*In April 2022, the university announced our new name of Toronto Metropolitan University, which will be implemented in a phased approach. Learn more about our next chapter.*
The Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement (TMCIS) aims to be a leader in the transdisciplinary exploration of international migration, integration, and diaspora and refugee studies. In addition to supporting research in these areas, the Centre’s mission includes mentoring students and consolidating Toronto Metropolitan University’s reputation as the pre‐eminent site of knowledge development and exchange with governments, community organizations, and other academics.
Featured
TMCIS Lunch & Learn - Maximizing Medical Talent: Ready Solutions for Canada’s Healthcare Crisis
Date: Wednesday March 5th, 2025
Time: 12:00-1:30 PM EST
Location: Hybrid (Online via Zoom & In-person at the CERC Migration & Integration Office, located in the Toronto Eaton Centre Galleria Office at 220 Yonge Street, Suite 204)
Description:
This event will be hosted by the Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement (TMCIS) and co-convened by Dr. Zhixi Zhuang, Academic Director of TMCIS, and the Honourable Ratna Omidvar, former Senator and Immigration Policy Fellow at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Canada is facing a severe healthcare crisis. More than six million Canadians currently lack a family physician, demonstrating an urgent need for innovative solutions in the healthcare system. Could International Medical Graduates (IMGs) be key to addressing this shortage? Join us for our next TMCIS Lunch & Learn where panellists will examine the potential of utilizing the expertise of IMGs in Canada to help close the healthcare gap and discuss the challenges that come with implementing seemingly practical solutions and how they may be resolved.
Discussions will explore systemic barriers that keep qualified doctors out of our health system and how we can reshape healthcare in Canada by rethinking how we utilize the skilled professionals already at our doorstep. Don’t miss this opportunity to be a part of a critical conversation shaping the future of healthcare in Canada.
Light lunch and refreshments will be provided.
Moderator:
The Honourable Ratna Omidvar - Former Canadian Senator and Immigration Policy Fellow, Toronto Metropolitan University
Panellists:
The Honourable Senator Dr. Stan Kutcher (external link) - Canadian Senator for Nova Scotia and internationally renowned psychiatrist
Kareem El-Assal (external link) - Principal of El-Assal Insights and author of over 500 immigration publications
Dr. Therese Bichay (external link) - Experienced general practitioner, leader and volunteer with the Internationally Trained Physicians of Ontario (ITPO) (external link)
Dr. Ishrat Saberin (external link) - Internationally trained physician (ITP), ITPO PAR team member (external link) , research fellow with EBM Connect Canada, and Teaching Scholar Candidate at SickKids
Additional Reading:
Report titled ' (PDF file) Maximizing Medical Talent: How Canada can increase the supply of family doctors by 50% quickly and cost-effectively (external link) ', co-authored by the Honourable Senator Dr. Stan Kutcher, Honourable Senator Dr. Mohamed-Iqbal Ravalia, the Honourable Ratna Omidvar, and Kareem El-Assal.
If you have any questions or concerns please do not hestitate to contact tmcis@torontomu.ca
CARFMS 2025: Canadian, Regional, and International Responses to Forced Migration
The 16th Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for Refugee and Forced Migration Studies (CARFMS) hosted in collaboration with the Toronto Metropolitan Centre for Immigration and Settlement (TMCIS) will take place from May 26-29, 2025 at Toronto Metropolitan University.
The conference will explore Canadian, Regional, and International Responses to Forced Migration and aims to bring together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and people with lived experience of displacement. Through keynotes, plenaries, presentations, panels, and other activities, the conference aims to explore comprehensive approaches to address these pressing issues, to promote innovative research, and to encourage knowledge sharing in the field of refugee and forced migration studies.
Latest Publications
Working Paper No. 2025/01
The Association Nationale des Villes et Territoires Accueillants: The Becoming of an Activist City Network
Anouk Flamant (Institut National Supérieur de Formation et de Recherche pour L’éducation Inclusive [INSEI], Institut Convergences Migrations) & Thomas Lacroix (Sciences Po Paris, Centre de Recherches Internationales [CERI], Institut Convergences Migrations)
Working Paper No. 2024/12
Between Privilege and Precarity: The Migration Journeys of Former International Students in Canada
Dominik Formanowicz (York University), Tingting Zhang (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), Rupa Banerjee (Toronto Metropolitan University), Rezwana Ahmed (Toronto Metropolitan University), & Isaac Garcia-Sitton (Toronto Metropolitan University)
Working Paper No. 2024/11
1991: Narratives of (Non-) Return in the Ukrainian Diaspora in Canada
Elisa Lucente (University of Pavia)
Research Brief No. 2025/03
Examining the Role of Non-profit Organizations for Immigrant Settlement in a Neoliberal Age
John Shields & Ted Richmond
Research Brief No. 2025/02
Food diversity and aging well in a multicultural city: Japanese Canadian (Nikkei) seniors and community congregate dining
Dr. Yukari Seko, Dr. James Tiessen, Rayna Adachi, & Veen Wong, Toronto Metropolitan University
Research Brief No. 2025/01
Innovative approaches to community-based housing for precarious migrants and refugees: A policy report
Bridget Collrin & Nick Dreher, Toronto Metropolitan University
Affiliate Highlight No. 2024/03
Dr. Yukari Seko, Associate Professor, School of Professional Communication; Director, Centre for Studies in Food Security; Chair, Course-Based Research Ethics Committee, The Creative School)
Affiliate Highlight No. 2024/02
Dr. Areej Al-Hamad, Assistant Professor, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing; Research Ethics Board Member, Toronto Metropolitan University
Affiliate Highlight No. 2024/01
Dr. Kateryna Metersky, Assistant Professor, Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing
TMCIS occupies space in the traditional and unceded territory of nations including the Anishnaabeg, the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples, and territory which is also now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. This territory is covered by Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, as well as the Williams Treaties signed with multiple Mississaugas.