Building a New Life in Prince Edward Island: Celebrating Tet, the Vietnamese Lunar New Year

January 31, 2024 · Prince Edward Island · 11-minute read

Tet, the traditional Vietnamese Lunar New Year, takes on special meaning when it is celebrated on Prince Edward Island (PEI), a peaceful corner of Canada.

Tet, the traditional Vietnamese Lunar New Year, takes on special meaning when it is celebrated on Prince Edward Island (PEI), a peaceful corner of Canada. For the island’s Vietnamese community, it is more than a chance to welcome the new year. It is a time to connect, keep cultural traditions alive, and share a warm, family-style Tet with fellow Vietnamese while building a new life in Prince Edward Island.

Prince Edward Island, a small gem on Canada’s Atlantic coast, has drawn thousands of people to settle with its natural beauty, peaceful pace, and comfortable living environment. On PEI, the Vietnamese community has built a close-knit, inclusive network that serves as a “second home” both for newcomers and for those who have lived on the island for years. In this multicultural setting, Vietnamese residents work together to preserve and share their heritage through activities and events held on traditional holidays.

Fellow Vietnamese who feel like family

On Prince Edward Island, the sense that “fellow Vietnamese are like family” is more than a saying; it is the everyday experience of the Vietnamese community living here. Home may be far away, but the solidarity among Vietnamese residents has created a sincere, warm, and mutually supportive community that makes settling in easier. Several organizations and “Vietnamese in PEI” groups have been set up to help newcomers, especially families with young children. They host gatherings where people can meet and share their experience of everything from their children’s education and work to adapting to a new culture and way of life, and some run free supplementary English classes, helping newcomers integrate quickly.

This strong sense of connection helps both newcomers and long-time residents feel welcomed, as if they had found a second home.

A distinctly Vietnamese Tet on Prince Edward Island

During major occasions such as Tet, the traditional Vietnamese Lunar New Year, this family-like bond becomes even more visible. Soon after New Year’s Day, Vietnamese residents of PEI begin preparing for Tet. Vietnamese-owned shops in Charlottetown and Summerside decorate with strings of colorful lights, wall hangings, lanterns, and New Year couplets in red and gold, colors that symbolize luck and joy in the new year. Families open their homes to share the festive spirit. People gather to talk about family and work over the past year or to cook traditional Tet dishes together. Many rediscover the familiar flavors of Tet as they wash leaves, wrap banh chung (square sticky rice cakes), roll spring rolls, and listen to spring songs welcoming the new year.

Each year, on the first day of the Lunar New Year, the Vietnamese community association on PEI hosts a New Year celebration attended by hundreds of Vietnamese people who live, work, and study on this beautiful island. Setting daily routines aside, many dress in the traditional ao dai and join a wide range of spring festivities: cultural exchanges; a traditional food fair with banh chung, xoi gac (red sticky rice), candied fruits, and gio cha (Vietnamese pork roll); folk games such as bamboo dancing, o an quan (a mancala-style board game), bau cua ca (a dice game), and blindfolded pot breaking; and New Year performances, lion dances, and lucky money in red envelopes. Together, they bring the distinctive spirit of a Vietnamese Tet to PEI and to Canada more broadly.

Spring takes on added meaning for members of the Vietnamese community who have chosen to settle on Prince Edward Island, as they join in a festive, culturally rich Tet and experience the solidarity of their community on the island. With support and connection from people who share their heritage, PEI is far from an unfamiliar place where newcomers feel lost; it is a true second home that welcomes and helps Vietnamese newcomers, as the community grows stronger together and settles confidently into life in Canada.

PEI: a small island with big advantages for life in Canada

Part of Atlantic Canada on the country’s east coast, Prince Edward Island (PEI) is Canada’s smallest province by both area and population. Yet it leads the country in its rate of immigration. The benefits of living in Prince Edward Island include a peaceful environment, a relaxed lifestyle close to nature, an affordable cost of living, and a favorable business climate.

For 3 consecutive years (2019–2021), PEI outperformed every other Canadian province in real GDP growth. The provincial government has also introduced a range of measures to encourage immigration and speed up the process so that investors can settle in and start working on PEI sooner. Together, these factors have helped PEI attract many foreign entrepreneurs, including many investors from Vietnam who have come to settle and do business on the island.

Over the years, IMM Group has handled many business immigration applications under Prince Edward Island’s provincial entrepreneur stream, helping many families obtain Canadian permanent residence (PR) and settle on the island. Many investors describe PEI as a welcoming place to put down roots and a good fit for long-term settlement with their families.

Among Canada’s business immigration options, the Prince Edward Island entrepreneur stream has some of the most straightforward selection criteria, covering age, English proficiency, business management experience, and net worth, with a minimum investment of C$150,000 (approximately US$105,000) to establish and operate a business on PEI. The investor’s accompanying family members may live, study, and, where eligible, work on PEI, with access to public health care and schooling, subject to provincial eligibility rules. After operating the business for at least 12 months and meeting the residence and business requirements, the investor may be nominated by the province, and the family may then apply to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) for permanent residence (PR).

If you are interested in the Prince Edward Island provincial entrepreneur stream, contact IMM Group or leave your details below. Our experienced advisors will provide detailed guidance and help assess your application’s prospects. We are committed to keeping your personal data confidential and will use the information you provide only to advise on your family’s case.

IMM Group

• Tags:
• Canada immigration
• Canada business immigration
• Prince Edward Island (PEI)
• Prince Edward Island

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