Celebrating immigrant success: Presenting the Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Award recipients of 2024

Canada’s population is booming thanks to immigration. People from all over the world choose Canada as their adopted home — making it a better place in the process. The Top 25 Canadian Immigrant Awards have been focused on celebrating these immigrants since its launch 16 years ago.

Presented by?Western Union, the Top 25 awards share the inspiring success stories of immigrants and refugees who come from diverse cultures and backgrounds, from coast to coast. This year’s program is also sponsored by COSTI and Windmill Microlending.

This 2024 list includes a famed comic book author, a celebrity chef, a college president, a provincial politician, plus entrepreneurs, academics, filmmakers, poets and more! The program will once again highlight a Youth Award winner and introduce the COSTI Entrepreneur Award recipient at the ceremony.

“For 16 years, we have been amazed by the stories of our Top 25 recipients,” says Sanjay Agnihotri, publisher, Canadian Immigrant. “As newcomers come to 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 being our partner in the awards.”

“Western Union’s mission throughout our long history as a company is one of being purpose-driven, connecting people and communities through financial inclusion, while placing the customer at the center of everything we do,” said Ari Hagnas, Vice President, Western Union North America. “The close connection between our Canadian customers and their families living abroad together with the role our services play in helping create better lives are inextricably linked. As sponsor of these prestigious awards, we celebrate the contributions made by those that call Canada their new home and support them in their journey toward prosperity.”

“We are a proud sponsor of the Costi Entrepreneur Award, the inaugural year of COSTI's sponsorship of this award celebrating entrepreneurship and honouring those who embody innovation and resilience,” says Samina Sami, CEO, COSTI. “This award signifies our commitment to fostering economic empowerment for diverse communities through a variety of innovative programs. By supporting entrepreneurship, we are building a more prosperous and inclusive country, and we celebrate the significant impacts these remarkable trailblazers have made.”

?"Windmill is proud to support the Canadian Immigrant Awards. Our Empowerment Award honors exceptional contributions to newcomer integration. This year, we celebrate Uzma Bhutto for her tireless advocacy for racialized women and immigrants.” Says Claudia Hepburn, CEO, Windmill Microlending. “Her work has transformed countless lives and strengthened our community. Congratulations from all of us at Windmill Microlending to all of this year’s extraordinary award winners.”

The Top 25 Canadian Immigrants of 2024 were chosen after an extensive nomination, judging, shortlisting and public online voting process. Thank you to our esteemed panel of judges made up of past recipients: Edward Cruz, Archana Medhekar, Hanen Nanaa and Raymond Ngarboui.

In addition to the Top 25, we’re also pleased to introduce the second annual Windmill Microlending Empowerment Award, which recognizes an individual who works above and beyond to empower and support the successful journeys of immigrants and refugees to Canada.

Let’s discover this year’s recipients!?

Ashid Bahl (Calgary, AB/Kenya), President and founder, For the Love of Children Society of Alberta???

Nisreen Baker (Edmonton, AB / Egypt), Director and screenwriter

Lilian Cazacu (Langley BC/Republic of Moldova), Notary public

Chris Chukwunta (Edmonton AB/Nigeria), CEO, International Renewable Energy Systems Inc.

Noel Cunningham (Toronto, ON/Jamaica), Chef, cookbook author and culinary expert

Delasi Essien (Regina, SK/Ghana), Global nurse consultant, nurse leader and educator

Gervan Fearon (Toronto, ON/England) President, George Brown College

Andrea Gomez (Quebec City, QC/ Colombia), CEO, Omy Laboratories

Crystal Hung (Vancouver BC/ Taiwan), CEO, Icon Marketing

Jaideep Johar (Winnipeg, MB/India), Senior Advisor, Marine Safety and Security, Prairie and Northern Region, Transport Canada

Kelly Kaur (Calgary, AB / Singapore), Author, writer and speaker

W. Andy Knight (Edmonton, AB/ Barbados), Professor

Abel Maxwell (Toronto, ON/ Senegal and Togo), Artist and entrepreneur???????????

Shaheen Nanji (Port Moody, BC/Kenya), Executive director, SFU International???

Chukwunonso Nwabufo (Toronto, ON/Nigeria), Founder and CEO, OneDrug Inc. and pharmaceutical scientist, University of Toronto

Gordana Radan (Calgary, AB/ Former Yugoslavia), CEO, Calgary Catholic Immigration Society

Farahnaz Rezaei (Stratford P.E.I./Born in Iran, raised in Kuwait), Policy, research and evaluation analyst, Office of Immigration

Dacious Richardson (Surrey, BC/ Liberia), Youth leader and safe school liaison

Sheref Sabawy (Toronto, ON/Egypt), Member of Ontario Provincial Parliament

Sevtap Savas (St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador / Türkiye), Patient advocate and professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland.

Sahib Singh Rana (Toronto, ON/India), Entrepreneur

Andre Smith (Brampton, ON/Jamaica), CEO, Flip & Floss????????????

Florentine Strzelczyk (London, ON/Germany), Provost and vice-president (academic) at Western University

J Torres (Whitby, ON / Philippines), Writer ???????????????????

Nadine Williams (Niagara Falls, ON/Jamaica), Poet, author and arts educator?????

About Canadian Immigrant

Canadian Immigrant is a national multimedia platform to help immigrants succeed in Canada, with content, resources and events on careers, education and settlement. The brand is the producer of the cross-country Canadian Immigrant Fairs, IEP career path Web Conference Series, and the Frist Generation podcast on the Torstar Podcast Network. Canadian Immigrant is a division of Metroland Media Group, a dynamic media company with leading community and daily news sites, as well as innovative websites including?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. Western Union’s platform provides seamless cross-border flows and its leading global financial network bridges more than 200 countries and territories and over 130 currencies. We connect businesses, financial institutions, governments, and consumers through one of the world’s widest reaching networks, accessing billions of bank accounts, millions of digital wallets and cards, and approximately 600,000 retail locations. Western Union connects the world to bring boundless possibilities within reach.

?

About Windmill Microlending?

Windmill Microlending works to reduce poverty, inequity and labour shortages by offering affordable loans to help skilled immigrants and refugees restart their careers in Canada. Our vision is to ensure skilled newcomers are equitably integrated into the workforce while contributing their expertise to Canada’s economic and social success. We are 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. Funded by both the public and private sectors, Windmill converts newcomer potential to prosperity. Learn more at?www.windmillmicrolending.org.?

About COSTI

Meeting the needs of a diverse society since 1952, COSTI is a community-based diverse social impact agency providing employment, educational, settlement and social services to all immigrant communities, new Canadians, and individuals in need of assistance. COSTI strives to be a leader in community service by using a client-focused, proactive, and innovative approach in planning, developing, and delivering services. Our programs ensure that regardless of language or cultural barriers, people communities are able to access information, use their existing skills and learn new ones that accelerate their ability to engage broadly and deeply in all aspects of Canadian society. Operating from 18 locations in Toronto, York Region and the Region of Peel, COSTI provides services in more than 60 languages. We help over 39,000 individuals receive assistance.

For more information, contact:

?Canadian Immigrant

Laura Jackman, [email protected]