MISA-HILC (1980-2010)
The Metropolitan Immigrant Settlement Association (MISA) was founded in 1980. In its early years, MISA moved several times, but many remember the office at 1541 Barrington St., where services were provided for many years. In the early 1980s, MISA focused on helping refugees adapt to their new life in Halifax.
1978-1982
Canada welcomed 60,000 Vietnamese refugees, with over 50% arriving due to a newly introduced private sponsorship program.
1983
MISA expanded its services to include employment support, recognizing the challenges refugees faced when trying to enter the workforce. Highly educated professionals struggled to find jobs because they lacked Canadian experience. MISA received federal funding for the New Employment Experience Development grant.
1988
The Halifax Immigrant Learning Centre (HILC) was established by Jennifer Acker and Kathy Burnett, initially under the name English Unlimited. The first private ESL school began with five students at the Green Lantern Building on Barrington St. In 1990, English Unlimited became HILC to reflect its expanded mandate. That year, Gerry Mills became Executive Director.
1988
MISA began offering child monitoring services for clients, allowing children aged 6 months to five years to engage in their first group experiences while their parents attended language and skills classes.
1990
The HOST program was established to match newly arrived refugees with individuals or families, fostering mutual learning. It became a permanent program in Canada under the Federal Integration Strategy.
1992
MISA introduced the Immigrant Entrepreneur Orientation Program to help newcomers navigate the local business environment and establish their own enterprises, following the launch of the Federal Immigrant Entrepreneur Program. The English in the Workplace (EWP) program began with one instructor and quickly expanded to meet the growing demand.
1999
Over 11,200 Kosovar refugees arrived in Canada, with many airlifted to military bases in Nova Scotia as part of Operation Parasol. This humanitarian effort was a groundbreaking international collaboration.
2000
HILC established its first computer skills training lab with eight computers at the Alma Street office. Kathy Burnett created the first computer skills books, revolutionizing the program.
2002
From 2002 onward, new employment programs began to take shape, including the development of online services to reach clients across the province.
2003
MISA and HILC began working more closely, sharing space at Chebucto Place. This partnership led to shared proposals, contacts, and ideas.
2005
HILC expanded into online learning, offering programs in communications skills, pre-employment skills, business development, and more. This provided flexible learning options for immigrants in Nova Scotia and beyond.
2007-2009
The arrival of 5,000 Bhutanese refugees, with many settling in Halifax after living in refugee camps in Nepal.
ISANS (2010-Present)
In 2010, MISA and HILC came together with a shared vision: to better support newcomers in building successful lives in Nova Scotia. This merger formed ISANS, creating a single, stronger organization equipped to offer a wide range of integrated settlement and language services.
2011
ISANS became a Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) in the federal Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program. This designation allowed ISANS to help individuals and groups directly sponsor refugees still abroad. Today, being a SAH continues to engage the community in supporting the resettlement of refugees in Nova Scotia.
2012
ISANS launched its first community garden project with 15 garden beds in Clayton Park. The event brought together 150 community members who built the beds, asked questions, and enjoyed a BBQ together.
2015
The Settlement Online Pre-Arrival (SOPA) program was launched, improving connections between pre-arrival and post-arrival services through ISANS' suite of professional online tools.
2015 - 2019
Canada welcomed 5,000 Syrian refugees as part of a broader effort to resettle over 25,000 Syrian refugees in 2015 and 2016. Since then, the flow of refugees has continued, with the current count at 58,650.