As of September 2025, about 33,000 Ukrainians have come to Calgary<\/a>, although it\u2019s unclear if all arrived through the same program.<\/p>\n\u201cWhen we saw the program in Canada, we thought about it for a year and we finally decided to give it a try,\u201d said Safiullin.<\/p>\n
The couple had multiple Canadian cities on their list \u2014 Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew Calgary as the place where the Olympics were,\u201d Safiullin said with a chuckle. With more research, the two determined Calgary to be a more \u201cmodern\u201d city than Edmonton and with a more \u201cbalanced\u201d lifestyle than found in Toronto and Vancouver.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really like to be active as well and the mountains are pretty close,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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When Karla Fragoso-Schroeter first started dating her husband Cody in late 2017, all she knew about Calgary was that it hosted the Stampede and was close to Lake Louise. She lived in Mexico at the time.<\/p>\n
For two years, the couple carried on a long-distance relationship, visiting each other periodically in their respective cities. Since Cody worked as a pipeline engineer, their only viable options were Calgary or Texas. They chose Calgary.<\/p>\n
In March 2020, Fragoso-Schroeter landed in Calgary. \u201cIt was freezing cold,\u201d she recalled. \u201cI had jackets and stuff, but you just don\u2019t know how to layer up because you\u2019ve never dealt with the cold.\u201d<\/p>\n
She and her husband had been living for two months in Mexico before her move to Calgary, which meant coming home to a shuttered house, empty fridge and a car with a dead battery.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had to go Canadian Tire and get a battery urgently because we didn\u2019t have food,\u201d she said. \u201cI was just like, \u2018Oh my god. What did I get myself into?’\u201d<\/p>\n
Interprovincial migration<\/p>\n
Calgary has also become a prime destination for Canadians living outside the province. Recent Statistics Canada data show Calgary and Edmonton are the top metropolitan regions in Canada for interprovincial migration, with Calgary seeing a net gain of 11,195 interprovincial migrants between July 2024 and July 2025.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the migration to Calgary is happening through interprovincial migration,\u201d said the University of Alberta\u2019s Agrawal, with many residents first settling in Toronto or Vancouver before deciding a second move to Calgary.<\/p>\n
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Toronto and Vancouver, he explained, are better known internationally and therefore tend to draw migrants from abroad. \u201cThey might find that those are not the cities for them to take root,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Employment and economic opportunities are often the drivers of interprovincial migration, he added.<\/p>\n
Stefanni Brasil, 34, had lived in Vancouver for five years with her husband, Thiago Araujo, before they decided to make a change.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe enjoyed Vancouver but in the winter, it was really depressing as it got dark for days,\u201d she said. \u201cComing from Brazil, it was really hard to not see the sun.\u201d<\/p>\n
The other deciding factor was a more affordable living. \u201cWe wanted to move to a new place, but it would cost a minimum of $1,000 more per month,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
They had visited Calgary once to see a friend and found the city pretty and the people friendly.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe thought, okay we can try it out. If we don\u2019t like it, we can move back,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
For Michelle Gooneratne, 28, it was the lure of a \u201cfresh start\u201d and better opportunities that brought her to Calgary in April 2024 after she had lived in Halifax for seven years.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like it was time for me to get out of my comfort zone and meet new people and make new connections,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I wanted to live in a big city but I didn\u2019t want to go to Toronto.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"021726-Michelle_2Million\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/michelle_2million027_301062816.jpg\")
Michelle Gooneratne welcomes the move from Halifax to Calgary. Photo taken on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. Darren Makowichuk\/Postmedia<\/p>\n
Calgary had the \u201cbest of both worlds\u201d to her \u2014 the big city life, better-paying jobs with a healthy dose of nature and outdoor adventure right next door.<\/p>\n
The idea to move to Calgary came up during a girls\u2019 trip to the city in 2023, a year before she moved.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI was thinking about next steps in my career around November,\u201d she said. \u201cI was looking at Calgary and Toronto and I felt Toronto was too overwhelming. I felt like Calgary would be the second step.\u201d<\/p>\n
Support from immigration centre + jobs<\/p>\n
Almost everyone interviewed by Postmedia agreed their first year in Calgary was the most difficult. When asked why, it came down to two concerns \u2014 the weather and finding employment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt (is) very challenging for newcomers to find jobs with the background and experience they have,\u201d Kakar said.<\/p>\n
Despite his experience in international relations, he took jobs in construction and retail, gradually working his way up the employment ladder.<\/p>\n
\u201cI kept applying for jobs,\u201d Kakar said. \u201cI didn\u2019t stop. I tried to network with people.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Russia, Safiullin owned his own agency, working as a videographer and photographer. \u201cWe were doing TikToks and YouTube channels, helping medical clinics and private businesses with their social,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
After landing in Calgary, he sent out thousands of applications.<\/p>\n
\u201cI only got like ten-ish replies,\u201d he said. Having lived in multiple countries and large cities, the challenges of a job search in Calgary came as a shock.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was brutal,\u201d he added. \u201cIt was the first country in my life where it was difficult to find a job.\u201d<\/p>\n
It made him depressed, for a bit, he said. \u201cI told myself, \u2018okay, maybe I don\u2019t understand something.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Finally, he walked to the nearest construction site and asked if they needed any more hands for labour. He landed a job in minutes.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re really missing out (on an opportunity) when we talk about newcomers coming here,\u201d said Kelly Ernst, chief program officer at the city\u2019s Centre for Newcomers.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are coming with incredible skills, abilities, qualifications and we\u2019re not using it to the degree that we could be, even though the positions are out there, and there\u2019s a cry for various positions to use those skills and abilities,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur society sort of vilifies newcomers to a certain degree and we put them in the box (and say), \u2018Oh, well, they need Canadian experience.’\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a common refrain. Newcomers arrive in Calgary with years of work experience, a bachelor\u2019s and\/or a master\u2019s degree and are immediately relegated to working front-line counter at a fast food outlet, as a labourer or in retail.<\/p>\n
In Mexico, Fragoso-Schroeter worked at some of the country\u2019s top companies, but it still took her over a year to find a permanent job in her chosen field here. She started out working at a Little Caesar\u2019s pizza outlet. \u201cThere were four of us (working there),\u201d she said. \u201cOne had an MBA, another had an actuary degree with a master\u2019s in data science. I also had a bachelor\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was (like that) wherever I went. It was overqualified people and we\u2019re all doing these jobs because we don\u2019t have Canadian experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
It has gotten more difficult for newcomers over the years, as the city\u2019s unemployment rate has grown from six per cent in 2022 to eight per cent in 2026 as more people look for work.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s hard, but it\u2019s as hard as anywhere in Canada,\u201d said Banerjee.<\/p>\n
For Kakar, it has meant working his way up over the past three years into his current job at the Calgary Catholic Immigration Society as an employment communications workshop coordinator.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe difficult part was having this passion to help newcomers and not being able to do anything about it (at first),\u201d he said. \u201cI had made a decision that I would give back to the community as much as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
The weather was the easiest part for Kakar.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know everyone hates it, but I like it,\u201d he said. \u201cI do love the snow.\u201d<\/p>\n
But this isn\u2019t the case for a lot of newcomers. \u201cWeather really does make a difference,\u201d Banerjee said. \u201cDuring the winter months, I know families who don\u2019t have winter clothes that would (make it) safe for them to go outside, so many women and girls would just stay inside.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"021726-CS20260203_Calgary_2_Million_JW007\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cs20260203_calgary_2-million_jw007_301140496.jpg\")
Pallavi Banerjee, University of Calgary Professor of Sociology, Research Excellence Chair poses in her office in Calgary on Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026. Jim Wells\/Postmedia<\/p>\n
For Fragoso-Schroeter, it was a big worry. Living in Mexico city, she was used to a warm, tropical climate.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things I found really strange (in Calgary) was how much preparation you have to have,\u201d she said. \u201cFor example, in winter I gotta make sure my tank is full because if I end up in a ditch, I don\u2019t want to freeze to death.\u201d<\/p>\n
Or it may mean keeping a blanket and supplies in the car and keeping the vehicle on so the battery doesn\u2019t die. Buying layered clothing to keep in tune with the fall and rise of temperatures in the winter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Mexico, you just live you life very chill, you don\u2019t need any maintenance,\u201d she said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to worry about the winter.\u201d<\/p>\n
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David Kazimiro moved to Canada from south Sudan in 2001 and had lived in London and Winnipeg before moving to Calgary.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat first winter was brutal,\u201d he said. \u201cI remember telling myself, \u2018how do people live here?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Twenty years later when he watched his newly arrived wife and three children gawk at the cold weather and snow outside the airport, he was reminded of his first time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it was going to be difficult for them,\u201d he said. \u201cAt the airport, everyone was saying, oh this is tough. Some of them was shivering.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"021726-Kazimiro_Family011\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/kazimiro_family011_300821102.jpg\")
David Kazimiro with his wife Dora Ringasi and kids (L-R) Garcia, 8, Whanga, 5, Gele, 10, and Evan, 19, as it took five years to bring his family from Uganda to Calgary. Photo taken on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. Darren Makowichuk\/PostmediaHelping immigrants adjust<\/p>\n
At the Centre for Newcomers, Ernst and his team are long used to receiving and assisting recent arrivals to Calgary. Some come to the centre straight from the airport, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGenerally speaking, what people will do is, they will be here for a few months and try to do everything they can to get settled,\u201d said Ernst. \u201cAnd then once they start getting settled and realize that, \u2018Oh, I could really use some help, that\u2019s when we see them.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
The three key challenges they often need help with? Work, language and housing.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmployment is the very first thing that that we generally get with respect to questions. The second one would be\u00a0 affordable housing,\u201d he said. \u201cBecause newcomers are often in (low-income) jobs, they have to find places with really low rent, for example, for at least for the first while.\u201d<\/p>\n
To a lesser degree, they may also come to the centre looking for low-income passes, referrals to food banks and language training programs.<\/p>\n
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![\"Migration](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/0218-migration.png\")
<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople need to understand. Newcomers want to support themselves,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re not looking for government handouts.\u201d<\/p>\n
When Kakar first landed in Calgary, he and his family were taken under the wing of the CCIS. \u201cWe really needed someone to guide us with the procedures for housing, medical care, everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Now, as a staff member, he helps newcomers find professional jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cI work with them on drafting, tailoring their resumes and cover letters. We practice and do mock interviews, working on LinkedIn,\u201d he said. \u201cSo basically creating or adapting their careers into Canadian professional careers.\u201d<\/p>\n
YMCA Calgary runs YMAP, a free program for Calgary newcomers aged eight to 25 years that helps young adults integrate into society through mentorship, workshops and activities like camps, field trips, classes and volunteer outings. Rey Madridejo, general manager for youth manager at the YMCA said it\u2019s an especially popular program for younger immigrants looking to integrate into Calgary life.<\/p>\n
Many of the kids who sign up for the program may have never heard of some of these activities, like camps or volunteerism, Madridejo said. He recalled how when he first came to Calgary, the concept of a camp as a program was foreign to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cCamp to me was having a tent . . . and having a can of pork and beans and stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t realize that it\u2019s more than that. It\u2019s quite an experience to cherish and look forward to with your family.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\u201cVolunteering is a huge one,\u201d he said. \u201cIt excites them because number one, it\u2019s something new for them and they want to experience it. They also see a lot of their friends doing it. And then of course those who already know about volunteering, they grab the opportunity to fill up the resume.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fitting in<\/p>\n
Madridejo has worked at the YMCA Calgary for 16 years. It\u2019s been 20 years since he first moved to Calgary, yet he is reminded of his own first few years in the city through the conversations he has with clients.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack in your country, you would have had a different life, a different career,\u201d he said. For Madridejo, moving to Calgary meant having to find himself all over again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s what it is. Finding yourself as a newcomer, trying to integrate yourself into a new community and a new life,\u201d he said. \u201cAdjusting to the weather alone is is quite a quite a challenge as well. Things that you don\u2019t even consider before, like stepping out of your house and then it\u2019s just navigating a new life in general.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what worried Fragoso-Schroeter the most about moving to Calgary.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was worried about the weather. I was worried about restarting my career in Canada when I had a job in Mexico,\u201d she said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t the best job in the world, but I thought that I\u2019d have to restart. And driving, to get a new license. I was anxious and stressed.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a common story to Madridejo, the combination of excitement and sadness.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnything new is exciting,\u201d he said. \u201cComing from a different country, it gives you the opportunity to see different things but what also comes with that is leaving a different life behind at home. It\u2019s harder whether you\u2019re an older person or younger, leaving behind your friends is difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
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![\"021726-Kazimiro_Family014\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/kazimiro_family014_300821110.jpg\")
David Kazimiro with his wife Dora Ringasi and kids (L-R) Evan, 19, Gele, 10, Whanga, 5, and Garcia, 8, as it took five years to bring his family from Uganda to Calgary. Photo taken on Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. Darren Makowichuk\/Postmedia<\/p>\n
After living in London, Ont., for a few months Kazimiro found Calgary a welcome change.<\/p>\n
\u201cLondon was small town and not a lot of South Sudanese people there. I was lonely,\u201d he said. Finally moving to Calgary months later, he was able to lean on an already thriving South Sudanese community to help him adapt to the new culture and harsh weather.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was support, community events, gatherings, things like that,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it helped me alot.\u201d<\/p>\n
And since then the community has only gotten bigger, he said. \u201cWhen you see hundreds of people, you feel like you\u2019re not lonely.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the first friends Safiullin and his wife made, after their move, was with a woman who, by coincidence, had lived in the same village where Safiullin was from.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are only 10,000 people living there,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was so interesting to meet someone there in another end of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
She became a support for them with all the practicalities of life here. Safiullin had also posted about his experiences settling in Calgary on Instagram and received responses from other commenters, some of whom he would meet and become friends with.<\/p>\n
Having moved during the pandemic, Fragoso-Schroeter was limited in ways to meet people and turned to Facebook groups to find Mexicans who had moved here.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere would be Zoom calls where people would meet and talk,\u201d she said. She also kept in touch with her friends who lived back home and would spend most of her time with her husband.<\/p>\n
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The struggle wasn\u2019t about finding friends but rather reaching a sense of emotional and mental security to feel able to reach out of her comfort zone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t have a clear outlined path,\u201d she said of her first few months in the city. \u201cIt made me feel insecure and stressed.\u201d For days, her mind would churn with the list of things she needed to do \u2014 get a job with better stability, get a driving license, complete a program of study \u2014 \u201cI didn\u2019t have this mental space to be feeling safe where I was,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce I got a good job, I felt safer to do things,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Gooneratne already knew a couple of friends when she moved to Calgary, who in turned introduced her to their friend groups. But having to leave behind the community she had built in Halifax was heavy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe biggest thing that stopped me from moving to Halifax for the past few years was the community,\u201d she said. \u201cBut slowly people started to move out of Halifax. And that\u2019s when I thought, okay maybe it\u2019s time for me to move.\u201d<\/p>\n
Life in Calgary today<\/p>\n
Today, Fragoso-Schroeter works as a consultant with a flexible schedule that only requires her to be at the office two days a week. In her free time, she goes to the gym and swims at the YMCA centre close to her home. Pottery on Tuesdays. Movie nights with her husband and a girls\u2019 night with her friends every so often.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took three years,\u201d she said for Calgary to feel like home.<\/p>\n
For Safiullin, it was when he realized he had more friends in Calgary than he did back home.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI lived in Moscow for so long and now I feel like I know Calgary better,\u201d he said. It took him two years to feel that way. Currently recovering from a physical injury, his days today consist of him dropping his wife to work, attending physiotherapy appointments, the occasional road trip to the mountains and volunteering.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow we are confident that we have jobs and if something happens we will be able to find jobs,\u201d he said. \u201cNow we know how it works here in Canada and we know that we\u2019re not going to be broken.\u201d<\/p>\n
Coming from Canada\u2019s east coast, Gooneratne said it took her only four month to feel at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I travelled, I was always excited to come back to Calgary,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
By the end of his first year, Kakar said he felt \u201ccompletely at home\u201d in Calgary, so much so that he\u2019s begun writing a book on his experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow I have my dreams, my goals here and I\u2019m very happy to be here because now I have safety. I have the means to complete my dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
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Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links NewsLocal News The allure for many is Calgary’s affordability and proximity to the mountains. Published…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483089,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194293],"tags":[49,2798,48],"class_list":{"0":"post-483088","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-calgary","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-calgary","10":"tag-canada"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483088\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Michelle](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Michelle-Gooneratne-Main-Longform.jpg\")
Michelle Gooneratne welcomes the move from Halifax to Calgary. Photo taken on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. Darren Makowichuk\/PostmediaArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Calgary](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.5.4\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-ch-new.svg\"){kind=logo}
<\/p>\n![\"Calgary](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.5.4\/websites\/images\/newsletters\/icon-ch-noonNewsRoundup.svg\"\/){kind=icon}
<\/p>\n![\"021726-2_Million_-_Muhammad_Kakar\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/2-million-muhammad-kakar_301114024.jpg\")
Muhammad Kakar, a former Afghan national, was photographed in Calgary on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. Kakar left Afghanistan in 2022 when the Taliban took control of the country, and has called Calgary home ever since. Brent Calver\/Postmedia<\/p>\n![\"021726-Sandeep_Agrawal_0931\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/sandeep-agrawal-0931_84849788.jpg\")
Sandeep Agrawal, a professor and head of the University of Alberta\u2019s School of Urban and Regional Planning, talks about his research on how zoning rules around mature neighbourhoods affect equity. Photo taken on Wednesday, June 16, 2021, in Edmonton. Greg Southam\/Postmedia<\/p>\n