Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership

What Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership does

Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP), also operating as PLIO (Partenariat local pour l'immigration d'Ottawa), is a non-profit multi-sectoral convening body founded in October 2009 by the City of Ottawa and Local Agencies Serving Immigrants (LASI). The organization coordinates 80+ local organizations across five sector tables — Economic Integration, Health and Wellbeing, Education, Language, and Socio-Civic Integration — to align settlement, integration, and inclusion efforts for immigrants and refugees in Ottawa and Lanark-Renfrew counties. Its core programmatic offerings include Welcoming Ottawa Week (an annual flagship event established in 2013 and recognized by the federal government as a best practice in 2014), the Equity Ottawa Community of Practice (70+ members across 40 organizations), the Ottawa Immigration Forum, and supporting roles in partner-delivered programs including the Foreign Credential Recognition Program (5,151 newcomers served), the ONE Hub newcomer entrepreneurship initiative (506 newcomers served as of March 2025), and the Ottawa Newcomer Health Centre (2,000+ clients in 2024).

OLIP's underlying technology is governance and coordination infrastructure rather than a software product. The Secretariat manages five sector tables, the OLIP Council, the OLIP Executive, and the Equity Ottawa Community of Practice, and distributes free toolkits (Employment and Human Resources Equity Toolkit, 14 tools; Equitable Service Planning and Delivery Toolkit, 7 tools) and a Knowledge Base of research, webinars, and issue briefs via olip-plio.ca. OLIP does not generate commercial revenue; it is funded primarily by IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) under the national Local Immigration Partnership program, with additional grant funding from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Multiculturalism and the Government of Ontario; its programs and resources are provided free of charge to partner organizations and community members. The organization operated through a period of nearly two years of inactivity before reactivating in November 2024 under new Executive Director Magdalene Cooman, who has overseen the re-engagement of 100+ community partners.

Name

Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership

Legal name

Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership

Website

https://olip-plio.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP) is a non-profit multi-sectoral partnership coordinating 80+ organizations across five sector tables to improve immigrant settlement, integration, and inclusion in Ottawa and Lanark-Renfrew counties, funded primarily by IRCC.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community and Immigrant Settlement Services

NAICS

Social Assistance (624), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Integration & Inclusion Services (Housing, Education, Employment) (BPADAHAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Workforce Development & Inclusive Employment (Job Training, Placement) (BPAGALAB), Economic Growth, Trade & Private Sector Development Programs (BPADABAF), Refugee, Crisis & Humanitarian Education Partnerships (EiE) (EDADALAG)

Keywords

• Immigrant settlement services
• Community partnership coordination
• Multicultural integration programs
• Newcomer employment support
• Equity and inclusion services

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottawa

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Grants and Funding: OLIP is primarily funded by IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) and also receives funding from the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Multiculturalism and the Government of Ontario. Revenue is grant-based rather than commercial, supporting the organization's coordination, research, training, and partnership activities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership (OLIP) is a non-profit multi-sectoral partnership that convenes 80+ local organizations across five sector tables (Economic Integration, Health and Wellbeing, Education, Language, and Socio-Civic Integration) to coordinate immigrant settlement and integration in Ottawa. It delivers programs such as Welcoming Ottawa Week, the Equity Ottawa Community of Practice, the Foreign Credential Recognition Program, ONE Hub for newcomer entrepreneurs, and publishes practical toolkits on equitable employment and service delivery for partner organizations and newcomers.

Product overview

OLIP operates as a multi-sectoral partnership rather than a traditional product company. The organization coordinates five Sector Tables (Economic Integration, Health and Wellbeing, Education, Language, and Socio-Civic Integration) bringing together over 80 local organizations to build capacity for immigrant settlement and integration. Key offerings include the annual Welcoming Ottawa Week celebration, the Equity Ottawa Community of Practice providing anti-racism training, and various toolkits (Employment and HR Equity Toolkit, Equitable Service Planning & Delivery Toolkit) developed for partner organizations. Additional programs include ONE Hub for newcomer entrepreneurs, the Foreign Credential Recognition Program, and the Ottawa Newcomer Health Centre, all aligned with the Ottawa Immigration Strategy framework.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Welcoming Ottawa Week (WOW) An annual week-long celebration featuring over 50 free events in multiple languages that connect newcomers with long-time residents, celebrating Ottawa's diversity and inclusion. Recognized by the federal government as a best practice in 2014 and later expanded to Lanark-Renfrew counties.
• Equity Ottawa Community of Practice (EO-CoP) A network of organizations working together to promote fairness and inclusion for immigrants and people from racialized communities, offering training, resources, and collaborative action on equity and anti-racism. The Community of Practice expanded from 26 to 70+ members across 40 organizations.
• Ottawa Immigration Forum

Quantifiable outcome

• 5,151 newcomers received information on foreign credential recognition through OLIP partner programs
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TD (TD Bank)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2026TD sponsors and partners with the World Skills Mentorship Program, matching TD employee mentors with newcomer mentees. Over 13 years, 35 TD mentors have been matched with 30 newcomer mentees per cohort, opening doors to meaningful employment for over 200 newcomers.
• Equity Ottawa Community of Practice PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024A network of 70+ members representing 40 organizations across municipal, healthcare, education, housing, social services, justice, child and youth welfare, and service sectors. Partners participate in anti-racism and anti-oppression training, equity progress monitoring, and Community of Practice sessions. OLIP provided training to leaders from 20+ organizations in April 2026.
• Building Migrant Resilience in Cities PartnershipminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2024Multi-city partnership including Waterloo Region LIP and academic partners (York University, Toronto Metropolitan University, McGill University). OLIP participated in a panel at the 25th Metropolis Canada Conference examining pandemic lessons for immigrant settlement and integration policy.
• York UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2024Academic partner led by Dr. Valerie Preston, providing research on social resilience in immigrant settlement and COVID response in Ontario and Quebec cities. Contributes to OLIP's evidence-based planning and knowledge mobilization.
• QuakeLabminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2023Developed the Equitable Service Planning and Delivery Toolkit (7 tools) for OLIP, with extensive input from Equity Ottawa Partnership members. The toolkit assists service organizations in planning and delivering equitable services to immigrants and racialized populations.
• Lanark-Renfrew CommunitiesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Welcoming Ottawa Week expanded to neighboring Lanark-Renfrew communities in 2022, extending the welcoming initiative beyond Ottawa to the broader regional area.
• Somerset West Community Health CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2021Lead organization for the Ottawa Newcomer Health Centre, providing culturally adapted primary healthcare, mental health services, health navigation, and interpretation to newcomers and refugees. Served over 2,000 clients in 2024, with over 5,200 hours of primary care delivered annually.
• Catholic Immigration CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2021Partner in the Ottawa Newcomer Health Centre initiative alongside OLIP, Somerset West Community Health Centre, Santé Ontario, and other community health centres. Contributes to culturally adapted healthcare service delivery for newcomers.
• Santé Ontario (Ontario Health)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2021Healthcare system partner in the Ottawa Newcomer Health Centre, supporting the integration of newcomer health services within Ontario's broader health system framework.
• World Skills Employment CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2018World Skills Employment Centre is a key OLIP partner leading the Foreign Credential Recognition program (funded by ESDC, renewed in May 2023 for 3 additional years, targeting 2,500 clients) and the ONE Hub (Ottawa Newcomer Entrepreneurs Hub), a five-year IRCC-funded project supporting immigrant entrepreneurship. World Skills also co-facilitates the TD-World Skills Mentorship Program which has placed over 200 newcomers in meaningful employment over 13 years.
• Ottawa Community Loan FundcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2018Partner in the Foreign Credential Recognition program, providing low-interest loans exceeding $1 million for newcomer education and certification costs. The fund helps qualified newcomers access the capital needed for credential evaluation, training, and professional recertification.
• Lebanese and Arab Social Services Agency (LASSA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2018Partner in the Foreign Credential Recognition program, serving Lebanese and Arab newcomer communities in Ottawa with culturally appropriate support for credential recognition and employment integration.
• City of OttawacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2009Co-founder of OLIP alongside LASI in October 2009. The City of Ottawa provides governance oversight and collaborates on the annual Welcoming Ottawa Week launch with Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, integrating immigration planning into municipal priorities.
• LASI (Local Agencies Serving Immigrants)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2009Co-founder of OLIP alongside the City of Ottawa in October 2009. LASI represents the network of local immigrant-serving agencies that form the backbone of OLIP's partnership structure.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• COSTI Immigrant Services: One of Ontario's largest immigrant-serving agencies, providing direct settlement, language training, and employment services. Operates as a core OLIP partner organization in the GTA, comparable in service delivery and beneficiary base.
• Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia (ISANS): One of Canada's largest immigrant-serving organizations, providing direct settlement, language, and employment services. Comparable to OLIP's partner organizations and adjacent in providing coordination/modeling for settlement services.
• Calgary Local Immigration Partnership (CLIP): Calgary's LIP is part of the same national LIP network as OLIP, coordinating multi-sectoral partnerships for immigrant settlement and integration. Directly comparable in function, governance, and funding sources.
• Toronto Newcomer Office: Toronto's municipal coordination body for newcomer services, operating as a multi-sectoral partnership model analogous to OLIP but at larger scale. Directly comparable in mandate, structure, and government funding model.
• Waterloo Region Local Immigration Partnership: Another LIP in Ontario that is explicitly identified as a partner of OLIP in the Building Migrant Resilience in Cities Partnership. Operates the same settlement-coordination model in a different regional context.
• Halifax Local Immigration Partnership: Atlantic Canada LIP analogous to OLIP, coordinating newcomer services across municipal, settlement, and health sectors with IRCC funding.

Regional players

• MOSAIC (Vancouver): One of Canada's largest immigrant-serving organizations, providing language, settlement, employment, and community connection services. Comparable in mission and beneficiary base to OLIP's partner institutions, but operating in a different geography.
• World Skills Employment Centre: Lead OLIP partner running the Foreign Credential Recognition program and ONE Hub. Functions as a core partner rather than peer, but a key comparable settlement/employment service provider in Ottawa.

Broad incumbents

• Pathways to Prosperity (P2P): National research-policy alliance on immigrant integration. OLIP is hosting P2P's 2026 National Conference. Comparable as a multi-stakeholder convening body focused on integration, but operating at national scale.

Emerging players

• National Newcomer Navigation Network (N4): National network supporting newcomer navigation across Canada with knowledge mobilization and resource sharing. Comparable as a sector-coordination and capacity-building entity, though national rather than regional.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/olip_plio
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@olipplio7872
• Facebookfacebook.com/OttawaLIP
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/olip-plio
• Instagraminstagram.com/olip_plio

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership