The Calgary Local Immigration Partnership (CLIP) along with its community partners celebrated World Refugee Day, on June 20, 2022, from 12:00 – 2:00pm at the Central Library, with Tareq Hadhad, the founder and CEO of the successful Nova Scotian chocolate company, Peace by Chocolate. Hadhad shared his family story and how important the local community was in their successful settlement and integration in Canada.
Tareq Hadhad is telling his story. He was a Syrian refugee and now living his new life with his entrepreneurial family in Canada’s east coast. He is the founder and CEO of Peace by Chocolate, the recipient of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2021 for Atlantic, named one of the Top 25 Immigrants in The Maritimes, selected by Google as the National Hero Case, and was awarded RBC’s top Immigrant Award and Entrepreneur of the Year in 2020. All of this has happened since Tareq’s arrival on Canada’s East Coast in December 2015 as a Syrian-Canadian newcomer.
In 2012 the Hadhad’s home and factory that housed the family chocolate-making business were destroyed which forced them to seek safety in other countries. A former medical student at Damascus University and long-time peacekeeping advocate, Tareq joined medical relief efforts after arriving in Lebanon. A new life began when Tareq and his family were welcomed to Canada on a community-based sponsorship.
Passionate about peace and entrepreneurship, his family relaunched the family business to recreate the chocolates they once exported across the Middle East and their story turned into and international inspiring phenomenon.
Tareq has spoken at Amnesty International’s Human Rights Conference, TEDx events, Chambers of Commerce Dinners, keynote presentations in Jamaica, London England, Paris and Copenhagen, and spoken to several corporate and government organizations both in person and online. He has done over 500 interviews with different news teams across the globe. Tareq speaks on the compelling story of his family, the positive impact of Syrian newcomers and the spirit of entrepreneurship and giving back.
Prior to the keynote presentation, CLIP partnered with Momentum to host a Newcomer Entrepreneurial Panel from 9:30 – 11:00 am in the BMO room at the Central Library. The panel was comprised of Tareq, Dr. Mohamed Habiby co-founder of RoboGarden, Isis Sunna (a local entrepreneur), the City of Calgary business folks plus Business Link to share their best advice about starting a business as a newcomer to Canada. A small group of newcomers entrepreneurial were invited to take part in the event to have an opportunity to network and learn from successful newcomer business leaders. Coffee and a light breakfast were be provided
