Newcomer families said they are keen to get their families involved with sport and physical activities; they see this as a way to meet people, feel connected to their new community and have fun.
This section highlights the challenges newcomer and refugee families face when trying to participate in sport or recreation, including administrative systems that are difficult to understand and navigate, high fees, and lack of subsidies, among others.
Their recommendations highlight the opportunities for community recreation and sport organizations and staff to support newcomer and refugee families as they settle into their new communities, including when they begin their recreation journeys.
Creating community is good for the person when you’re an immigrant because you feel good here, you feel healthy.
Newcomer/Refugee Parent
I have applied for my daughter [for] dancing. She wants to dance. And I have applied for that. Still, I didn’t get a facilitator. They are always telling me they don’t have a facilitator, so we are cancelling your program. We need more facilitators.
Newcomer/Refugee Parent
The government could help in the costs of activities like gymnastics, takewondo, and swimming would make these programs more accessible for families.
Newcomer/Refugee Parent
Reducing travel time by having programs closer to home would make it easier for families to participate.
Newcomer/Refugee Parent
The Recommendations:
- Expand culturally adaptive gender-specific programming. Community centres should offer gender-specific swim times, fitness spaces, and culturally safe options to accommodate diverse religious and cultural needs.
- Invest in more trained recreation facilitators, especially for youth programming. Sustained investment in hiring and retaining facilitators – especially in dance, swimming, and community-based activities – is essential to program consistency and accessibility.
- Provide on-site child care to increase parent access to physical activity. Offer child-minding services at recreation centres to allow parents – particularly mothers – to attend classes and programs without needing external care arrangements.
- Provide more family-friendly, multi-generational activities. Newcomer and refugee families shared they benefit from programs that allow them to participate together, therefore recommending further development of family swim times, parent-child fitness classes, and outdoor fitness stations that support collective movement and bonding.
- Provide funding strategies reflecting unique needs of immigrant and refugee families. This includes cultural safety, language accessibility, trauma-informed approaches, and prioritization of communities experiencing the most systemic barriers to participation.
- Implement equitable subsidy policies for essential youth activities. Newcomer and refugee families recommend implementing better municipal and provincial policies that reduce or eliminate costs for families with low incomes, and subsidies should reflect the cost of living and household size.
More places where you can leave your child for one hour or two hours for child minding [would help].
Newcomer/Refugee Parent
Providing more swimming pools and fitness facilities that cater specifically to women and girls would help.
Newcomer/Refugee Parent
For more resources, click here.
