I had a great time with family, friends and colleagues at the Niagara Fiesta Extravaganza in Niagara Falls, celebrating our growing Filipino Canadian communities from across our country. A wonderful weekend filled with cultural performances, great food, car show and a midway of exhibits.

Thank you to the organizers for bringing everyone together and strengthening our nation’s rich diversity.

I was joined by MP Chris Bittle from St. Catharines and newly-promoted Minister of Small Business Rechie Valdez, who last week became the first Filipino-Canadian woman to be named to the federal cabinet. A truly historic moment for the Filipino community in Canada.

During the 2021 Census of Population, it was reported that four in five (79.1%) Canadians with Filipino roots are immigrants, with 757,410 people born in the Philippines having immigrated to Canada, ranking the Philippines as the third largest source country for immigration to Canada, after India (1.2 million) and China (830,980).