Sheref Sabawy, a Mississauga resident and politician who began his Canadian journey working at Tim Hortons after emigrating from Egypt, has been honored as one of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants for 2024.
Sheref Sabawy, a Mississauga resident and politician who began his Canadian journey working at Tim Hortons after emigrating from Egypt, has been honored as one of the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants for 2024.
At 59, Sabawy reflects on his arrival in Canada during the mid-1990s, following a distinguished career in IT in Egypt, where he developed software to track oil shipment losses. As a Coptic Christian, a minority making up about 10% of Egypt’s population, Sabawy faced significant prejudice in his home country.
“I encountered discrimination, exclusion, and injustice throughout my career,” Sabawy recalls. “Eventually, I decided I couldn’t endure any more and chose to leave.”
Upon arriving in Canada, Sabawy and his wife, family physician Mary El Sabawy, knew only Father Angelos Saad of the Church of Virgin Mary & St. Athanasius in Mississauga. He initially worked several months at Tim Hortons, baking and cleaning, while also taking on night shifts at a computer repair shop, often struggling with exhaustion.
“The hardest part wasn’t the job itself, but wondering if there was a path back to my profession,” he said.
Elected as the Mississauga-Erin Mills MPP in 2018, Sabawy expresses pride in the government’s recent efforts to eliminate the requirement for Canadian work experience in applications for trades and other professions for internationally trained individuals.
Canadian Immigrant, a national multimedia platform dedicated to helping immigrants succeed in Canada, publishes the awards. Launched 16 years ago, these awards celebrate inspiring success stories of immigrants and refugees from across the country.
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