The Newcomers Podcast 🎙️

Dozie Anyaegbunam
  • 5.0 (3)
  • PLACES & TRAVEL
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Interviews with immigrants and stakeholders involved in the immigration process where we explore the immigration journey, raising kids in a new culture, cultural adaptation, integration, identity, and everything in-between. thenewcomerspod.com

  1. E146: Busayo Disu thinks the society has to meet the immigrants halfway

    1D AGO

    E146: Busayo Disu thinks the society has to meet the immigrants halfway

    In today's episode, I'm speaking with Busayo Disu, a pharmacist turned intercultural communication advocate who moved from Nigeria to Sherwood Park, Alberta in 2019. Since that time, she's launched the African Society of Strathcona County, written a children's book called Our Story, Our Voice, produced a documentary of the same name, and is organizing community dialogues between policymakers and immigrant families. This was one of those conversations where we got into it, albeit productively and respectfully. So here's the gist. Busayo's position on integration is the environment, its leadership, and its organizations have to create the conditions for integration. Without that, she says, any individual effort by the immigrants just generates unnecessary conflict. While I agree that society plays a part, I also think the immigrant needs to do the work of nudging society along to create those conditions. Healthy conflict is the way the world changes. This was a fun one. ---------- Busayo and I also chat about: How she's building community dialogues between policymakers and immigrant familiesHow her children's struggles pushed her into community buildingWhat Canadians can do to welcome newcomersWhy she thinks immigrant parents need to get involved in building the society their kids are going to grow up in---------- Dozie's Notes A few things that struck me as I listened through this week's conversation: The gap between policy and practice is where immigrants get lost in the workplace. Organizations will say they have a diversity and inclusion policy. But what are the actual steps? How is feedback received across cultural lines? Are there strategies for intercultural communication, or just a document filed away somewhere?"Passionate" can be a compliment or a code word, and the difference depends entirely on who's saying it. Busayo went to multiple job interviews where interviewers told her she was "so passionate." She later found out that it was polite Canadian for "you're too much." In Nigeria, it's okay to be passionate and direct. In a Canadian professional setting, it can be seen as aggression. This is one of those invisible cultural translation problems that no settlement guide covers. I think the fix is for both sides to understand that communication styles are culturally coded, and different doesn't mean wrong.Integration requires infrastructure that most communities don't have yet. And we immigrants need to do the work of building that connective tissue. Don't wait, stretch out your hand and kick off the conversation. Sometimes you'll get a handshake, sometimes you won't. And that's okay.The most effective immigrant advocates I've spoken to on this podcast don't wait for permission. Busayo got county funding for her book. She got the mayor to write the foreword. She got it into schools by aligning it with the Alberta curriculum. She's organizing a community dialogue in the council chambers with policymakers, MLAs, school principals, and religious leaders. She's the first Black member of the library board. All these happened because she showed up and made the case. That's how societies change. ---------- Official Links ✅ Connect with Busayo Disu on LinkedIn ✅ The Avid Readers of Africa website One Ask If you found this story helpful, please consider sharing it with one immigrant you know.

    1h 9m
  2. E145: Abdullah Sharief thinks Canada's risk aversion could be costly in the long-term

    FEB 19

    E145: Abdullah Sharief thinks Canada's risk aversion could be costly in the long-term

    In today's episode, I'm speaking with Abdullah Sharief, Co-Founder and CMO of Panda Hub, North America's leading mobile car detailing platform. Abdullah studied medicine in Turkey, came to Canada in 2018, and has gone on to build arguably Canada's biggest car care platform. Abdullah is a straight-shooter, and I do appreciate folks like him. Launching Panda Hub with his co-founder, Reza Ahmadi, means they've dealt with Canadian VCs firsthand. His assessment? A lot of them are slow, small-minded, and are always looking for safe bets. And if we stay the same way we are, we're going to be left behind eventually. ---------- Abdullah and I also chat about: Giving up his medical degree The door-to-door sales experience that changed everything for himStarting a business during COVID Why you shouldn't celebrate your wins too earlyWhat he's hoping Panda Hub looks like by year 10---------- Dozie's Notes A few things that struck me as I listened through this week's conversation: Being honest in business is a practical and moral position. In the early years of building a business, when everything is messy and relationships are fragile, honesty and consistency is worth more than any short-term advantage a lie could give you."Extract as much as you can from the opportunity in front of you" seems to be a better framework than goal-setting. Goals are useful, but they also create a scorekeeping mentality where you either hit the number or you didn't. Abdullah approaches it differently. He looks at whatever opportunity exists right now and asks: what's the maximum value I can pull from this? That mindset kept him from stalling when COVID killed his agency and when door-to-door sales hit a ceiling It's forward-looking without being rigid because there's always more value to extract.Survival jobs can be more than placeholders. Abdullah's door-to-door sales job was some experience; commission only, no base salary, and dealing with constant rejection. However, it taught him to connect with strangers, handle "no" without crumbling, and figure out quickly what language makes people trust you enough to buy. Those are skills that have come in handy today as he works on Panda Hub.---------- Official Links ✅ Connect with Abdullah Sharief on LinkedIn ✅ Check out Panda Hub ✅ Read our profile on Abdullah Sharief One Ask If you found this story helpful, please consider sharing it with one immigrant you know.

    48 min
  3. E144: Maria Kamila González knows the real reason you can't save money

    FEB 13

    E144: Maria Kamila González knows the real reason you can't save money

    In today's episode, I'm speaking with Maria Kamila González, the co-founder of Finanzo, a non-profit organization in Toronto that believes in making newcomers financially aware and has impacted the lives of 100,000 immigrants in the US and Canada. Maria is a psychologist by training, which means that when she talks about money, she doesn't start with budgeting or spreadsheets. She starts with your childhood, your parents, and the patterns you inherited from them, as well as the patterns your culture or society drilled into you about money. In her words, "How you treat money is how you treat everything else." Worth pausing on that for a bit, people. ---------- Maria and I chat about: The baseline assessment every newcomer should do before anything elseHow banks profit from immigrants' ignorance about how credit worksHow to handle "black tax" and family remittances Why financial planning is best done progressivelyThe Finanzo origin story---------- Dozie's Notes A few things that struck me as I listened through this week's conversation: With money, we're often struggling with the money habits we inherited from our parents and our culture's relationship with worthiness. To solve bad money patterns, one needs to tackle these two layers; the family and cultural layer. The family layer, which is what your parents modeled for you as a child, consciously or not. And the cultural layer, which is what colonisation embedded in entire populations about who deserves wealth and who doesn't. Money is tied closely to our identity.Most people know the right financial move. Where it falls apart is actioning it. Most of us already know that high-interest credit card debt isn't great. But we keep collecting those credit cards like the souvenirs we buy at the duty-free shops. This behaviour is why Maria treats financial literacy as therapy.The first step in taking control of your finances is understanding your baseline. Before any financial tool works, you need to understand where you stand, not just financially but psychologically. How much debt do you carry? How much are you sending home? But also: are you afraid of money? Do you feel you deserve wealth? Do you repeat the same financial mistakes every few years?---------- Official Links ✅ Connect with Maria Kamila González on LinkedIn ✅ Check out the Finanzo website One Ask If you found this story helpful, please consider sharing it with one immigrant you know.

    53 min
  4. E143: Mustafa Ansari thinks the public image problem of skilled trades is costing Canada

    FEB 6

    E143: Mustafa Ansari thinks the public image problem of skilled trades is costing Canada

    In today's episode, I'm chatting with Mustafa Ansari, Director of Marketing of Toronto Business Development Centre (TBDC), who's made it a personal mission to get more immigrants into trucking and the skilled trades. Mustafa moved from Pakistan to Canada in 2018. After completing his master's degree at Smith School of Business, Queens University, he couldn't find a job in his preferred industry; economic development. So he bounced around a few temporary and contract jobs, and eventually took a junior social media position at TBDC just to get his foot in the door. They then handed him two industries that had zero creative marketing and no public appeal (trucking and skilled trades) and told him to go figure it out. And Mustafa went on a roll. ---------- Mustafa and I chat about: Why some of the most overlooked careers in Canada might be the smartest career choices for immigrantsThe myths that pervade the skilled trades sector Why he disagrees with the perception that skilled trades are for people who couldn't make it elsewhereUsing video game design principles on the TBDC career websiteHis advice to his younger self if he were to make the immigration journey again---------- Dozie's Notes A few things that struck me as I listened through this week's conversation: Women are often told these industries aren't for them. The women inside say otherwise. Mustafa and his team at TBDC now run women-focused programs where they invite other women practitioners to come share their stories and possible pathways to joining the industry.Field trips have done wonders for getting people interested. Mustafa got tired of watching people fall asleep or look glazed during bootcamps. Now he gets them talking directly to people in the industry, riding along in the truck, joining "show-me-how-you-do-it" workshops. We need to find a way to make these jobs cool. The public image is costing everyone. People don't realize that their are companies in these industries that are properly organized, have well-run HR departments, and growth paths to executive roles. The perception is stuck in an older era. And until that changes, the talent gap keeps widening.A three to five week course can change everything. You don't need a four-year degree or have tens of thousands of dollars stashed away for tuition. A few weeks of training, pass the test, and you're earning. As an apprentice, you also make money while you learn.---------- Official Links ✅ Connect with Mustafa Ansari on LinkedIn ✅ Read the Starter Guide to Skilled Trades for Newcomers in Ontario One Ask If you found this story helpful, please consider sharing it with one immigrant you know.

    33 min
  5. E142: Diana Palmerín Velasco on resetting the Canadian immigration conversation

    JAN 30

    E142: Diana Palmerín Velasco on resetting the Canadian immigration conversation

    In today's episode, I'm talking with Diana Palmerín Velasco of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce about how we go about rebuilding trust in Canada's immigration system. Diana moved to Canada in 2011 with all the credentials you'd think would make settling into the country easy. She had a PhD and five years of UK work experience. It still took her two years to land her first job. And she only got it because someone she knew referred her. That was almost 15 years ago, and not much has changed. We are still underutilising talent. And now we have a public trust crisis on top of it. ---------- Diana and I chat about: The communities across Canada that are desperate for people and can't get themHow the Chamber network is advocating for regional immigration strategiesThe global war for talent and why Canada risks being left behindWhy she believes immigrants are being blamed for problems they didn't createThe paradox of selecting for PhDs when most job vacancies require a high school diplomaWhat the business community can do to bring Canadians back on sideWhy immigration success happens at the local community level---------- Dozie's Notes A few things that struck me as I listened through this week's conversation: We need to recover public trust before anything else can work. Diana frames this as the foundation. If immigrants land in communities and don't feel welcomed and valued, everything else falls apart. We all just end up retreating into ethnic enclaves which ends up causing more damage to an already fractured society. The work now is about showing Canadians that immigration benefits everyone, not a few regions or employers , but everyone.When Diana spent two years unemployed, she lost. But Canada lost too. Those were two years where she wasn't paying taxes or contributing to the economy. We talk about immigrant resilience like it's a badge of honour. But the question we should be asking is: should it be this hard? And what does it cost us all when talented people are stuck on the sidelines?We've allowed immigrants to be blamed for systemic failures. Diana says the silence from government on this hasn't been helpful. Housing, healthcare, education—Canadians keep pointing to immigrants as the cause. But that isn't exactly true. The youth unemployment piece, for example, is far more complicated than "immigrants took the jobs." AI is eliminating entry-level roles. Trade uncertainty has businesses freezing hiring. None of these issues deserve simple answers, but simple answers are all we keep getting.Immigrants are not a monolith but the Canadian immigration system tends to treat them like they are. It's frustrating to see people assume all immigrants are the same: desperate, penniless, struggling with English. The reality is wildly different. Canada attracts some of the most talented and experienced people. Folks with advanced degrees, global networks, and multinational work experience. The settlement sector, the policy system, the public conversation just seems to collapse all this diversity into one box. And then we wonder why nothing works.--------- Official Links ✅ Connect with Diana Palmerín Velasco on LinkedIn One Ask If you found this story helpful, please consider sharing it with one immigrant you know.

    57 min
  6. E141: Ruairi Spillane wants you to stop treating job hunting like Bingo

    JAN 23

    E141: Ruairi Spillane wants you to stop treating job hunting like Bingo

    In today's episode, I'm talking to the brilliant and straight-shooting Ruairi Spillane, who runs Moving2Canada and Outpost Recruitment. Ruairi is one of the OGs when it comes to helping newcomers move to Canada, find jobs, and settle in nicely. So he was a must-have on The Newcomers Podcast. As someone who's been recruiting local and global talent for Canada for over a decade, he's seen what works, what doesn't, and he's not afraid to tell you the difference. And he dished out dollops of that tough love on this episode. ---------- Ruairi and I chat about: The red flags that tell him an immigrant is likely to struggle in the job searchThe three risks employers are evaluating you on during the interview processWhy Canadianizing your resume is about the content, not the formatHow to proactively address your immigration pathway in an interview---------- Dozie's Notes A few things that struck me as I listened through this week's conversation: "I can do anything" is a red flag, not a selling point. It screams you haven't done the research. Pick one or two job titles that match your skills in Canada and build your resume around those. Spraying and praying something sticks is exhausting. Canadian employers are evaluating three risks you probably aren't addressing. Settlement risk: Will you stay? Immigration risk: Can you stay? Local experience risk: Can you adapt? Ruairi says employers in professional roles aren't hiring for six months. They're investing in training you for three to four years. If your answer to "How long will you be in Canada?" is "I have a two-year work permit, we'll see if we like it," you've just told them you're a flight risk.Refusing to adapt your resume can mean you might struggle to adapt to the role. Ruairi says it's a pattern he's seen over the last 12 years. When he suggests improvements and a candidate says "my resume is fine the way it is" or "I paid someone to edit this so I'm not changing it," he steps away. Time and time again, that response has usually meant the individual might not be exactly willing to adapt to a new way of doing things in a new country. Brutal? Right?---------- Official Links ✅ Connect with Ruairi Spillane on LinkedIn ✅ Check out the Outpost Recruitment Jobs Board ✅ Join the 170K+ strong newcomer community on Moving2Canada One Ask If you found this story helpful, please consider sharing it with one immigrant you know.

    1h 26m
  7. E140: Rodrigo Cotrim de Carvalho is trying to understand what's wrong with him

    JAN 21

    E140: Rodrigo Cotrim de Carvalho is trying to understand what's wrong with him

    In our first episode of 2026, I'm speaking with Rodrigo Cotrim de Carvalho, a Brazilian food researcher and educator who left Rio de Janeiro for Ottawa, Canada, through the now shuttered Startup Visa program. There's a lot to reflect on here, folks. But I think the one I kept coming back to was the point Rodrigo makes about all that gets lost in translation as you go through the messy process of fitting into your new home. --------------- Rodrigo and I also chat about: Feeling like a prisoner while waiting for PR approvalWhat it means to think in Portuguese but converse in EnglishThe gap between what Canadian immigration promises and what it deliversThe impossibility of being mediocre when you've left everything behindThe three F's that immigrants miss the most--------------- Dozie's Notes A few things that struck me as I listened through this week's conversation: Your immigration pathway can sometimes become your identity, even when it shouldn't. Rodrigo finds himself introducing himself through his Startup Visa pathway because it's the easiest thing for people to understand. However, that's just how he got here, not who he is. One person should not define how you see a country. It's easier said than done when you're raw and sensitive as a new immigrant. Hold onto that principle though, it does wonders for your mental health.Autonomy is something we immigrants take for granted before we land. The freedom to be yourself without wondering if you're fitting in or getting it right usually disappears once you start over.--------------- Official Links ✅ Connect with Rodrigo Cotrim de Carvalho on LinkedIn ✅ Check out Babette Food Experiences ✅ Listen to Rodrigo's Due Tramonti Podcast One Ask If you found this story helpful, please consider sharing it with one immigrant you know.

    55 min
  8. E139: Deanna Okun-Nachoff knows what's missing from Canada's immigration discourse

    2025-12-19

    E139: Deanna Okun-Nachoff knows what's missing from Canada's immigration discourse

    In the last episode of 2025, I’m chatting with Deanna Okun-Nachoff, an immigration lawyer and host of the Borderlines Podcast, about where Canada’s immigration system stands six months into the Carney government. Any sense of accountability on the part of the government for where we are today with immigration has been largely absent from the raging public debate. The now-infamous “come to study or work, come to stay” messaging was pushed hard at some point. And it worked. Hundreds of thousands of temporary residents moved to Canada with the intention of earning permanent residency. Now, the government can’t fulfil those promises for some very obvious reasons. Yet, the blame for everything wrong with the process through which these folks came into the country has landed squarely on their shoulders. The big question I hope this episode helps kickstart is: What kind of nation do we want to build? And are the decisions we make going forward grounded in those values? Deanna believes that whatever path Canada chooses, it must be fundamentally grounded in being upfront, truthful, direct, fair, and accountable. ----------- Deanna and I also talk about: The TikTokification of immigration narrativesThe exhausting policy whiplasy of the past 20 monthsWhy she thinks public trust has collapsedWhy she thinks good, fair, humane decision-making is expensive------ Dozie's Notes A few things that struck me as I listened through this week's conversation: The policy whiplash means it’s sometimes hard to know what’s working and what isn’t. We keep changing immigration measures. For example, there are measures in place to reunite families. Then it’s suddenly withdrawn. Processing times keep changing. All this is not only exhausting, but it also means that it’s impossible to make measured, empirical decisions about what policies actually achieve their goals, because no plan lasts long enough to be evaluated. Accountability is needed in the immigration discourse. The silence from the government is corrosive and will harm the Canadian brand in ways that will take us years to comprehend. Of course, we are allowed to make hard decisions. But let’s take ownership of what led us here in the first place. The Canadian government appears to have become enforcement-minded. So much prioritisation has gone to enforcement. This approach has fundamentally altered the relationship between the government and its citizens. Once the government starts regarding the public as a threat, something that needs to be surveilled, it becomes a totally adversarial relationship. Official Links ✅ Connect with Deanna Okun-Nachoff on LinkedIn ✅ Listen to the Borderlines Podcast One Ask If you found this story helpful, please consider sharing it with one immigrant you know.

    1h 10m
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Interviews with immigrants and stakeholders involved in the immigration process where we explore the immigration journey, raising kids in a new culture, cultural adaptation, integration, identity, and everything in-between. thenewcomerspod.com

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