Gala strengthens partnership between Ismaili Community and Quebec

Nasrullah Jinnah, President of the Ismaili Council for Quebec & Maritimes, welcomes guests during the reception. Photo: Almin Surani

Fifteen years ago, amidst civil war in Afghanistan and dislocation in Pakistan, the story of Afghan settlement in Canada began to unfold. Learning of the plight of their brothers and sisters, the Canadian Ismaili community reached out to assist Afghan Ismailis to migrate to Canada — a country that had welcomed its first Ismaili immigrants in the 1970s when they were faced with political upheaval and had been uprooted from their homes.

In 1992, the Province of Quebec had a smaller Ismaili population than many other Canadian provinces, and little was known in Canada about Afghan history and culture. However, Quebec had a strong reputation of support for immigration and refugee settlement.

Driven by an ethic of care and responsibility towards the disenfranchised, the Ismaili Council for Canada initiated its first protocol agreement with the Quebec government in September 1992. Under this agreement, the Council sponsored 350 Afghan refugees to come to Quebec over a one year period

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