they discover the beauty and splendor of their new home.”
Martin R. Landry, Chief Commercial Officer, VIA Rail
“Air Canada is very proud to partner with the ICC on this initiative as exploring the country to experience Canada’s diversity in-person the diversity of Canada is the best route to welcome newcomers and engage them in active citizenship”
David Rheault, Vice-President, Government and Community Relations, Air Canada
“TIFF is delighted to partner with the Institute of Canadian Citizenship and Canoo as part of our efforts to open our doors to all film lovers to participate in transformative film experiences at our home, TIFF Bell Lightbox,” stated Cameron Bailey, CEO, TIFF. “Those who take up our offer of a free Membership will have access to over 200 free screenings of new essentials, classics, rarities, and recent restorations in our TIFF Cinematheque programming this year, in addition to other exclusive benefits in the lead-up to the Festival. This is an exciting moment for TIFF to welcome these film lovers to Canada and bring them closer into our film community.”
Cameron Bailey, CEO, Toronto International Film Festival
Project benefactors
The ICC is grateful to our generous benefactors, whose vision, support, and financial backing underpin this ambitious expansion of Canoo, including:
Government of Canada
Canadian Western Bank
Irfhan Rawji
Sandra and Jim Pitblado
Power Corporation of Canada
Drs Munira and Kabir Jivraj
George and Martha Butterfield
The Kim Family Foundation
Catherine and William Graham
Naim Ali and Family
Peter Cheung
About the Institute for Canadian Citizenship
The Institute for Canadian Citizenship (ICC) is a national non-profit organization co-founded by The Rt. Hon. Adrienne Clarkson and John Ralston Saul. The ICC unlocks Canada for newcomers, facilitating and encouraging the journey toward full and active Canadian citizenship. Since 2005, the ICC has supported more than 450,000 newcomers with programming to encourage a sense of belonging and build a more inclusive Canada.
For comment and more information: media@forcitizenship.ca
Spotlight on Canoo Members, sponsored by Canadian Western Bank
When we asked Zoran why he picked Canada, he simply said, “It’s the best country in the world.” Originally from Croatia, Zoran became a Canadian citizen in 2019 and settled in Alberta. Since arriving here, Zoran has fallen in love with the great outdoors of Western Canada, especially the mountains. As far as he’s concerned, the only thing that can match up to the Rockies is the Canadian people themselves.
Zoran has used Canoo to get up close and personal with all that Canada’s national parks have to offer, taking himself on as many solo trips as he can.
“I am a frequent goer to all of the national parks in Alberta and British Columbia,” he said. “I saw incredible glacier caves; I rode some of the most amazing ski mountaineering objectives and managed to meet a multitude of amazing people.”
These frequent trips to national parks have been a huge part of Zoran feeling at home in his chosen country. “Every outing is special and creates a special bond between me and Canada.”
He feels that having access to cultural sites of all kinds is incredibly important to building memories and feeling at home in Canada. “Cultural places build and expand knowledge. They add to a sense of identity as a Canadian,” he said. “The trips I took with Canoo were absolutely exhilarating!”
If you’re interested in discovering some of the same incredible winter activities that Zoran has been enjoying in Canada’s national parks, check out Parks Canada’s Winter Activity Hub here. Canada’s great outdoors has something for everyone. Happy exploring!
We’re wishing Zoran a long, happy, and peaceful life in Canada, with many years of exploring the mountains ahead. Thanks to Canadian Western Bank for supporting Canoo so that Zoran and thousands of newcomers like him get to build incredible memories in Canada’s one-of-a-kind cultural sites.
Would YOU like to be featured in our next newsletter? Fill out this questionnaire about your Canoo journey to be eligible to be featured in an upcoming Canoo Spotlight.
Canoo gives new Canadian citizens and their families access to more than 1400 arts and culture spaces and parks across Canada. While Canoo is free to use, it’s not free to operate. As a charity, we rely on donations to help keep Canoo available and free for new citizens. With your generous support, we can help thousands of new Canadians and their families feel like they belong. Give the gift of Canoo! Become a monthly donor today.
Spotlight on Canoo Members, sponsored by Canadian Western Bank
Lorena arrived in Canada from Cuba, with dreams of studying and working hard, and soaking up all of the natural beauty that Canada has to offer. She settled in Québec and became a citizen in 2019. Since then, she has been deep diving into the incredible parks and natural wonders throughout her home province with Canoo.
“For many new Canadian citizens, including myself, Canoo has opened a door to connect even more with our new home,” Lorena told us. “Canoo has been a wonderful platform to discover the variety of cultural and natural places around me. Thanks to this opportunity, I have felt even more motivated to attend different museums, art galleries, and parks.”
So far, her favourite Canoo discovery has been La Gaspesie, Québec, the peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River that is home to spectacular seascapes, mountains and crystal-clear rivers, as well as a vast array of activities and impressive cuisine drawn from the sea, land and forests.
In the summer of 2019, Lorena and her partner organized a week-long road trip from Montreal to La Gaspesie. “We spent two days in Gaspé where we visited Cap-des-Rosiers Lighthouse and of course Forillon National Park. The beach at the foot of the mountain was spectacular, though the water was too cold for a tropical girl like me.”
Located at the northeast tip of the Gaspé Peninsula, Forillon National Park offers sea and cliff views, quiet pebble beaches, camping areas and opportunities to observe all kinds of incredible wildlife, from moose to seals to whales.
Lorena and her partner enjoyed a breathtaking hike together. “The most spectacular view was from the top of the mountain!” she said. “You could absorb all the magnificence of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the vast diversity of flora, and the pleasant sensation of peace.”
The most exciting part of the day wasn’t the mountain itself, but the events that happened once Lorena and her partner reached the summit.
“At the very top, almost a little bit afraid of the height, and among low clouds, my fiancé proposed. I said: “Yes”.”
Forillon National Park will forever be a special place for Lorena and her fiancé. While we can’t guarantee that every Canoo venue will be that uniquely special for every Canoo member (romantic mountain-top proposals are pretty one-of-a-kind), we do think that Canada’s incredible natural locations and cultural sites have a sort of magic all of their own. Lorena agrees.
“Cultural places bring people together,” she said. “They are a means for people with common interests to meet and share or explore new interests. And cultural venues are not exclusively for able-bodied people; they are a safe place for everyone regardless of physical and mental disability to participate.”
We’re wishing Lorena and her fiancé a long, happy and peaceful life together as a married couple, and we’re so glad they were able to celebrate their special day with Canoo. Thanks to Canadian Western Bank for supporting Canoo so that Lorena and thousands of newcomers like her get to build incredible memories in Canada’s one-of-a-kind cultural sites.
Would YOU like to be featured in our next newsletter? Fill out this questionnaire about your Canoo journey to be eligible to be featured in an upcoming Canoo Spotlight.
Canoo gives new Canadian citizens and their families access to more than 1400 arts and culture spaces and parks across Canada. While Canoo is free to use, it’s not free to operate. As a charity, we rely on donations to help keep Canoo available and free for new citizens. With your generous support, we can help thousands of new Canadians and their families feel like they belong. Give the gift of Canoo! Become a monthly donor today.
