Two Lankans among Top 25 Canadian Immigrants

Two Lankan origin Canadians, Professor Janaka Ruwanpura and      Dr.  Sivakumar Gulasingam, were among the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants of 2022 at the Annual Award Ceremony of the Canadian Immigrant Magazine  in Toronto recently (11), the Lankan High Commission in Ottawa said.

Professor Ruwanpura is a scholar in construction engineering and an award-winning academic. He is the Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President (Research/international) and Professor of Engineering at the University of Calgary. Professor Ruwanpura has won international, national, provincial, and municipal awards for his academic accomplishments, research   and innovation. Some of the recent awards, received by him, include the Distinguished Alumni Award (Arizona State University), Life Time Achievement Award from Sri Lanka Foundation (Los Angeles) and City of Calgary’s International Achievement.

Dr. Sivakumar Gulasingam is an award-winning physical medicine and rehabilitation physician attached to University Health Network’s Toronto Rehabilitation Institute and an Assistant Professor of the University of Toronto. He is a medical graduate from the University of Colombo. Before migrating to Canada, Dr. Gulasingam had worked as the lead physician at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Sri Lanka. He is a national trainer and para-athletics classifier with Athletics Canada, International Paralympic Committee classifier, international trainer for World Para-Athletics and World Para-Dance Sports. Dr. Gulasingam is a recipient of many prestigious awards, including Michael Gordon Award for Humanism in Medicine from the University of Toronto, and The Most Outstanding Young Persons of the Year – Humanitarian and Voluntary Services, Junior Chambers International (JCI), Sri Lanka (2004).

High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Canada, Harsha Kumara Navaratne, was present at the annual awards programme that celebrates the achievements of inspiring Canadian immigrants.

Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada, Sean Fraser, High Commissioner Navaratne and a cross section of academics, professionals and members of the business community, in Canada, attended the event.