By Maggie Demarchi e Erica Silva
The Brazilian community in Winnipeg has grown rapidly in recent years, with new immigrants arriving daily through different forms of visa. The most common types are study and work visas in order to obtain permanent residence. The oldest Brazilians in the frozen lands of Winnipeg, with their characteristic human warmth, have helped a lot in the establishment of the new Brazilian families that arrive in the city.
One of the factors that are contributing to the growth of the community is the recruitment of Brazilian technology professionals to work in local companies. In Winnipeg, companies like SkipTheDishes, Bold Commerce, Online Business Systems, are leaders in recruiting professionals from Brazil. Usually, these companies recruit through VanHack events, which since 2017 brings Brazilians to Winnipeg. Other companies that recruited Brazilians in recent years to work in Manitoba were Gerdau and AGI, both with businesses in Brazil.
Brazilians also find jobs in the most diverse public and private institutions. Since Manitoba has an unemployment rate lower than the national average, a stable and diversified economy and a lower cost of living than other large Canadian cities, many Brazilians and immigrants of different nationalities make Manitoba their destination in Canada. There are also those who give up after a few winters and after becoming permanent residents move to cities where they believe they will find less severe winter.
Those arriving in Winnipeg have three organizations that try to mitigate the impact of culture and thermal shock and accommodate the needs of newcomers. The Brazilian Association in Winnipeg – BRASIW, the Council of Brazilian Citizenship in Winnipeg and the Honorary Consulate of Manitoba are composed entirely of volunteers who work together for the Brazilian community in Winnipeg and its surroundings. A brief summary of the organizations’ last year activities can be seen on BRASIW’s social page on Facebook.
As três organizações trabalham juntas para aumentar a visibilidade da comunidade brasileira na sociedade canadense. O projeto de maior visibilidade atualmente é o programa quinzenal em português produzido pelo U Multicultural Channel em parceria com a Shaw TV. Neste programa que e veiculado no Shaw Spotlight e na mídia social, Maggie Demarchi, Presidente da BRASIW, entrevista brasileiros que falam de experiências de vida no Canadá, compartilhando informações, respondendo dúvidas e oferecendo soluções e alternativas para diversas situações da vida cotidiana nestas terras estrangeiras.
The three organizations work together to increase the visibility of the Brazilian community in Canadian society. The most visible project today is the biweekly program in Portuguese produced by U Multicultural Channel in partnership with Shaw TV. In this program, which is aired on Shaw Spotlight and on social media, Maggie Demarchi, President of BRASIW, interviews Brazilians who talk about life experiences in Canada, sharing information, answering questions and offering solutions and alternatives for various situations of daily life in these foreign lands.
Finally, when arriving in Winnipeg, the Brazilian family will find various types of support. Our message to all who wish to come to Manitoba is to come without fear as they will find the legitimate Brazilian human warmth in these icy lands.
The short article was a collaboration between the president of the association Maggie Demarchi and the chairman of the board Erica Silva.
