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50+ Years of Experience in Newcomer Support
CUIAS Immigrant Services is a non-profit, community-based organization dedicated to supporting immigrants on their journey to successful integration in Canada. For over 50 years, we have helped newcomers adapt and become part of Canadian society by providing a wide range of services tailored to their unique needs. From immigration support to settlement assistance, language training, and employment guidance, we empower individuals and families to build a strong foundation for their future in Canada.
While in the beginning we specialized in services for newcomers from Eastern Europe, we have long since expanded, growing our professional team and broadening our support to serve immigrants from diverse backgrounds. We provide services in English, Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, and Romanian, and we offer referrals to Francophone agencies for those seeking services in French. At CUIAS, we welcome all newcomers, regardless of background, and will make every effort to arrange interpretation services or connect clients with appropriate referrals to ensure they receive the support they need.
· To deliver high-quality programming for newcomers, including pre-arrival information and a comprehensive range of settlement services, to guide clients toward successful long-term integration in Canada.
· To foster strong connections between newcomer-serving organizations and broader community, building partnerships that ensure newcomers have access to a full range of essential services.
· To work collaboratively with other service providers and all levels of government to ensure that the acceptance of newcomers is fair, equitable, and reflective of both Canada’s needs and those of the clients.
· Respect and tolerance for all people
· Exemplifying the qualities of trust, competence, integrity, anti-racism, anti-discrimination, access and equity
· Serving the expressed needs of clients
· Providing high quality programs and services
CUIAS Immigrant Services (originally known as the Canadian Ukrainian Immigrant Aid Society) is a non-profit community organization that has been serving immigrants in Canada for over 50 years. With the support of both federal and provincial government funding as well as generous contributions from the community, CUIAS has remained committed to assisting newcomers in their settlement and integration journey.
Founded in 1973 by a group of ten dedicated volunteers, CUIAS launched the Family Reunification Project in 1977 to help individuals sponsor relatives from the former Soviet Union while actively advocating for government intervention. Throughout the 1980s, CUIAS played a critical role in assisting refugees fleeing KGB persecution, establishing a support network for them in Canada. By the early 1990s, the organization had successfully sponsored over 4,000 self-exiles and later extended its support to refugees fleeing the war in the former Yugoslavia. Since the mid-1990s, CUIAS has broadened its reach, offering comprehensive settlement services to newcomers from all corners of the world.
In response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, CUIAS took on a leadership role, working in close collaboration with government agencies, community organizations, and corporate partners to provide vital support to displaced individuals and families fleeing
to Canada. This included emergency housing, long-term accommodation, assistance with food and living expenses, crisis support, and a full spectrum of settlement services, such as information on life in Canada and community orientation, help with government forms and applications, immigration status extensions, SIN Clinics and Income Tax Clinics, English language training, and mental health support.
CUIAS has been recognized as a flagship settlement agency within the provincial Ukrainian Canadian community structure and a lead organization in the settlement services sector, particularly in assisting arrivals under the Canada-Ukraine Authorization for Emergency Travel (CUAET). This pivotal role positioned CUIAS as a province-wide leader in the Ukraine response, leveraging its extensive reach and new partners to use the assistance offered by Ontarians outside the GTA and help redistribute some of the large number of arrivals around the province.
At the end of 2022, with the support of the Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, CUIAS launched the Airport Reception Project at Pearson International Airport, welcoming Ukrainian arrivals, providing them with initial orientation, facilitating access to federally funded hotels for those in need of emergency accommodation, and connecting them with agencies equipped to provide further support. By the time the project concluded in April 2024, CUIAS had served 32,175 individuals, offering critical assistance during their initial transition to life in Canada.
With decades of experience and a well-established capacity to support newcomers, CUIAS remains committed to assisting immigrants as they build their lives in Canada. The organization continues to evolve, ensuring that every newcomer receives the guidance and resources needed to achieve the best possible outcomes in their new home.
