OTTAWA: Two Canadians of Sri Lankan origin, Professor Janaka Ruwanpura and Dr. Sivakumar Gulasingam have been named among the Top 25 Canadian Immigrants of 2022, the Sri Lankan High Commission in Ottawa announced.
The High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to Canada Harsha Kumara Navaratne graced the Annual Award Ceremony of the Canadian Immigrant Magazine on 11 August, 2022 in Toronto The magazine hosts the annual awards programme that celebrates the achievements of inspiring Canadian immigrants.
Professor Ruwanpura is a scholar in construction engineering and an awardwinning 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. A few 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 ParaDance Sports. Dr. Gulasingam is a recipient of many prestigious awards including Michael Gordon Award for Humanism in Medicine from University of Toronto and The Most Outstanding Young Persons of the Year – Humanitarian and Voluntary Services, Junior Chambers International (JCI), Sri Lanka (2004).
The 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.
