Planning for the Future at the P2P 2025 National Conference
More than 1150 participants gathered in person and virtually at the P2P 2025 National Conference.
Recordings and PowerPoint presentations from the conference are now posted on the virtual conference platform.
On November 24-25, 2025, the Pathways to Prosperity Partnership held its 13th Annual National Conference – Investing in Canada’s Shared Future: Pathways to Possibilities. More than 775 service providers, LIPs and RIF, government representatives, researchers, and other interested parties from across the country were in attendance in person, with an additional 290 attending virtually.
Highlights included:
- An opening ceremony by Jude Gerrard, Member of the Millbrook First Nation and current Director of Indigenous Content and Connections at the Royal Canadian Geographical Society
- A keynote address by Greg Landry. Greg is a strategist, economist, and planner who is a member of the international Association of Professional Futurists
- Two plenary sessions – “Shaping the Future of Immigration – Global Trends, Labour Market Needs and Public Attitudes” and “Drivers of Change in a Digital Era – AI, Information Flows and Immigration”
- An exciting interactive activity that gave all in-person and virtual attendees a taste of foresight through a scenario-planning exercise, where they worked collaboratively to explore possible futures for the immigration and settlement sector
- 59 in-person workshops & roundtables, and 18 virtual workshops & roundtables
- A poster session with 35 in-person poster presentations and 14 virtual poster presentations
- The closing ceremony included a performance by the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS) Vocal Band, composed of: Weijian Zeng, Elizabeth Eustaquio-Domondon, Kateryna Pohorila, Oleksii Fishchuk, Paula Knight, Hanna Mereshuk, Julekha Nusrat, Jessie Crabill, Aseel Ali, and Youstina Awad
- 27 informative in-person and/or virtual exhibitors
On November 26, 2025, the Pathways to Prosperity Partnership and the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne (FCFA) held the P2P-FCFA Conference for Local Immigration Partnerships and Reseaux en immigration francophone, with 210 in-person attendees and 90 virtual attendees.
Highlights included:
- A plenary session on “Building Future-Ready LIPs and RIF: Practical and Strategic Considerations”
- 10 in-person workshops & roundtables, and 4 virtual workshops & roundtables
- A hackathon for all in-person and virtual attendees that focused on addressing a number of specific challenges that LIPs and RIF experience in multi-sectoral collaborations
- Release of the P2P-FCFA 2025 edition of the Accomplishments of LIPs and RIF – a compendium showcasing major accomplishments of the LIPs and RIF over the last two years
Feedback on the Conferences
The feedback received on both the main P2P National Conference and on the P2P-FCFA Conference for Local Immigration Partnerships and Réseaux en immigration francophone is extremely positive. When asked if they would attend future Pathways to Prosperity Conferences, the response from attendees was a definitive YES. It was also clear that the hybrid format was highly valued by those who could not attend in person, and will continue to attract future attendance.
Overall ratings of the main P2P National Conference ranged from 5.6 to 5.9 on a 7-point scale, with attendees especially appreciating the plenaries, keynote speaker, poster session at Pier 21, as well as the workshops and roundtables. Comments included:
- I thoroughly enjoyed the conference and loved all the new speakers and information. This conference is the best for the sector with new ideas and new activities every year. It’s clear that a lot of thought and planning goes into it! Thank you P2P!
- Thank you for hosting such an amazing and well organized conference. I really enjoyed the sessions and the positive energy throughout the event.
- I enjoyed the conference and found it very valuable. It was well organized, and I appreciated the opportunity to connect with colleagues and learn from both research and practice. Thank you!
- This was my first time attending the Pathways to Prosperity conference, and I found it exceptionally inclusive, comprehensive, and engaging. The plenary panels were well-organized, insightful, and addressed knowledge and issues that are truly essential for advancing the settlement and integration sector. The breakout and interactive sessions were equally strong. In particular, I greatly appreciated the strategic foresight exercise and the Hakatan session-they provided fresh perspectives that have already prompted me to rethink both my organization’s work and broader sector challenges. One of the conference highlights for me was the meaningful inclusion of Indigenous voices and perspectives. The discussions on Indigenous worldviews and on building stronger, reciprocal relationships between Indigenous communities and newcomers were powerful, timely, and much needed. Thank you for an outstanding event. I look forward to future conferences!
Overall ratings of the P2P-FCFA Conference for Local Immigration Partnerships and Réseaux en immigration francophone ranged from 5.8 to 6.0 on a 7-point scale, with attendees especially appreciating the plenary, workshops and roundtables. Comments included:
- It was a great day of learning and sharing.
- I made meaningful connections and gained new perspectives. Looking forward to next year.
- Keep up the great work. For those of us who cannot afford to attend in person, the virtual option is a great alternative and gets better and better every year.
- Thank you for another amazing conference. P2P always goes all out to make the LIP RIF conference an impactful experience and we all appreciate the thought that goes into the planning and content. The plenary, hackathon, workshops and roundtables were all informative and thought provoking. I appreciate the bringing together of the RIF and LIPs and P2P is a leader in this regard. The Accomplishments booklet is a treasure for us to have each year. We use it all year and can’t wait for the next one.
Poster Awards
On Monday evening, a poster presentation and evening reception was held to showcase 35 in-person poster presentations. Additionally, 7 posters were presented virtually. Among the many excellent poster presentations, congratulations to the following in-person and virtual poster award winners:
In-person:
- First Place – Amy Robichaud – Mothers Matter Canada, & Japman Bajaj – Vametric
Recognizing Immigrant Skills in Education (RISE) for Women | Validation des compétences des immigrantes en éducation (VOIE) pour les femmes - Tied for Second Place – Colleen Belle – Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS)
Generating Prosperity by Creating Welcoming Communities - Tied for Second Place – Amelia Hamilton – Western University, Nadia Jafari – Western University, Samia Alnahdi – South London Neighbourhood Resource Centre, Mohamed Al-Adeimi – South London Neighbourhood Resource Centre, & Jason Brown – Western University
Experiences of Rohingya Refugees - Tied for Third Place – Erika Ehrenberg – Carleton University
Game Changers: An Analysis of the Inclusion of Newcomer Participation and Integration Through Sport in National Sport Policies - Tied for Third Place – Mikhaela Sullivan – Réseau en Immigration francophone du Centre Sud-Ouest de l’Ontario / Francophone Immigration Network of Central-Southwestern Ontario
Langues, Systèmes Éducatifs et Reconnaissance des Acquis | Languages, Education Systems, and Recognition of Prior Learning
Virtual:
- First Place – Fatima Qureshi – McMaster University and Halton Newcomer Strategy, & Sonja Senthanar – University of Northern British Columbia
Artificial Intelligence in Refugee Employment Services
Gamification
As has become a P2P tradition, this year’s conference included gamification activities and prizes. Congratulations to the following winners, who received the top points in the in-person and virtual categories:
In-person Attendees:
- Punam Dalal, Canadian Immigrant Women’s Association
- Mohammed Idriss, Brooks & County Immigration Services (BCIS)
- Kathy Burnett, YMCA of Greater Halifax/Dartmouth
Virtual Attendees:
- Richa Joshi, Sarnia Lambton Economic Partnership
- Sonia Basu, YWCA St. Thomas-Elgin
Thank you
We would like to thank all special guests, presenters, chairs, and facilitators who worked so hard to ensure that the conferences were a success. We also thank the conference planning committees for organizing an amazing 3-day set of activities.
We would like to thank the 27 exhibitors and we thank our sponsors for their support:
- Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS)
- DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society
- Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS)
- New Horizons Media Inc.
- Pre Arrival Canada – YMCA of Greater Toronto
- World Education Services (WES)
Of course, the conferences would not have been possible without the generous support of our main funder – Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
Conference PowerPoints and Recordings, Posters and Exhibitors
PowerPoint presentations and recordings from the keynote address, plenary sessions, special sessions and virtual workshops and roundtables are now posted on the virtual conference platform, which remains open to all registered attendees. Powerpoint presentations from the in-person workshops and roundtables (where available), as well as posters and exhibitor booths can also be accessed on the platform.