On January 5, 2026, nearly 400 professionals working in Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) will meet at the Anvil Centre in New Westminster for the LINC Gathering – Lower Mainland. Supported by funding from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), this in-person, sector-wide event brings LINC service providers together to share practice, exchange knowledge, and strengthen language instruction across British Columbia.
Guided by the theme Imagining LINC Futures: Connect, Collaborate, and Create Change in Challenging Times, the Gathering brings together 26 LINC service providers from across British Columbia through the BC/Yukon LINC sector. The theme reflects a shared focus on responding to evolving learner needs, shifting delivery environments, and the realities facing both newcomers and service providers.
Participants will travel from the Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, and northern communities including Smithers, reflecting the geographic reach of LINC services and a collective commitment to strengthening language instruction in classrooms and communities.
Opening the Day
The Gathering will begin with an Indigenous Welcome and Knowledge Sharing by Chief Rhonda Larrabee of Qayqayt First Nation. Opening remarks will also include an IRCC presentation by Anastasia Chyz-LeSage, Director, Settlement and Resettlement Operations, followed by a welcome from Olga Stachova, CEO of MOSAIC.
A Day of Sector Learning and Collaboration
Participants include LINC professionals from a wide range of organizations, including community-based settlement agencies, school districts, post-secondary institutions, and language assessment centres. Collectively, they represent the breadth of expertise that supports newcomers’ language learning and settlement journeys every day.
The full-day program will feature 30 presentations delivered across 10 rooms, alongside structured opportunities for networking and cross-provider dialogue. Sessions will focus on practical approaches and emerging priorities in LINC delivery, including classroom practice, learner support, assessment, and program coordination.
A mid-day plenary panel, led by frontline staff, will explore themes of courage, resilience, and belonging, drawing on lived experience from classrooms and communities. The discussion will reflect how LINC professionals support learners across difference, language levels, and settlement pathways.
Recognizing the Work Behind LINC Services
Throughout the day, the focus remains on the people and practices that make LINC services possible. By highlighting experience across instructional, administrative, and program support roles, the Gathering recognizes the often behind-the-scenes work that sustains high-quality language instruction and newcomer support across the settlement sector.
As MOSAIC enters its 50th anniversary year, this LINC Gathering offers a meaningful way to begin by centring collaboration, shared learning, and the everyday work that supports newcomers as they build their lives in Canada.
