Novice Driver Course for Newcomers

PEI has driver's licence exchange agreements with Austria, Australia, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom for the exchange of Class 5 and 6 driver licenses, with France for the exchange of a Class 5 driver's license, and the United States for Class 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 driver licenses.

Driver's Licence

If you live in PEI and want to drive a motor vehicle, you must have a valid PEI driver's licence. Always carry your driver's licence with you when you drive.

Adriyana Stoyanova

Like many Newcomers to Canada, Adriyana is an educated person. She has a Bachelor degree with Honours in Business Administration. However, transferring skills to a new home country can be challenging with many employers looking for recent experience in Canada. For a newcomer to Canada, this can present a difficult situation. Simply coming to Canada from another country will bring cultural challenges, differences in workplace expectations and even various extracurricular certifications or licenses that may not be required in a person's native country.

Driving and Registering a Car

Some employers might require that you have your PEI Driver's Licence for certain jobs. It is a good idea to get a PEI Driver's Licence, even if you do not plan to own a vehicle.

Taxis

Taxis or 'cabs' are fairly inexpensive and quite popular in PEI. Taxis here usually charge based on the distance travelled and the number of persons in the cab. They usually do not use meters like in larger cities.

Q&A with Access PEI

Employment Assistance Service

The Employment Assistance Service (EAS) team works collaboratively with other IRSA departments to provide integrated employment-related support tailored to help clients overcome the specific barriers faced by newcomers to Canada.

Insurance

Insurance is a service you can buy to protect yourself and your family against financial hardship if something bad happens, like death, illness, injury, disability, hospitalization, car accident, fire, theft, loss of luggage, flight cancellation, etc.

Good for newcomer communities

By Kai Vere

Newcomer Settlement Services

The objective of Newcomer Settlement Services (NSS) is to assist immigrants in settling and integrating into Canadian society. It includes the delivery of direct services to immigrants such as orientation, translation, interpretation, referral to community resources, para-professional counselling, and general information.

COVID-19 Vaccine

This information is available in:

Renew PEI, Together

This information is available in:

IRSA COVID-19 update

IRSA offices in Charlottetown and Summerside will remain closed to the public and staff will be working from home until 31 January 2022. If you need to get in touch with our staff, please contact us.

International Students Support

Settlement workers at Immigrant & Refugee Services Association PEI (IRSA) provide services to international students to meet their individual settlement needs.

Temporary Foreign Workers Support

Settlement workers at IRSA assist temporary foreign workers (TFWs) and their employers with various issues surrounding settlement, work permits and immigration matters.

A Human Resources Career Path: Ellen Faye

Ellen Faye Ganga arrived in PEI in 2016. Her Employment Counsellor at PEIANC says, "Ellen Faye is very well-spoken, open-minded, and friendly. Very soon after her arrival, she was already working two jobs— one at a hotel and one at a seniors' home. She's a real go-getter!"

Child Care

According to Canadian law, children under the age of 10 should never be left alone or exposed to danger.

Having a Baby

If you are expecting a child, plan ahead, and remember the PEI health care system is there to help you. The cost of prenatal (before birth) and postnatal (after birth) care is covered if you have the PEI Health Card. [See Related Resources]

Health Clinics

Family doctors and nurse practitioners, and general physicians or general practitioners (GPs) are usually the first clinicians to see a patient, diagnose and treat health problems.

Alcohol, Tobacco and Cannabis Products

Production, sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, and cannabis products are regulated by federal and provincial laws in Canada. In Prince Edward Island, these products can only be bought at specialized licensed establishments.

Restaurants

There is a variety of places to eat out on the Island: restaurants, cafés, or fast food places. Check in the Yellow Pages under 'Restaurants' to find them. [See Related Resources]. Many of them offer international cuisine.