According to the recent census numbers released from Statistics Canada, the number of people speaking Tagalog in Saskatchewan rose 123% while only rising 35% in the rest of Canada. 

"That's the main language of the Filipino community," explained Jay Roye, the Information Consultant for the Southeast Newcomers Services. "One of the trends that we're seeing is quite a few family members joining the main family member that came before. So we have husbands and children joining the wife and visa versa. That will have accounted for the increase."

"I think that's great for the community. Any type of increase into persons moving into our community to help us grow in terms of bringing in great resources because a lot of persons coming in are highly educated and are able to give to the community."

One of the reason that this province has seen such a large increase could be due to a program offered in Saskatchewan. 

"The Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominate Program (SNIP) is one of the best programs in the country for helping individuals becoming permanent residents and that was one of the attractions that Saskatchewan offered. Whether it be for students who might be in Ontario or other provinces, or persons who are from outside of the country and trying to get in, or persons coming in under the Temporary Foreign Workers stream or whatever sector it may be. This SINP program is fantastic and that has been a route a lot of people have taken to become permanent residents."

Nancy Zeleny, the Settlement Advisor with the Newcomers Services adds that to her, the numbers is a positive sign for Estevan. 

"I think what that speaks to is that our community is continuing to grow. And with the growth of the community it's more than just people. With more people coming and living in our community, they're contributing in so many different ways. They're contributing to our economy, they're contributing to our sports areas , they're contributing to our social areas so really

"I think the numbers are positive and very exciting for Estevan because with the continued growth, our community continues to grow and that's really what we're striving for. We're striving for inclusiveness, we're striving for diversity, we're striving for celebration of all that. So for us, we're excited we hope to see the numbers continue to grow."

And when it comes to the increase in Tagalog speakers, she also sees it as a positive. 

"Your language is a part of your language and your language is a part of your heritage so it's obvious that families would want to share that with their children  and continue that culture and continue that heritage and make sure that it is growing down the lineage of their family. It think that is super empowering that families are choosing to keep their language a part of their family unit."

She adds that providing a welcoming service, and settlement services for anybody who is new to Estevan is part of the focus for the Newcomers Services. 

"Our mandate is ensure that individuals in the community of Estevan are feeling included, that they feel that they are fitting in and thy feel like thy are a part of their community. So the fact that more of the Filipino specific populations are coming and living and staying in Estevan is huge because I think that shows that we're providing a welcoming, inclusive community because people are coming and they're still coming and they're wanting to stay so at the end of the day, that's really what we're looking to do."