Nancy Friesen Thompson has been recognized with a 2025 Global Recognition Award for her exceptional leadership in immigration consulting and significant impact on newcomer integration across Canada. The award recognizes her dual role as founder-president of Crossing Canada Citizenship & Immigration Services and her innovative approach to bridging cultural gaps while advocating for vulnerable populations, including temporary foreign workers and out-of-status individuals. Thompson’s recognition comes following rigorous evaluation using the Rasch model, which creates precise linear measurement scales allowing expert panels to compare achievements across different categories of excellence.

The award panel evaluated Thompson’s contributions across multiple criteria, including leadership, service, innovation, and social responsibility, with her achievements consistently scoring at exceptional levels on the program’s five-point grading system. Her work demonstrates world-class achievement through concrete outcomes that encompass hundreds of successful client cases, industry recognition, including 40 Under 40 honors and workplace leadership awards, and measurable community impact through settlement services extending over six years. The evaluation process highlighted her unique position as a first-generation Canadian and licensed regulated Canadian immigration consultant, leveraging lived experience to create comprehensive support systems for newcomers while maintaining the highest standards of professional excellence.

Entrepreneurial Innovation and Service Excellence

Thompson’s entrepreneurial approach extends beyond traditional immigration consulting by creating complementary services that address every aspect of newcomer integration, creating a holistic ecosystem that supports clients from initial application through successful settlement. Her 24-hour weekday response policy sets industry standards. At the same time, her end-to-end onboarding support encompasses social insurance number applications, health card assistance, and housing guidance, ensuring that clients receive comprehensive support throughout their transition. The integration of EZ Photo Inc. demonstrates strategic thinking that provides compliant biometric photography services, streamlining immigration processes for clients requiring passport, citizenship, and visa documentation while eliminating the frustration of non-compliant photographs that could delay critical applications.

Crossing Canada’s comprehensive service model addresses individual immigrant needs and employer requirements across key sectors, including agriculture, construction, manufacturing, and hospitality, creating sustainable pathways that benefit all stakeholders involved in the immigration process. Thompson’s dual focus creates sustainable employment pathways while ensuring compliance with immigration regulations, effectively addressing Canada’s skilled labor shortages through strategic workforce planning that connects qualified international talent with Canadian employers. Her firm’s success metrics include consistent client satisfaction ratings and recognition through community vote awards. She earned platinum status in administrative services for consecutive years in 2024 and 2025, demonstrating sustained excellence that extends beyond individual case outcomes to encompass broader industry leadership.

Community Leadership and Advocacy Impact

Thompson’s commitment to social responsibility manifests through her advocacy for temporary foreign workers and undocumented individuals, populations often overlooked by conventional immigration services, who require specialized attention and culturally sensitive support to navigate complex legal and social challenges. Her background as a settlement and youth worker from 2012 to 2018 with Adult Language & Learning provided foundational experience in delivering needs assessments, workshops, and youth programming that addressed the multifaceted challenges faced by newcomers attempting to build themselves in Canadian society. This grassroots engagement evolved into detailed programs that bridge cultural gaps and build sustainable networks for immigrant and refugee youth, creating lasting connections beyond formal service relationships to encompass genuine community integration.

Her mentorship extends throughout the immigration consulting profession, where she guides emerging regulated Canadian immigration consultants in developing ethical standards and professional competencies that uphold the integrity of the field while ensuring quality service delivery to vulnerable populations. Thompson’s service as a judge for Take Your Shot at The Bridge Youth Centre demonstrates her commitment to empowering next-generation leaders while encouraging community engagement that recognizes the potential of young people to contribute meaningfully to Canadian society. These roles reflect her understanding that sustainable immigration success requires extensive support systems rather than isolated service delivery, creating support networks that strengthen individual outcomes and resilience.

Professional Excellence and Industry Recognition

Thompson’s professional credentials encompass specialized training through Ashton College for her immigration consultant certificate and foundational legal education through Lambton College, providing her with the technical expertise necessary to navigate complex immigration law while maintaining the compassionate approach that distinguishes her practice. Her licensing as a regulated Canadian immigration consultant since 2017 through the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants demonstrates her commitment to maintaining the highest professional standards while continuously updating her knowledge to reflect evolving immigration policies and procedures. The combination of formal education, practical experience, and ongoing professional development positions Thompson as a leader who can effectively bridge the gap between regulatory requirements and human needs in immigration assistance.

Recognition from multiple organizations, including Business Elite Awards for entrepreneurial leadership and her selection as a 40 Under 40 awardee, demonstrates the broader impact of Thompson’s work beyond the immigration consulting field, highlighting her role as a business innovator who creates sustainable solutions to complex social challenges. Her workplace leadership award recognition reflects her ability to inspire and guide teams while maintaining the ethical standards that define excellent immigration consulting practice. These accolades represent third-party validation of her professional impact, corroborating client testimonials with objective assessments from industry peers and business leaders who recognize her exceptional contributions to Canadian immigration assistance and development.

Final Words

Nancy Friesen Thompson’s 2025 Global Recognition Award represents the intersection of professional excellence, entrepreneurial innovation, and social responsibility that defines world-class achievement in immigration assistance, demonstrating how individual expertise can create systemic improvements that benefit entire communities. Her evolution from settlement worker to industry leader demonstrates how lived experience combined with professional expertise creates exceptional outcomes for vulnerable populations while developing new standards for thorough immigration support. The award acknowledges her role in reshaping immigration consulting from transactional service provision to detailed integration support that addresses the full spectrum of challenges faced by newcomers to Canada.

Thompson’s legacy extends beyond individual client successes to systemic improvements in how Canada welcomes and integrates newcomers across multiple sectors and communities, creating sustainable models that other practitioners can emulate and adapt to their own practice contexts. Her work exemplifies the values of inclusion and diversity that strengthen Canadian society while addressing critical labor market needs through strategic workforce development that benefits immigrants and Canadian employers. “Thompson represents the gold standard for immigration consulting – combining technical expertise with genuine compassion to create pathways that change lives while building stronger communities,” noted Alex Sterling, spokesperson for Global Recognition Awards.