Immigration Partnership Winnipeg hosts seminar to educate newcomers on the upcoming federal election

Dozens of newcomers attended a seminar at the South Sudanese Community Centre at 129 Dagmar Street hosted by Immigration Partnership Winnipeg. Some of the MPs from the federal Winnipeg Centre riding were in attendance on Saturday April 12, to address concerns attendees had ahead of the federal election. (Dan Timmerman/CTV News Winnipeg)

A large group of newcomers to Winnipeg took part in a seminar designed to raise awareness over the upcoming federal election on April 28.

“I think that when people get informed, they feel more confident, and they also feel like that their voice matters,” said Carolina Meneses Zamora, project manager at Immigration Partnership Winnipeg.

On Saturday afternoon, Immigration Partnership Winnipeg welcomed newcomers to the South Sudanese Community Centre at 129 Dagmar Street to promote their “Got Citizenship, Go Vote” campaign.

The organization has run the event for over a decade during civic, provincial, and federal election periods. Designed for first-time voters and new Canadians, organizers said it is critical for people to develop a better understanding of the current Canadian political discourse.

“I think it’s important because sometimes newcomers, they do not have access to the information about the Canadian political system, or they don’t have a good understanding of how it works, so people tend to feel overwhelmed, or people also do not have trust in political systems, so they tend to not participate,” Zamora said.

“We consider it important for people to participate, because this is their home now, and they could actually have an impact with their vote on their day to day life.”

Leah Gazan of the New Democratic Party, Gary Gervais of the Green Party of Canada and Rahul Walia of the Liberal Party of Canada were in attendance as Member of Parliament Candidates for the Winnipeg Centre riding to encourage newcomers to get out and vote.

“I also think that bringing the candidates gives people also an opportunity to put a face on those discourses that they hear around for the remainder of the time up to the election,” Zamora said.

Immigration Partnership Winnipeg partnered with staff from the University of Manitoba for the event and an additional webinar is planned in the leadup to April 28.