Cape Breton Newcomers Series on CBC’s Information Morning

CBC Radio’s Information Morning Cape Breton partnered with New Dawn’s Cape Breton Island Centre for Immigration (CBICI) and the Cape Breton Local Immigration Partnership (CBLIP) to feature some community members who have come from around the world and chosen the island as their home.

Shampal Mandal grew up in India and moved to Cape Breton in 2023 to study business management at Cape Breton University.

She now lives in Baddeck with her husband and 8 year old daughter and she works as a customer service clerk in Baddeck’s municipal office.

She also now spends some of her time welcoming newcomers to the area and connecting them to the support services in the community, including CBICI.

Listen to the full interview with Shampal Mandal here.

Claudia Cajas Roulet came to Cape Breton from Guatemala City with her husband a year ago.

She is now working at a call centre and also studying healthcare management at Cape Breton University.

She says she can walk around and take the bus alone in Cape Breton without worrying about her safety – things she wasn’t able to do before.

Listen to the full interview with Claudia Cajas Roulet here.

Sumandeep Kaur is originally from India. She lives in Port Hawkesbury with her husband and two children where she is the owner of an esthetics and nail salon.

The family moved here for a better life and Sumandeep says she has found happiness in running her own business and raising her family in the peace and safety of Cape Breton.

“It was a culture shock for me because I had never been outside of my province in India … I’m used to the Canadian culture now, so I’m a part of Canada,” she said.

Listen to the full interview with Sumandeep Kaur here.

Angela Duan is originally from China. She came to Cape Breton to do a Masters of Business Administration at Cape Breton University and has lived on the island for seven years now.

Angela lives in Sydney with her husband and two children. She is working as a school support worker for YREACH, the YMCA settlement program, a role that is fulfilling for her.

“I am a newcomer and I know the struggle at the very beginning and I have children…I want others to have less struggle and I can give my experience to them,” she said.

Listen to the full interview with Angela Duan here.

Katrin Lucks-Stolley came to Cape Breton from Germany with her husband and two large dogs in 2021. They now call Cleveland (in Richmond County) their home.

Making such a big change in the later stage of their lives (she is 57 and he is 63), they were looking for a place where they could be surrounded by nature, making Cape Breton a perfect place for them.

Katrin followed her passion for cooking and baking and enrolled in the culinary studies program at NSCC in Port Hawkesbury and now works as a cook at the Maritime Inn.

Listen to the full interview with Katrin Lucks-Stolley here.

CBICI is dedicated to welcoming newcomers to Cape Breton Island. We work to orient, support, connect, advocate on behalf of, and otherwise meet the needs of newcomers in service of their successful settlement in Cape Breton.

Learn more about the free services provided by CBICI here.