A month after arriving in Toronto as Germany’s Consul General, Peter Fahrenholtz still marvels at the city’s makeup.
“I’m fascinated by how this huge city of Toronto has shaped itself into an international multicultural city,” he said Wednesday at his Bloor-Yonge office, overlooking the downtown skyline.
“It’s like everyone from everywhere lives here,” he said, noting even most of Germans who’ve immigrated to Canada have integrated to the point where they’ve forgotten how to speak their native language.
“I don’t know how Toronto and Canada in general is so successful at doing this,” he said.
But part of Fahrenholtz’s mission is to figure out the answer. On Thursday he’ll meet with local scholars, researchers and immigration service providers for a private discussion about newcomer integration. The panel will also include German visiting Minister of State for Europe, Michael Roth.
Various delegations from Germany have visited Canada all year long to learn about how the country successfully welcomed over 25,000 Syrian refugees, especially the role of private sponsors in the process.
The most populous nation in Europe opened its door to over one million refugees last year, but the process of integration has been very slow, Fahrenholtz said.
While newcomer children in Toronto are already enrolled in school and adults are finding their footing in the job market, he said most European countries – including Germany – are still fighting with the mere idea of acceptance.
“Naturally people get worried and skeptical about welcoming strangers,” he said.
In the meantime, Canada’s reputation of embracing everyone regardless of their cultural or religious roots has left many Germans with nothing but admiration.
“Everyone in Germany loves Canadians, even when they don’t know much about Canada,” Fahrenholtz said.