Argentineans feel at home in Winnipeg Jewish community

Like Jewish communities across North America, the one in Winnipeg was conceived of and created by immigrants. While its founders were mainly from Eastern Europe, in recent years its newest members have mainly arrived from South America. 

Dafne Orbach and Diego Skladnik are typical of these immigrants. Together with their toddler son – now the eldest of three children – the couple immigrated to Canada from Argentina, by way of Guatemala, in March 2003. 

“We were looking for a safe country in which to raise our family, with a good sized and active Jewish life, and we heard good things about Canada,” Orbach explains. “We heard that many other Argentinians were coming to Winnipeg, so we did some research about the life in general and in particular about the Jewish life in Winnipeg, and we decided to give a smaller city a try.”

Orbach and Skladnik first came to Winnipeg on an exploratory visit in 2002.  Fellow Argentineans Sophia Allami and Leo Lisorgorsky also arrived in Winnipeg for a visit that year. About twelve months later, they and their two young children packed up their home in Buenos Aries and came to Winnipeg for good.   

“We wanted a smaller city, we knew people moving to Winnipeg, and we felt welcomed when we came for an exploratory visit,” says Allami. “It was what helped us make the decision about moving. We started thinking about it in December 2001, in April we came for the visit, and we moved in March 2003 as soon as we got our visas.”

Throughout the immigration process, both Allami’s and Orbach’s families were assisted by the 

Jewish Federation of Winnipeg. Federation, the representative body of the local Jewish community, 

works in partnership with the provincial government to encourage and expedite immigration under the Manitoba Nominee Program. Under this program, potential immigrants are required to come to 

Winnipeg for an exploratory visit before proceeding with their immigration application. This visit is 

meant to determine if the potential immigrants and the community are the right fit for one another.

Following this mandatory visit, suitable candidates receive a Letter of Support from Federation inviting them to apply for immigration through the province’s Strategic Recruitment Initiatives Stream, a step 

that helps facilitate the visa process. Upon actually making the move to Winnipeg, these successful applicants become eligible for a wide range of resettlement services from both Federation and Jewish Child and Family Service.  In fact, all new Canadians who join the Winnipeg Jewish community, 

whether they come through a provincial program or a federal program, are welcomed with these same services. These services include assistance finding housing, enrolling children in school and navigating Canadian customs and culture. 

“Having someone wait for us in the airport and help us with all the initial paperwork was very valuable at the time when we were trying to recover from the shock of landing in a place where everything was so unfamiliar,” Leo Lisogorsky recalls. “The community was always ready to step in and help us take some barriers down such as facilitating the opening of a bank account, renting our first apartment, identifying available subsidies or notarizing our documents.”

“But above all,” Lisogorsky adds, “the community gave us a sense of belonging and jump-started our Canadian networking by connecting us with other Canadian families who invited us for a Shabbat dinner or a Passover Seder and by facilitating our participation in a variety of community events.”

Hernan Popper, another emigrant from Argentina, enjoyed a similar experience when he arrived in Winnipeg with his wife Andrea Roitman and their baby in March, 2003.  

“We received lots of support from the Jewish Federation,” Popper says. “They had an honest interest in receiving us and making us part of the Winnipeg Jewish community. They connected us with Jewish life in Winnipeg, provided help and support through Jewish Child and Family Service, and connected us with industry leaders to guide us in our job search.”

With his business and marketing background, Popper quickly found employment in his field, and now works in a senior directorial position for a non-profit organization.  Lisogorsky, Allami, Skladnik and Orbach also found gratifying and challenging employment in their chosen careers of engineering, counselling, business and marketing, within months of their move. Sophia Allami is particularly appreciative that she is able to work as a therapist while completing her Master’s degree. Winnipeg is still economically on the rise compared to other cities in North America, and as a result unemployment is low. Most newcomers to the city find satisfying work within a year, and usually sooner. 

“All the Argentinians I know, in one way or another, found the way to grow in their careers,” says Dafne Orbach, “It’s a matter of working hard and finding the opportunities,” she adds.

Working hard and remaining positive and open-minded seem to be the keys to successful immigration. While there are certainly challenges to overcome when moving from one country to another, the hundreds of Argentineans who have made Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada their new home are pleased with their decision and unanimous in their love for their adopted city.  

“We have close friends and everything in Winnipeg is close,” Orbach says. “We are able to afford a house, and considering that we are immigrants, we are able to have a pretty good lifestyle.  Winnipeggers are friendly people and we feel we are not discriminated because we are immigrants.  It’s a safe environment to raise a family. The Jewish community is active; we are able to send our kids to a Jewish school.”

Lisorgorsky echoes these sentiments.

“Our community is extremely welcoming,” he says. “Although we work hard, the pace of the city is calm. Rush hour is a joke and you feel safe in most parts of town. The job market is not huge but it is very diverse. All our friends are working and growing in their jobs. Winnipeg combines the services of a city with the feeling of a small town. We can ride the bicycle or cross- country ski in the woods in our neighbourhood and minutes later we can be at the theater. ”

These lifestyle benefits, combined with the warm welcome and immigration and resettlement supports that the local Jewish community provides, make Winnipeg the ideal destination for those searching for a comfortable, secure and hospitable new home.

“Canada is a great country and a country of opportunities,” says Orbach. “I am very proud of becoming a Canadian citizen and raising Canadian kids. The values of this society are admirable.”

To find out more about immigrating to Winnipeg email [email protected].