Growth Stories

When MacGregors Industrial Group welcomed Issam Dahweir, a highly skilled machinist from Lebanon with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Beirut Arab University five months ago, it was more than a successful hire. It was a clear example of how welcoming workplace practices strengthen teams, improve operations, and help people put down roots.

When Jean-Luc moved from Jamaica to Pictou County, he was looking for a new challenge and a welcoming place to call home. Today, through his work at the Partnership, he’s helping support the county’s investment readiness work and shaping a more resilient and inclusive future.

A soccer field is more than a place to play. It’s where newcomers and long-time residents connect. Welcoming newcomers in everyday spaces strengthens our communities and brings people together through shared experiences.

For over 16 years, the MAPC potluck has brought newcomers and long-time residents together around the simple act of sharing a meal. It’s more than food, it’s a tradition of friendship, inclusivity, and belonging that continues to strengthen community ties in Pictou County.

Some decisions we make for ourselves and our families, decisions that are best when looking ahead to the future, are not the easiest to move forward with. But when a choice presents great challenge or hardship, it’s often the clearest sign you’ve made the right one. Nour Alrefai knows what it takes to make the best decision for your family, even when it challenges you. Even when it might be the most challenging choice of your life, not because you’re unsure if it’s right, but because you know it is. In October of 2018, Nour’s husband, Mohammad Abu Kharoub, ended up leaving Syria for Pictou...

Coming to a new country with unfamiliar customs and a different language, alone and pregnant, was scary but not insurmountable for Bahati Hategekimana. Originally from Rwanda, Bahati came to Pictou County via Kenya as a as a skilled-refugee using the Economic Mobility Pathway Pilot (EMPP) about a year ago. Creating a new home wasn’t easy, she says. “There is initial excitement, especially for someone who is coming from a refugee background, so it was exciting to no longer be a refugee. And in that excitement, you forget that it was going to be hard. Then you get here and you realize that you...

The greatest part about coming to Canada and Pictou County for Abdalazeez Alabbas was the opportunity for a fresh start. “We got a new life,” he smiles. Abdalazeez and his wife, Lamis Alhassan, and two little girls are Syrians who fled their country and settled as refugees in Lebanon. “The greatest moment was when we arrived in Canada, when the airplane landed at Pearson in Toronto, on July 9, 2021.” What helped the family tremendously when they arrived in Pictou County, he says, was the friendly atmosphere they encountered. “We found this area to be one hundred per cent welcoming – people...