Whistler Multicultural Society

Programs & Services

Whistler Multicultural Society's (WMS) programs support, empower, educate and bring community members together to build a more equitable society.

Networking and peer connections for immigrants and newcomers to Canada...

Whistler Multicultural Society supports newcomers and immigrants through online and in-person networks across the Sea to Sky.

Pemberton Multicultural Network immigrants and locals together to celebrate our cultural differences and foster connections among us through food and cultural sharing. 

Get involved in food sharing, help out in the community garden where we grow vegetables used in different cultural cooking, share a cultural activity, or join a wellness workshop. Whatever your interests, we'd love to meet you.

Join our online network or contact Steph to get connected.

Whistler Multicultural Network is a group of local immigrants and newcomers that meets, networks, and plays together. It was created by local immigrants to provide others in the same situation with the connections, support, and knowledge to help them adapt to life in Canada and Whistler and opportunities to get more involved locally.

Whether you’re new in town, or a long-term local, meet, support and learn from other immigrants and newcomers.

Join our online network or contact Yami to get connected.

Squamish Multicultural Network runs activities and workshops especially for multicultural moms looking to connect to others in the community. 

Join the bi-weekly walking and coffee group, or our multicultural meetups. Let us know what you'd like us to organize.

Join our online network or contact Barbora to get connected.


Are you a Temporary Foreign Worker living or working in Whistler? Do you have a closed work permit, OPW -V, or a maintained status and feel uncertain about your rights in Canada? Do you believe that you are subjected to any sort of bias and/or abuse at your current workplace?


The Migrant Worker Support Program provides guidance and assists you in accessing any resources and services you may need. This service is made available to you through the Whistler Multicultural Society and funded through Mosaic by Employment and Social Development Canada.

Our services include information and referral, information on employment standards and health and safety, applications for work permits and English language help.

Intercultural Community Building

Building intercultural awareness and understanding is key to equitable community as we all strive to live, work, and play together.

Every month, WMS brings local newcomers, immigrants and community members together to cook a meal from, and learn about, a different culture. Check out our Multicultural Cookbook, join as a participant, as a chef (sharing a dish or two from your culture), or volunteer to help organize these fun events. 

2023 was the third year WMS offered a multicultural summer camp for local children aged 7 to 12. In 2024, we're running ProD day camps plus camps in Squamish. Our goal is to introduce children to local cultures in a fun, safe, and enquiring environment. Each Camp is led by local immigrants who customize each day's activities with their own cultural heritage: their language, food, games, crafts, music, song, and dance. 

2023 marked the year the annual Whistler Multicultural Festival, a celebration of local diversity and cultures, came back after COVID. Run entirely by local immigrant volunteers, it was an annual tradition from 2012 to 2019 before going online in 2020. WMS is happy to announce the 2024 Whistler Multicultural Festival will be taking place on Friday June 7. Contact us to get involved!

Building community dialogue and discussion

Key to addressing inequity and racial discrimination is building awareness and understanding of the challenges faced by diverse community members. WMS aims to give voice to immigrants, newcomers, and equity-seeking individuals, to gather and circulate statistics and experiences of racism and discrimination, to grow awareness and understanding of diversity and how to build more inclusive communities. If you'd like to get involved as we continue this work, contact info@wmsociety.ca

In January 2022, WMS launched 'Building Inclusive Communities' inviting dialogue on diversity and equity across the Sea to Sky. In March 2024, a second dialogue focused on racial discrimination took place as part of Resilience Sea to Sky. Focusing on the experiences of community members, we aim to bring the voice of diversity to our communities. 

The first step to creating communities free from violence, racism and discrimination, is to report hate crimes. We have the right and the responsibility to take action against hate activity to keep our communities safe. Use our United Against Racism reporting tool to report racism. 

WMS is part of the Resilience BC Anti-Racism Network, a province-wide approach to connect communities with information, supports, and training they need to respond to, and prevent incidents of, racism and hate. 

Subscribe to our Resilience Whistler newsletter for current information, updates and access to training, workshops and other materials and resources to grow your interracial competence and understanding.  

On our anti-racism blog, Uniting Voices, meet local immigrants and newcomers, find views, news, statistics, information, and learning resources about diversity and equity.

WMS maintains a summary of anti-racism education resources and materials that we have found useful.

Want to know about local diversity and statistics? Also check out our blog, and youtube channel for articles, interviews, statistics, surveys, and updates on local cultural diversity and equity, discrimination, and bias. By encouraging meaningful dialogue, we hope to build greater awareness and understanding of the challenges faced by equity-seeking individuals in our region.

If you'd like to get involved in anti-racism activities and initiatives locally, contact info@wmsociety.ca

View the online Building Inclusive Communities dialogues held online in January 2022.

Multiculturalism

Diversity and Equity

Belonging

Immigration

Empowering Diverse Voices

WMS supports newcomers and immigrants to grow agency and voice. Our goal is to empower them to participate, represent, and advocate. 

Finding a Voice

WMS supports immigrants and newcomers to raise their voices. WMS:

Community Leadership Program

The Community Leadership Program develops the skills, knowledge and confidence to enable newcomers and immigrants to successfully participate in their community. Based on the principles of inclusion, diversity, and equity, it prepares them for volunteering or working in a social/community setting or organization. Topics covered include community, asset-based community development, leadership, communication and facilitation skills for community group work, building consensus, conflict resolution, and community project planning and research.

Get involved through our volunteer program

Volunteering is a great way for newcomers and immigrants to get connected to the people and places where they live and can really help them get established in your new country and community. As a newcomer to Canada, volunteering can provide an opportunity to help others and it can also help find a job in Canada.

Fostering Inclusion

WMS is committed to providing opportunities for newcomers, immigrants and other marginalized, racialized community members to have full involvement in program/service development and delivery, putting them at the centre of all our activities: