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Visitor Info Castlegar:
(250) 365-6313
Visitor Info Grand Forks:
(250) 442-5835
Visitor Info Nelson:
(250) 352-3433
Visitor Info Trail:
(250) 368-3144

Visitor Info Website

The Kootenay / Boundary Newcomer Directory

Welcome To British Columbia, Canada.

The West Kootenay Boundary "Welcoming Communities Partnership" was created to support the development and stewardship of the region to attract, welcome, engage and retain Newcomers by working together as a mutually supportive and collaborative network focused on undertaking coordinated strategic action through our respective organizations, individually and in concert, to achieve our collective vision and enrich the social fabric of our communities.

By ensuring the availability of necessary services, resources and support our communities will provide the best possible experience to newcomers when joining our communities.

This partnership aims to continuously improve and maintain an inclusive, welcoming and vibrant community environment where cultural diversity is valued and celebrated and where Newcomers can realize their full potential free from racism and discrimination.

Community Resource Tools:

Welcomemap.ca includes relevant, community specific information on Castlegar, Grand Forks, Nelson and Trail. Featuring colour coded listings of essential services and community resources newcomers may require easy access to for daily living. Welcomemaps are available through First Contacts in each community.
There are over 100 First Contacts located throughout the West Kootenay Boundary area. Our First Contacts are service providers and organizations that have been identified and trained by one of our many partners, The Trail Skills Centre, and sponsored by the Province of BC´s Welcoming and Inclusive Communities and Work Places program. As the name suggests our First Contacts are identified services and organizations newcomers are most likely to visit first in their new communities.
This full featured, interactive web site aims to provide pertinent information while offering public education, increasing community awareness of resources and supports available to newcomers in Castlegar, Grand Forks, Nelson and Trail. Information regarding First Contacts and training opportunities for First Contacts in each of these communities may also be accessed.

First Contact Training Sessions - September 2010

If you are a local of the Kootenay / Boundary Region and would like to participate in the community as a First Contact for newcomers to your community, training sessions are now available. For more information check out the First Contacts page.

"This project is made possible through funding from the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia."