Magkaisa Centre

Modeled after the Kalayaan Centre in Vancouver, British Colombia and the Kapit Bisig Centre in Montreal, Quebec, the Magkaisa Centre is a Filipino community centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The organizations at the Magkaisa Centre include the Philippine Women Centre of Ontario (PWC-ON), Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance of Ontario/Ugnayan Ng Kabataang Pilipino Sa Canada (FCYA/UKPC-ON) and SIKLAB Ontario (Advance and Uphold the Struggle of Filipino Canadian Workers/Sulong Itaguyod Karapatan ng mga Manggagawang Pilipino sa Labas ng Bansa). Together, these organizations strive social transformation and social justice under the call for genuine settlement and integration for Filipinos in Canada.

Since 2000, the groups in the Magkaisa Centre have operated to serve the needs of and empower the growing but marginalized Filipino migrant and immigrant community in Toronto. It is a place not only for Filipino Canadians to gather, but more importantly, a place where marginalized members of our community can collectively continue the struggle to achieve equality, human rights and genuine development. The tagalog word “Magkaisa” means “Unity,” and was chosen as the name for the Centre to illustrate the collective unity of the organizations that strive for social justice for the Filipino people.

Located in Toronto (see contact us section for a map), the Centre houses a number of organizations doing specific work in various sectors of the Filipino community. All of the organizations are part of national formations in Canada. More detailed information on the history and work of these organizations will follow in this package.

Organizations in the Magkaisa Centre are:

Ugnayan Ng Kabataang Pilipino Sa Canada/Filipino Canadian Youth Alliance – Ontario (UKPC/FCYA-ON)

Philippines Canada Task Force on Human Rights (PCTFHR)

Philippine Women Centre of Ontario (PWC-ON)

SIKLAB-ON (Advance and Uphold the Struggle of Filipino Canadian Workers/Sulong Itaguyod Karapatan ng mga Manggagawang Pilipino sa Labas ng Bansa)

The Magkaisa Centre hosts meetings, workshops, forums and conferences to meet the objectives of building an empowered Filipino Canadian community, while building alliances with other progressive individuals and groups in Canadian society. The Centre also houses a library and unique collection of resource materials on Filipino Canadian history and the Philippines.