All Torontonians are invited to join in welcoming newcomers in Toronto with activities and entertainment at this showcase of Toronto’s diverse communities. First proclaimed in 2015, Toronto Newcomer Day is an annual event held in May that welcomes newcomers to Toronto, helps them understand and access a wide range of services, and celebrates their contributions to the city. The event features a number of activities including a formal stage program, a citizenship ceremony for new Canadians, a Newcomer Marketplace, and an Information Fair.
Toronto Newcomer Day includes an information fair that promotes newcomer’s knowledge of programs available to them. Exhibitor applications are now closed.
City of Toronto staff from multiple divisions will be participating in the information fair. The following community agencies and external stakeholders will also participate:
Participants have the opportunity to be awakened to a new perspective of the neighbourhood surrounding Toronto’s City Hall, on a 30 minute walking tour led by Toronto History Museums.
Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Duration: 10 to 30 minutes per session.
Registration: To register your group for this activity, please contact Barb Besharat at Barb.Besharat@toronto.ca and specify the number of participants, age ranges and your estimated time of arrival at the event for planning purposes.
Author, music historian and cultural critic, Klive Walker discusses how Canadians with heritage in the Caribbean have impacted Toronto through music- from the 1950s to the 2000s. This history covers a variety of music genres including reggae, calypso, hip-hop and rhythm and blues. It will illustrate the importance of this music to the Caribbean-Canadian community here in Toronto and its powerful influence on the mainstream.
Time: 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
Duration: 60 minutes per session
Location: City Hall Library
Registration: To register for this activity, please contact Barb Besharat at Barb.Besharat@toronto.ca and specify the number of participants, age ranges and your estimated time of arrival at the event for planning purposes. Please note that a maximum of 50 people can participate in this session.
Toronto Council Fire will host participants in an engaging Tipi-Making activity & workshop to learn about Indigenous culture, and the diversity of Indigenous Nations on Turtle Island / Canada.
Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Duration: 30 minutes per session
Registration: To register your group for this activity, please contact Barb Besharat at Barb.Besharat@toronto.ca and specify the number of participants, age ranges and your estimated time of arrival at the event for planning purposes.
Artists will guide students and other guests in the creation of a collaborative suspended sculpture that embraces change in its aesthetic. Participants are invited to create an individual paper shape that will be added to the final piece. As the number of elements grows, the piece changes, allowing the complete sculpture to be shaped by everyone’s contribution. As individual elements move with the flow of air, they continually redefine the space they now inhabit.
Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Duration: up to 30 minutes per session
Registration: To register your group for this activity, please contact Barb Besharat at Barb.Besharat@toronto.ca and specify the number of participants, age ranges and your estimated time of arrival at the event for planning purposes.
The City of Toronto’s Play Mobile is a City of Toronto, in partnership with Nike, is designed to engage children, youth, families and adults in sports across Toronto. The Play Mobile provides fun outdoor opportunities for Toronto residents to try a variety of sports.
Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Registration: Pre-registration is not required.
To encourage civic engagement amongst youth and newcomer groups, staff from the City Clerk’s Office will share information about way to engage civically with the City. Participants have the opportunity to vote on issues important to them as part of a simulated mock voting exercise.
Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Registration: Pre-registration is not required.
Led by Luminato Festival, guests will be invited to contribute to the creation of a 1.5 meters by 4 meters welcoming sign that will be used during the Welcoming Amal event taking place on Wednesday, June 7, 2023 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. from Union Station to Nathan Phillips Square. Participants are encouraged to write short messages to Amal that will be displayed during the activation.
Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Registration: Pre-registration is not required.
Institute for Canadian Citizenship
Toronto Council Fire Native Cultural Centre
Centre for Learning and Development – Regent Park Catering Collective
St. James Town Catering Collective
Toronto Quadrant Local Immigration Partnerships