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| A Message from the High Commissioner  September’s ‘back to school’ feeling tends to herald a change or two and we here at the High Commission are no exception.
To wit, I am delighted to introduce Sarah Fountain Smith, our new Deputy High Commissioner, who had just joined us. Sarah was most recently Assistant Deputy Minister for Global Issues and Development in Ottawa, and has served as Canada’s Ambassador to Chile in addition to time spent at Canada’s mission to the UN in New York and postings in Argentina and Brazil. She is very eager to get to know our many friends here in the UK and I know the Canada Plus community will extend a warm welcome.
Sarah’s arrival came as we bade farewell to Alan Kessel, who served four years as Deputy High Commissioner and who is a true friend to the UK. Alan wrote a few parting thoughts on his time in London, summing up just a taster of the work that we have undertaken in recent times:
“During my time here in the UK, we have been witness to two general elections and two referenda (Scotland and Brexit) within a very short period of time. The ever-changing texture of UK politics has kept us on our toes as the Canadian community has worked to prepare for the UK’s future relationship with the European Union and with Canada. Along the way, we have turned to you, our partners and friends, to hear what you have been doing as you have started to undertake your analyses of the trends and potential outcomes that could affect you and your work here in the UK. I would like to thank you all for sharing both your time and your insights.
“I leave the UK reminded of our mutual strengths: a common system of government, shared values – two World Wars and much sacrifice by generations that have fostered resilient societies working to build prosperous and innovative countries for their people. Together, we are promoting global efforts to ensure strong, sustainable and balanced growth and to improve global economic conditions so that international trade and investment can thrive for the benefit of all.”
Well said Alan, we couldn’t agree more.
Janice Charette
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News
Rugby win
High Commissioner Charette was on hand to help cheer Canada to victory over Australia in their final game of the Women’s Rugby World Cup in Belfast last month.
The team ended the tournament with just one loss to top-ranked New Zealand to take fifth place overall.
Studying in Canada
Canada has recently been declared an “education superpower” by the BBC after glowing reports by the OECD, making now the perfect time to consider post-secondary education in Canada. The education team at Canada House is hosting a day-long EduCanada Fair to connect curious prospective students with a wide variety of Canadian post-secondary institutions from across the country. Space is limited, so register in advance to take advantage of this opportunity to find the right Canadian college or university. A full listing of colleges and universities taking part can be found in the listings below. | | |
Consular Corner
Are you travelling this season? Does your travel insurance include document coverage? Sadly, many travellers’ passports are lost or stolen and replacing these documents can cause delays and expenses in onward travel and missed flights back home. Please ensure your travel insurance covers the loss or theft of your passport. For more information on travel insurance, go to the travel.gc.ca website.
If you have a question for us, please email ldn.publicaffairs@international.gc.ca with the subject line “Consular Corner”. | | |
Visa Info
Question: Can I sponsor my boyfriend to come and live with me in Canada permanently?
Answer: If you have been cohabitating with your boyfriend in a conjugal relationship for a minimum of 12 months, you may meet the requirements to sponsor them in the Common-Law Partners category. Save for exceptional circumstances, you cannot sponsor your fiancé(e), girlfriend or boyfriend if you do not meet the definition of common-law partners. You will be requested to demonstrate that you have been cohabitating and that you are in a committed conjugal relationship. For further details on the definition of common-law partners and how to sponsor, visit the IRCC website. | | |
Did You Know?
You can now link your Family Class application to an online account. This will make checking the status of your application easier for you. It makes corresponding with us more convenient, and may help to speed up the processing of your application. To link your Family Class application to your application, visit our help centre for more information. | | |
September Events
Until 10 Sept ¦ Canada Through The Lens
British Library, London ¦ Highlights from the British Library’s Canadian photographic collection are on display to celebrate Canada 150. The photos, acquired between 1895 and 1924, show Canada as a young and growing nation.
10 and 11 Sept ¦ Sarah MacDougall
Green Note, London ¦ The Yukon-based Swedish-Canadian singer songwriter performs in London before continuing her European tour in Ireland and Germany.
Until 12 Sept ¦ Canada Now
HOME, Manchester ¦ A selection of great Canadian films will be featured at Home Manchester, featuring new and established voices in Canadian cinema.
12 Sept – 14 Oct ¦ Susan Platts in The Magic Flute
Royal Opera House, London ¦ Canadian mezzo-soprano Susan Platts makes her Royal Opera debut as Third Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, under the baton of Julia Jones.
  15 Sept – 18 Nov ¦ Self-Abstraction
Canada Gallery, Canada House, London ¦ The Canada Gallery’s new exhibition brings together artists Jannick Deslauriers, Cal Lane, Marie-Eve Levasseur, Nadia Myre and Jinny Yu. Through a variety of innovative techniques, these five female artists look outward to situate themselves in the world. In an era characterised by an excessive proliferation of self-portraits, the artists deploy counter-strategies to represent themselves in their work. Mon-Sat, 11am – 5:45pm.
Image - Thread (2016), Cal Lane (synthetic hair, tire, steel stand)
Until 16 Sept ¦ Late Company at Trafalgar Studios
Trafalgar Studios, London ¦ Celebrated Canadian playwright Jordan Tannahill’s contemporary and compelling drama that explores cyber-bullying and parenthood in the 21st century gets a well-deserved transfer to the West End.
17 Sept ¦ Little Canada Market
Surrey Street Market, Croydon ¦ A Canadian-themed street market with a pop-up restaurant and bar featuring poutine, perogies and smoked meat, food stalls, wholesale food, ball hockey and face painting. Little Canada is also running a raffle with two flights to Canada as the top prize.
20 Sept ¦ Community collective: the Fogo Island Story
Sackler Centre, London ¦ As part of the London Design Festival the co-founder of the Fogo Island Inn, Zita Cobb, speaks to Ineke Hans about revitalising the economy of her Newfoundland community through cutting-edge architecture and design.
22 Sept ¦ London Vandoos
The Lord Raglan, St Pauls ¦ Regular drinks night held on the 22nd of each month with members of the Canadian Expat Meetup Group.
24 Sept ¦ Café Canada
Second Cup, London ¦ A monthly cafe social with members of the Canadian Expat Meetup Group gathering at the Second Cup on Portobello Road.
25 Sept ¦ Mo Kenney
The Slaughtered Lamb, London ¦ The Juno-nominated performer plays in London after the release of her third album, The Details.
27 and 28 Sept ¦ Diana Krall
Royal Albert Hall, London ¦ The Canadian jazz singer and pianist performs the only UK date on her world tour for the album Turn Up The Quiet at the Royal Albert Hall. | | |
Further Ahead
Until 1 Oct ¦ Zoe Kreye
SPACE Gallery, London ¦ For her commissioned first solo exhibition in the UK, Kreye is collaborating with St Joseph’s Hospice to explore the complexities of loss. In addition to the solo exhibition and performative interventions occurring at the hospice, her project is presented with contextual critical writing, workshops, performances and discussions all open to the public.
6 – 8 Oct ¦ Flipside festival
Snape Maltings ¦ This unique festival centres around Latin American literature and arts but this year welcomes keynote speaker Margaret Atwood and award-winning novelist and poet Ann Michaels to a weekend of collaboration and inspiration.
7 Oct ¦ EduCanada Fair
Canada House, London ¦ Join us for this annual event giving students and parents in the UK a chance to learn more about options for post-secondary education in Canada. This year’s event will feature a Postgraduate Studies Fair in the morning from 10am-12pm, followed by the Undergraduate Studies Fair from 12:30pm-5pm. Admission is free, but registration is required. Canadian institutions attending include: Bishop’s, Brock, Carleton, Centennial College, Concordia, Emily Carr University of Art + Design, HEC Montréal, Humber College, Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec, McGill, Memorial University Newfoundland, Mohawk College, Mount Allison, OCAD, Queen’s, Royal Roads University, Ryerson, Sheridan College, UBC, Université de Montréal, Universities of Calgary, Guelph, Toronto, Waterloo, Windsor, Vancouver Island University, and York.
7 Oct ¦ Monthly Expat Meetup: Wings Night
The Maple Leaf, London ¦ A monthly social event with members of the Canadian Expat Meetup Group.
7, 8, 9 and 15 Oct ¦ Meetup Canada 150 Thanksgiving Roasts
The Larrik Inn, London ¦ The Canadian Expat Meetup Group is hosting FOUR Thanksgiving dinners in Marylebone with the addition of poutine, pumpkin pie, as well as a traditional roast dinner.
9 Oct ¦ Canadians in London Thanksgiving Dinner
White Mustache, Camden, London ¦ Turkey, pumpkin pie, smores, Canadian beer and Caesars are on the menu at this two course Thanksgiving feast. Tickets required.
11 Oct – 17 Nov ¦ Trouble in Tahiti
Opera North, Leeds ¦ Canadian mezzo-soprano Wallis Giunta stars in Leonard Bernstein’s first opera, rich with jazz rhythms that evoke the bygone days of Hollywood and Broadway.
19 – 21 Oct ¦ Comfort From Kindness
Bath & West Showgrounds, Shepton Mallet, Somerset ¦ An historic collection of WWII Canadian Red Cross Quilts from the collection of the late Anna Mansi will be on display at the Craft4Crafters show in Somerset. Thousands of quilts were made by Canadians for those in the UK who had lost their homes or been displaced or evacuated during the war.
Until 7 Jan ¦ Death in the Ice: The shocking story of Franklin’s final expedition
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich ¦ A major exhibition exploring the mysterious fate of Sir John Franklin and his crew on their fatal last journey into the Arctic in search of the Northwest Passage. This will be the first time the artifacts found by Parks Canada will be on display in the UK. | | |
Job Opportunities
Canada House, London ¦ Senior Commercial Officer - Ontario
For information about working at the High Commission, visit the Job Opportunity page on our website. You can also follow us on LinkedIn for regular updates on new openings at Canada House. | | |
| Veuillez noter que la majorité des sites Web sont disponibles en anglais seulement. | | |
| Message de la Haute-commissaire L’atmosphère de « retour en classe » du mois de septembre incite à quelques changements, et au Haut-commissariat, nous ne faisons pas d’exception.
À preuve, j’ai le grand plaisir de vous présenter Sarah Fountain Smith, notre nouvelle Haute-commissaire adjointe, qui vient de se joindre à nous. Jusqu’à récemment, Sarah était sous-ministre adjointe à la Direction générale des Enjeux mondiaux et du développement à Ottawa. Elle a aussi été ambassadrice du Canada au Chili en plus de travailler à la mission canadienne aux Nations Unies et d’occuper des postes en Argentine et au Brésil. Elle a très hâte de faire la connaissance de nos nombreux amis du Royaume-Uni et je suis persuadée que les lecteurs de Canada Plus lui réserveront un accueil chaleureux.
L’arrivée de Sarah coïncide avec le départ d’Alan Kessel, que nous saluons. Alan a occupé durant quatre ans le poste de Haut-commissaire adjoint et c’est un grand ami du Royaume-Uni. Alan a consigné par écrit quelques réflexions sur son séjour à Londres, donnant une idée du travail que nous avons entrepris récemment :
« Durant mon passage au Royaume-Uni, nous avons assisté en très peu de temps à deux élections générales et deux référendums (en Écosse et le Brexit). La texture sans cesse changeante de la politique au Royaume-Uni nous a forcé à demeurer aux aguets pendant que la communauté canadienne se préparait en vue de la nouvelle relation du Royaume-Uni avec l’Union européenne et le Canada. En cours de route, nous nous sommes tournés vers vous, partenaires et amis, pour savoir comment vous aviez agi à la suite de votre analyse des tendances et des conséquences possibles pouvant avoir des conséquences sur vous et sur votre travail au Royaume-Uni. Je vous remercie d’avoir bien voulu partager votre temps et vos impressions.
Je quitte le Royaume-Uni en pensant à nos forces mutuelles : un système de gouvernement commun, des valeurs communes, deux conflits mondiaux et d’immenses sacrifices consentis par des générations qui ont forgé des sociétés résilientes, oeuvrant à l’édification de nations prospères et innovatrices pour le bien de leurs peuples. Ensemble, nous faisons la promotion des efforts mondiaux pour garantir une croissance vigoureuse, durable et équilibrée et pour améliorer les conditions économiques mondiales, afin que le commerce et les investissements internationaux puissent se multiplier au profit de tous.»
Cher Alan, on ne saurait mieux dire.
Janice Charette
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