ANDREA CANALES FIGUEROA

Country of Origin: Costa Rica
Arrival in Canada: 1996

Growing up in South America with the dream of going to a place where equality is ‘given’, Andrea arrived in Canada with a “utopian idea” that people here would be open, welcoming, helpful. What she found instead was a “stark contradiction” to those expectations.

Believing the language barrier played a part in her being underestimated and “not given many chances,” it was the birth of Andrea's daughter that gave her the motivation to remain in Canada instead of returning to Costa Rica “defeated” and without having the opportunity to demonstrate her skills. She now runs “Capable Go Girls” – a leadership and filmmaking program for girls.

Andrea believes that with all of Canada’s potential, we should stop making assumptions about immigrants and do more to ask directly – What do you need? What do you require to prosper in this society?