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*In April 2022, the university announced our new name of Toronto Metropolitan University, which will be implemented in a phased approach. Learn more about our next chapter.*

TMCIS Lunch & Learn - Cities of Migration: Navigating Migration Challenges Across Canada’s Varied Urban Landscapes

Date
April 02, 2025
Time
12:00 PM EDT - 1:30 PM EDT
Location
Hybrid (Online via Zoom & In-person at the CERC/TMCIS Office, located in the Toronto Eaton Centre Galleria Office at 220 Yonge Street, Suite 204)
Contact
tmcis@torontomu.ca

This event was hosted by the Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement (TMCIS) and co-convened by Dr. Zhixi Zhuang, Academic Director of TMCIS, and the Honourable Ratna Omidvar, Immigration Policy Fellow at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) and former Canadian Senator.

Description: With Canada experiencing significant and ongoing changes to its migration policies, our panel discussion, "Cities of Migration: Navigating Migration Challenges Across Canada’s Varied Urban Landscapes," is more relevant than ever. Panellists Doug Saunders, Mary Rowe, the Honourable Senator Paula Simons, and Dr. Zhixi Zhuang provide critical insights into the evolving socioeconomic and geopolitical landscapes. This session explored how policy shifts are reshaping urban planning and impacting municipalities, employers, communities, and settlement agencies across gateway cities, smaller cities, and rural areas. Discussions helped to develop a comprehensive understanding of the complex dynamics at various geospatial scales, as our speakers explored the immediate challenges and effective strategies for navigating them.

Moderator:

The Honourable Ratna Omidvar - Immigration Policy Fellow at TMU and former Canadian Senator

Panellists:

Mary Rowe (external link)  - President & Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Urban Institute (CUI) (external link) , leading urban advocate, and civil society trailblazer

Doug Saunders (external link)  - International affairs columnist at The Globe and Mail and author of Arrival City: The Final Migration and Our Next World, The Myth of the Muslim Tide, and Maximum Canada (external link) 

The Honourable Senator Paula Simons (external link)  - Canadian Senator for Alberta and freelance columnist for the Alberta Views Magazine (external link) 

Dr. Zhixi Zhuang, MCIP RPP - Associate Professor at the School of Urban and Regional Planning, TMU, Academic Director of TMCIS, and Founder & Director of DiverCityLab (external link) 

TMCIS occupies space in the traditional and unceded territory of nations including the Anishnaabeg, the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples, and territory which is also now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. This territory is covered by Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, as well as the Williams Treaties signed with multiple Mississaugas.