Nuanced. - 271. Tareq Hadhad: How a Syrian Refugee Built a Brand Sold in 1,500 Canadian Stores

Episode Date: September 16, 2026

Tareq Hadhad, co-founder and CEO of Canadian chocolate company Peace by Chocolate and one of the 25,000 Syrian refugees welcomed by Canada in 2015, joins to explain immigration, integration, entrepreneurship, Canadian citizenship and Syria after Assad with host Chief Aaron Pete.Send us Fan MailSupport the shownuancedmedia.ca

My name is Terry Caddhad, and I'm the CEO and the co-founder of Peace by Chocolate here in Anigen National of Scotia. Can you tell us about starting the business Peace by Chocolate here in Canada? We were able to come to Canada in 2015 and 2016. My family and I, based on a community sponsorship, after the government commitment to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees, so I was the third on the plane. I talked to my family back in 2016, told them that building our business is going to be the fastest. this way we can pay this country back. We can give back all the kindness we have received. We can offer jobs in our own community while young people were leaving Nova Scotia going to the West to find jobs there. We can as well find purpose in our own lives because we have lost it as living as refugees.

What did citizenship mean to you that permanent residency did not? This country has restored my faith in humanity and why I want to become a part of it forever. So it was the marriage between me and Canada, formerly back in 2020. When the Assad regime fell, you said Syria was finally, fully breathing. Do you think Syria is actually free now? Terak Haddad, thank you very much for joining us today. It's a privilege to speak with you.

Would you mind briefly introducing yourself? Thank you very much for having me. Hello, everyone. My name is Terik Hadhad, and I am the CEO and the co-founder of Peace by Chocolate it here in Aniga National Scotia. When you arrived in 2015,

you were welcomed your family with extraordinary warmth from how you describe it. Today, immigration has become one of Canada's angriest political debates. Does Canada still feel like the same country that welcomed you? And have you ever felt that your belonging was questioned?

Canada has and always will be the most welcoming place on Earth. It's actually one of the only countries in the world that welcomed my family when all the other countries back in 2015 shut down their borders, they talked to a newcomers as if they were like a class under humanity and no one really was even looking at applications. So we were quite excited when Canada was the only country that invited us for the interviews and got our family a second chance at life. and give us our own moments of free birth.

Things have certainly changed, you know, when it comes to immigration over the past years, as we all know. Immigration is an interesting topic. Whenever, you know, there is any election, whether provincially, federally, even at the municipal levels, you are finding that immigration is at the forefront of every conversation, and it is solely for the reason that many people can blame the entire miseries that they call miseries or the problems in their own lives upon the people that they are

strangers to them or the people that they look differently, the people that have different skin color, the people that they have been born in different parts of the world. And I think this is very unfair. When it comes to immigrants who simply just chose to start their lives in this part of the world, and because they all want to build their own version of the Canadian dream, they were at the forefront of every news article that was basically talking about housing shortages across the country. They were talking about labor issues across the country. They were talking about international student dilemmas that is happening across Canada as well. So it was very unfair to be as simple as using that term.

but in the end of that road, certainly the country is going to pull together one more time and show the world that kindness is the right path and that welcoming strangers and welcoming those who are dreaming and yearning for opportunities is also the right display of Canadian values. We live in a country that has long taken pride in being the lighthouse to those. who are yearning for finding safe shores and safe havens as they escaped political challenges in their home countries, escape violence, escaped wars. And I think it is going to continue to be the dreams

and the place where dreams can become realities and a place where people can raise their kids safely. They can send their kids to schools. They can build businesses. They can build communities and they can contribute to humanity. in general. I have no doubt, you know, that the people that have built one of the greatest, most wealthiest nations on the planet can understand, you know, what sets us apart from the rest of the world, especially that sets us apart from our neighbors to the south. And I think,

you know, there is so much debate right now is happening at the immigration. It is just because of the insert of immigration in the political debate, which is wrong to begin with. I believe since 2015, the country has taken so many turns when it comes to the conversation on immigration, and we have seen what happened in 2015. So I am the result of the 2015 election. I am the result of the conversation on immigration

that happened in 2015 about welcoming 25,000 Syrian refugees. and when Canadians voted for a government to bring these refugees, look at what they have done. Everywhere you go across Canada, you would find not only 25, but the 40,000 that followed by 2018, they become entrepreneurs. They became students that are going to universities across the country. They became teachers. They became professors.

They became contributors to society in so many different shapes and forms. although that success is usually just kind of narrated in a small format when it comes to some of the refugee stories we have seen. And the success stories, it needs to be amplified a lot further because once someone does any negative story, it gets amplified a lot further. And it is kind of the nature of the political cycle and the news cycle, not only in Canada, across the world. And I think we need to change that narrative as well. So overall, I believe that the net value of immigration is completely positive to this country. We need people who are seeing Canada as the next place for their families to come here, to learn, to work, to raise their kids. And we need them to stay as well.

So that conversation doesn't only end up by opening our doors at the airports or the ports. It's actually a continuous conversation about how do we retain these talents and don't lose them after a short period of time just because we are building barriers instead of opening the doors to those amazing, especially young talents who are coming here to begin their lives. And I think we have the world's step that our steps and we just need to keep being open-minded when it comes to the people who are coming to this country. keep showing that multiculturalism is truly an added value to Canada and it doesn't take away, you know, from from us in business terms, the terms that I use every day, immigration and multiculturalism is an asset, not a liability to Canada. It is something that I think everyone should understand. It's something that everyone should focus on in their daily conversations. And it doesn't only, it doesn't only happen, you know, in the political spectrum as

one. I think we shouldn't leave it to leave it to political leaders to determine what the immigration cycle should be. It should start from every household. It should start from our schools. It should start from our libraries. It should start from our museums, from our workplaces. The vast majority of Canadians, they are kind, friendly, nice. And it is not only a stereotype. It is a reality. I've lived it. for over 10 years of my life now. And I think everyone is striving to display these values, you know, every day by their interactions with their neighbors, by their interactions with their coworkers, by their interactions with

someone they meet at the grocery store, with someone that greet them at the airport to check them in who works at an airline. You find that the vast majority of people really value the concept of immigration. I think certainly the wind that is coming from the southern border affects the, you know, the political landscape in Canada, no matter what happens. Whether we want to just hide it under the rug or not, I think it certainly matters to us, you know, what the conversation is in the United States. And I think we just need to go back to our own values and really take a deep look. inside ourselves and determine where do we want to see this country, not only for the next five to 10 years, which is a very short-sighted strategy, where do we want to see this country by 2100,

by 2,200, in the next decades and the next centuries? And I think every Canadian will tell you that they want to see this country prosperous, they want to see stronger infrastructure in housing, they want to see stronger health care, they want to see better schools, they want to see better labor pools across the country. So we are sufficient when it comes to any crisis or threat, like what happened in 2020 during the pandemic. And everyone is going to share with you the same vision that they have to this country. How do we get there?

I think this is the matter of debate. And immigration is not the end result of that debate or the destination. It is actually a core ingredient of that debate that needs to be given its voice. And we need to invite immigrants to the table when we talk about immigration. We shouldn't just invite them to view reports at the end of these conversations. I think they need to be invited to share their voices, to share their stories and to share their journeys. So just to follow up on that, I spoke to Mikal, who's an economist, who's focused on immigration and how that impacts the economy. And Tony Keller, who wrote a book about immigration, and their concerns from 2015,

onward are mainly that the types of immigration we were focused on, which was considered what is called low-skilled immigration where people were coming over and moving into positions, working into importance and frontline roles, and that that was pushing down opportunities for people who are on minimum wage jobs. And Tony Keller kind of made the point, a Globe and Mail journalist made the point like, when you think about where immigrants were coming in, it was making maybe his door-dash order or his skip-the-dishes order cheaper, but it was forcing more competition amongst the most vulnerable and the most downtrodden. And he believes there should be, and historically there's been a more focus on bringing in higher skilled immigration of people

who have expertise and knowledge in certain areas. You're sort of describing that when doctors come over and people to fill those higher end, where there's competition at the higher ends of the market and not the lower end of the market in order to make sure that, Canada does continue immigration, that that's his recommended approach and what historically has been done from the 70s all the way to 2015. And that changed under Justin Trudeau. I recently got into a bit of a debate with Juno News journalist and his point was like, hey, look at all this garbage coming in. And he was mainly pointing at people, I think, from India who are accused of dropping garbage into ravines and on the side of the road and stuff and posting photos and videos.

And I was like, hey, First Nations have this issue. Canadians, everyday Canadians have an issue with dropping garbage. Like, that's not unique to one group. And the backlash I got from people going, no, no, no, no, Aaron, you don't understand. This is a much larger issue because it's more common in their country to do this, that they're coming over and bringing over those values. How do you take in some of those types of comments and feedback and rhetoric? Look, I mean, there is a lot of debate that needs to happen when it comes to these type of issues. And we certainly are having a much more open debate about what a true meaning of integration is versus what a true meaning of assimilation is.

You know, we have seen what happened in Europe over decades of attempts to make sure that they assimilate immigrants. to make sure that they lose who they are, they lose their identities, they lose their culture, they lose their faith, they lose their core thing that makes them who they are just to fit in in their new society. And I think that failed miserably,

you know, in some of the regions in Europe, as we have been watching the news, not only this year, but certainly in the past few years. When it comes to Canada, I think one of the key reasons for our success historically over immigration,

not only like recently or not in this century, before that, it is that Canada has always been the place for showing the world what a true integration means, what bringing everyone from every corner of the planet, regardless of their socioeconomic status, we're just not only bringing the wealthiest, the most talented, the most educated, the brightest people from our world,

around the world. We are who we are as a nation. It's because, you know, we, we have demonstrated equality when it comes to immigration in a way that no other country has done it. And that really gives people a very equal, healthy foundation to begin with. Let me give you an example. It's because my family, when we came to Canada, we're very talented. We have very much, you know, skills and the talents that we brought with us. And when I, showed up in Canada, I was almost ready to hit back my medical field. I studied medicine before I came to Canada. I went to one of the best schools, you know, in my country. And I couldn't complete because of the war. And the reason why I applied to come to Canada is because I wanted to become a doctor and continue on that

path and help the healthcare system in this country. And with all the right tools around me, the people that they showed up to to help me. No one was able to help me get into any medical school in Canada. No one was able to help me get back on the path that I wanted to get back on. And one of my friends in Toronto, he said, do you know if you had a heart attack in Toronto, it's safer for you to be in a taxi rather than being at the emergency room at the hospital. And I said, why?

He said, because 60 to 70% of cab drivers in Toronto or immigrant physicians who can go back to practice medicine. So we have seen the block of the talent, what it does our country. We have seen that, you know, plays over and over in so many provinces to the level that, you know, we reach the point where the entire system was strangled. And then we were, we just opened. It's like we opened our eyes and there was the problem. Let's just solve it, solve it, solve it at the price of precision. So we were valuing speed over the past few years over precision when it comes to immigration,

when it comes to bringing the right talents that communities actually need. And overall, certainly, you know, when we bring people from different parts of the world, yes, so many people were living in different circumstances, in different cultures, in different habits, in different, you know, environments that sometimes it's quite exotic. We find it very exotic here in Canada. We find it very different than what the Canadian system is built on. It takes time. And this is kind of the tax of the immigration system that we need to take.

Where do we want, again, it's a question about long-term strategy. And what people are focusing on right now is that the short-sighted, the day-to-day interactions, the things that they see on the streets or in the schools or online on social media, and that is not helping, you know, in having that larger conversation about Canada. And at the end of the day, I believe that we need to, again, bring back the tone, dial back on the tone when it comes to the angry voices and give them a platform, you know, when it comes to sharing their opinions. And that comes from different places, whether that's, you know, from superiority perspective or that they see. that certainly Canada should always have a quota in terms of how many people that we bring from the Middle East, how many people we bring from India, how many people we bring from Turkey,

how many people we bring from Europe, from Asia, from other parts of the world. And again, I'm not an expert when it comes to actual immigration quotas or how Canada actually determines the numbers from which country they would bring people. but I have full faith in the Canadian people to do the right thing when it comes to advocating for keeping Canada a respectful voice when it comes to the immigration platform globally and support international organizations like UNHCR, like many UN organizations that are trying to help people mobilize across the world to find their own opportunities at the right time. and I also have full faith as well in making sure that so many people,

when they come here, they find their own way. And the other thing that we have done so wrong for too long in this country as well is we have concentrated the conversation on immigration in major urban hubs across Canada. And that is very wrong. It's because so many times, you know, when I hear from immigrants or when I hear from companies that are trying to hire or from hospitals or from universities, most of them are located in Toronto, in Vancouver, in Montreal,

in Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, and just like some mid-sized cities across Canada. And you rarely hear from rural remote communities across Canada. You know that this actually forms one of the biggest mistakes, when it comes to immigration as well, is because we were concentrating the composition of immigration in these dense cities

that already are so stretched out when it comes to these services, and we are not really covering, you know, some of the other regions. We live in the second largest country in the world. Canada should not have a debate, you know, on how many people really should be allowing a year. Canada should have a debate in terms of

How many new cities are we building? How many new communities are we supporting? How many small towns that are disappearing like what happened in Nova Scotia over the past decade? Are we really strengthening by bringing immigrants who are just trying to find a place to come and work and open their businesses, open their restaurants, make sure that they have their kids in schools, make sure that they are learning, they are continuing their education. And this is actually what is going to do. to save this country in the long run. It's not just focusing on the few examples that you see online or the videos that are pushed because of algorithms on X or on Facebook.

And I think Canadians are much more aware of the fact that in the long run, immigrants and immigration is certainly a net asset when it comes to finding ways to make sure that integration continues in the right rate and make sure that one of the best terminologies and one of the best kind of, you know, pictures that were drawn in my mind over the past few years. Someone said, Canada is not like a soup bowl. It is a salad bowl. Every ingredient of this salad is welcome to stay the way they were before they came here. We are all sharing this one home. We are all sharing this one boat. We are all on the same boat. And I think it just all comes down to making sure that people are contributing where they should be

contributing and that people are welcomed in the right ways and that we show the true kind face when it comes to the newcomers who are coming here and do not blame them for problems that have existed for decades and decades in this country long before here. I don't want to, you know, I don't want to see in the future that we are blaming someone who came to this country last month for the long line. at the emergency rooms in hospitals everywhere across the country. I don't want to blame them for the median house rent that has jumped, you know, year over year for the past two decades nonstop.

I don't want to blame them for the things that we have been doing wrong in this country for also some long time. And I want to just invite them to contribute in their own capacity to make this country better than what they found it. To follow up on that, I feel like, and you can correct me if you don't agree, but I feel like both of us somewhat represent maybe the best version. Like when people know that I'm a First Nations chief, they go, wow, like, you're in a suit. Like, you dress a certain way. You speak a certain way.

But I know I'm not reflective of all First Nations people across Canada. There are people who are living in abject poverty, who are just trying to put food in their fridge, who don't own a suit. Like, I don't reflect that. And I feel like you as well, you represent the best. case scenario for immigration. Like your values, your perspective, your story is so enriching and gives you hope and gives you aspirations that we can be this beautiful country. But I'm just wondering, are you able to like acknowledge that when some cultures do come

over and they do bring their whole selves and they don't, we don't do this melting pot, that some of their values could not be aligned with how Canadians operate here, one of which being potentially them, how they dispose of their garbage. Like, is that something that we can entertain and acknowledge is a concern? And is like, I just feel one of my concerns with this topic is it can so easily fall into racism and xenophobia. It feels like I'm walking on a tightrope because they don't want to be disrespectful to a culture or a community of people. But there are different groups of people who have their own cultures and understandings within the region. And if they don't let go of those when they come to Canada, that is going to cause issues with the domestic population.

Is that fair to say? I'm going to answer it this way. And thank you for sharing your perspective. Certainly, you know, I'm very proud of, you know, having a conversation with you on the topic of immigration. And also very proud of the fact that, you know, Canada is home to so many people like you, like me, like so many aspired, successful entrepreneurs, successful journalists, successful doctors, successful teachers, engineers,

no matter, you name it. You know, Canada has a wealth of diverse talent that I think we need to tap into it more. When I came to this country, it was December 2015, and a few months after I came to my community in Anikanesh, when my family also arrived and we started making our product in the home kitchen of my family, we went to the first farmer's market.

at the time. And then we were like such a small business just starting over, but that only was a few months after arriving in Canada. It didn't take us a full year. We were right into our third month when we were generating and paying taxes in this country. So it was a big win-win, I think, for Canada when it comes to stories not only like mine, but so many people that they were quite successful, that they're very determined, they're very committed, that they're very much in the mindset of contributing, and I always say we did not come here to take jobs. We came here to create them, and that's why we continued with this. In that first interaction that I have had with the people in my community after we opened our business, someone came to me and they said, what are your

values? Name your values. And, you know, I've thought about my values. I've thought about what I represent. I've thought about what really kind of matters to me the most between generosity, between hospitality between giving back, doing contributing, between being passionate, between integrity, between honesty. And I thought about all of those that really matters. And then I basically didn't answer that question. And I said, why are you asking? And he said, I just want to see if your values are compatible with Canadian values. And then I asked that gentleman, I said, what are the Canadian values? And he didn't know. He didn't know the answer for that. And then I said, look, I'm not going to answer by giving you certain words, but I'm going to tell you that whatever I brought with me from my home country, I'm going to take the best out of it, the best, the things that I'm the most proud of.

And I'm going to look in my community, look in this culture, look in my new beautiful country, look at the values that each household has. And I'm going to take the best. I'm going to take the best of those values. I'm going to take my values, take these new values, mix them together, and this is going to be my new identity. This is going to be the new Terek. Everything that is not compatible is not continuing with me in this country. The same thing that probably I do not find, you know, some people's values, you know, probably they are not compatible with mine, so I don't take them. And this kind of became very enriching and very self-reassuring.

to tell everyone in the community that, look, I probably, I'm not going to share everything with you 100%, but I'm sharing the best of your values. I'm sharing the things that when you go to meet someone in Osaka, in Japan, and tell them, I'm from Canada, and they tell you, oh, you Canadians are this, this, this, this, this, the things that really make people so proud overseas about the brand of Canada, this is the thing I'm going to share with you for sure.

And this is the thing that I'm going to continue and I'm going to bring to this country. Whatever that doesn't belong, whatever that doesn't really, that doesn't work well in the system here, it's from my past and it shouldn't continue with me here. So when it comes to the details in terms of, you know, the people that they are coming to this country

that are starting over, they're having their own moments of rebirth, of their own moments of sharing their second chances and building their communities. They might do it differently. But I invite everyone, you know, who is coming to Canada to look at the world around them, the new world that they have come to

and see how this country has become to be the country that it has become. And make sure that their tomorrow is better than it there yesterday. make sure the contribution they are doing is leaving this country better for their kids and grandkids and not worse. And by doing this, they're not only benefiting themselves. They're also reassuring their community around them that it was very right for them to be welcomed

and it was very right for them to have a place in this country and to celebrate the true values. At the end of the day, I believe, as a human beings, we're all equal. Some of us were more fortunate than others when we were born. I think whenever you go across Canada, so many of kids at our schools,

they don't know the true meaning, they don't know how grateful they should be to have been born in a country like Canada. My son was born in February this year. And, you know, when I first saw him, I just told him that you're a lucky man. You're a lucky man. You were you were born in one of the most amazing countries on the planet.

And he's very proud to be a Canadian Syrian. He is very proud to belong in our family. And I think, you know, as we progress in our story in the future, we are showing not only a bright example, but we're also showing what is possible when we open our hearts and when we talk to people from different backgrounds and when we continue into the true meaning of sharing what Canada has offered to many people around the world. So I hope that everyone is listening to this conversation.

They're going to accept my invitation to look deep into what they have brought to this country and to make sure that they are contributing to make this country better. Very eloquently said. I'd like to go through some of your history now. When the Assad regime fell, you said Syria was finally fully breathing. Do you think Syria is actually free? you now? Well, you know, it's the situation in my in my home country has certainly been improving over the past year and a half since the fall of the Assad regime in 2024, which was a very

historical moment. Syria was was breathing again. Syria was on the on the verge of rebuilding, on the verge of releasing all the prisoners who are still alive. and in the Assad dictatorship prisons from across the country of healing after 14 years of devastating war. One of the most atrocious wars actually that happened in recent history. And the first time actually that many people remember, many people who are alive today cannot remember so many things that happen in the Second World War, but they can certainly remember the time when the chemical weapons were used in the Syrian War in 2013 and in 2014. And that actually by itself, seeing the fall of the Assad regime in 2024, has given so many

people hope that the country can heal once more, can continue to be a place and a cradle for civilization like what it used to be. Many people don't know that Damascus is the most ancient, continuously inhabited city in the entire world. And I think it's also a moment, it was a moment in 2024 when the Assad regime fell. that my family felt something different. They felt hope in different meanings. They felt hope in different ways that they haven't since we left our country in 2013.

You know, since the form of the formation of the new government in 2024, the transitional government, I have seen that so many people that I have known personally, they have stepped up to serve the country. they have stepped up to be a part of rebuilding Syria, of inviting investment, of making sure that the country doesn't collapse into further wars, make sure that the country heals again, make sure that the entire world knows what Syria has to offer and rebuilding some of the most complicated diplomatic relationships with the world as Syria has been isolated from the world for over 60 years. So I've seen a lot of progress when it comes to that.

I'm very proud of the efforts that many Syrian youth, many Syrian diplomats, many Syrian expatriates, many Syrian refugees in their home countries have been playing to make sure that the country continues to rebuild these relationships. I had hoped from my perspective that the country would continue on the same level with the internal reconciliation, that the same level they have done external reconciliation. You know, we have to. seen how successful the new government was in rebuilding the connections with the entire world. We have seen embassies reopen. When it comes to that to inside Syria, I had hoped that, you know, that what happened in 2025 and in March and in the summer of last year, with the clashes that

happened in the country, certainly were devastating for so many people. I hope that extending a hand to make sure that people are listening to each other once more. Make sure that we and that the people inside of Syria who are running the country, they are focusing on the economic recovery of the people before they talk about long-term 50, 100 years from now. I think there is an immediate need for the world to know exactly still the devastation of cities in Syria.

The cost to rebuild Syria is enormous. it's over $400 to $500 billion. I think it requires a lot of patience. It requires a lot of hard work and commitment, not only from governments, but also from individuals across the world. So, you know, when it comes to what happens and what's happening in Syria right now,

many would argue it's a lot better when they have expected when the Assad regime fell in 2024 because many were fearful. that the country would slip into a war again, many were fearful, because we didn't see any cohesion between the fighting groups in Syria. We didn't see that they were certainly aligned

on so many values. And just to see them now, just sharing the formation, for example, of the defense ministry is something that I think is building hope for the future. It's going to take time. I think decades and decades to see Syria back on its feet. But I hope that we are on the right path.

And I offer always my constructive criticism whenever I talk to people inside the country and whenever I talk to people from the government. And I hope that they will listen and they will continue to make sure that they are reflecting on making sure they are building a democratic Syria. They're building the institutions. And they're not only benefiting the group that is in power right now. And this is something that I hope also countries like Canada, my country, are going to work on to make sure that there is a participation from so many people instead that they have sacrificed so much during the war to be able to participate in public life, to be able to have elections, fair and neutral elections, and make sure that Syria will regain its place. What lessons do you think Canadians and listeners can learn from the fact that your factory was destroyed?

And then your father responds with, because the family survived, everything could be rebuilt. At times of test, family is best. I think Canadians know this very, very well. We are one big family as a country. although again because we are we are such a massive a massive country that's why we are only in our we work in in provinces we work in territories we think about our our leadership locally before we even

think about it federally however we can come together as one voice when the time when the times are hard we can voice our challenges we can fight over it. However, at the end of the day, we will share the same supper table. We will sit around that table and we will eat our meals and we will share some fun and have some good times. No matter what happens, I believe this is what it comes down to. And when we have lost our factory and many of my family members in the war in Syria, the response was also not only that my family was safe, but also what matters at the end of the struggle. And what we found matters

the most is that we do not lose hope and we never give up. And this is, I believe, you know, one of the main lessons, you know, from our path, from our journey from Syria to Canada, from the things we have lost to the things that we were able to rebuild here. And at the end of the I think, you know, not only can we share these lessons with Canadians, which we've also seen, people from across Canada sharing these same lessons with us, people who have lost a lot, you know, in the past few years when it comes to the pandemic, the wildfires, you know, that hit even my home province very hard last year than the year before, and really thinking about ways that we can build a stronger country, a stronger family, people that they are trying

to tear us apart, they're certainly not going to be successful. I think we have much more awareness about the fact that in our unity there's so much strength than all the powers in the world that are trying to tear us apart. Can you tell us about starting the business piece by chocolate here in Canada? Peace by chocolate was born from us in the fact that, you know, passion and people can come together to advocate for a cause that they have never really thought, it mattered when it comes to consumer packaged goods. Many people, when they think about some products, they actually never think that they are going to see a value represented in it.

Every time they go to the market, every time they start chopping, the only thing that matters to them is how good is the product, how good is the quality, how good is the flavor, how good is the value for what I am paying, it's going to really satisfy me. When it comes to our brand, we were built on the simple concept of making sure that people understand that they can build peace. They can make it in their own communities and they can share it with the rest of the world. And they can reflect on our story in making sure they know how important it is to make sure that their kids are not going to have to live in a war-owned country like what my family and what my siblings had to go through.

So we were able to come to Canada in 2015 and 2016. My family and I, based on a community sponsorship after the government commitment to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees. So I was the third on the plane that came to Canada, brought Syrian refugees in December of 2015. And we were able to start our business from our home kitchen in the community of Ani Ganesh in Nova Scotian. it was a remarkable time. It was very extraordinary, you know, seeing so many people so passionate in supporting us to sell our products locally at the local farmers markets, make sure that we are going to corporate events and weddings and make sure we cater to a lot of people that they are just

trying to get a taste of what we brought with us. And at that time in 2016, I shared with the world that no one comes to Canada empty. Everyone brings something with them. Everyone brings their talents. And we're like newborn babies. We have a lot of experience that we brought with us. And this is the only difference, actually, between us and those babies. So I talked to my family back in 2016, told them that building our business is going to be the fastest way we can pay this country back.

We can give back all the kindness we have received. We can offer jobs in our own community while young people were leaving Nova Scotia. going to the West to find jobs there, we can as well find purpose in our own lives because we have lost it as living as refugees. And we found as well that we are very adapted. We have a lot of skills that we brought with us and we were able to expand our business in 2017. We opened our first chocolate factory 10 years ago actually in 2016 and we opened our second factory in 2017, and we have expanded over four times. So Peaceway and Chaltlet now is one of the largest private employers in the community.

We sell our products in over 1,500 locations across Canada, and we ship our products globally. So we have shipped our products to almost every country, over 100 countries around the world, where we were able to share our premium high-quality products made right here in Canada. with the world. And at the same time, we were very proud to have so many, so many milestones, you know, when it comes to this. And these milestones, it's all measured to me by the impact on the community. So the further we have an impact on the community, this is one of the most successful times, you know, that, and the most successful campaigns that we build is it's always measured by how many

people's lives we've changed along the way. And one of the things that have certainly kept us going is the building of the peace on our society. It's a charitable foundation where, you know, we have built since we came to Canada. And we have fund raised over $750,000 through the sale of our product to so many causes across Canada, from the Canadian Red Cross to indigenous communities across Canada to refugee hub that are trying to make sure that refugees find a warm welcome for them across the country, to the DeLare Institute for Children, Peace and Security to make sure that that children are not recruited in war zones. So we try to dig into so many campaigns and so many communities and try to find other ways that we can also be there for people who have been there for us.

So the message that we have shared with the country is that everyone wants peace, everyone loves chocolate. And this is the perfect marriage. That's why the company is called actually Peace by Chocolate. And our motto is when peace won't hurt. We have been very proud to build a brand. based on the fact that we want to be one of the top five chocolate companies in Canada. We're very ambitious. I think it is quite doable, you know, to grow this company into new horizons as we step into our next 10 years. I think there's no limit to what you can do in Canada. As long as your head is in the right place, as long as your heart is in the right place.

And as long as you take care of your people, you take care of your people. take care of the people who are building this company with us. You take care of the people that are aspiring to also share and grow their careers with us. And also as communities across the country, they are inviting us to be a part of their own basis. So I'm very proud to see the company more prosperous than ever. See Piece by Chocolate now is a household name in Canada after the release of our movie. I'm very proud that Peace Way Chonitit is the only

chocolate company in the world that has a movie based on our story and it is called Peace by Chocolate You can watch it on Prime You can watch it on so many streaming platforms It premiered a Tribeca Film Festival in New York And so many amazing festivals across the world We also shared our story in a best-selling book called Peace Be Chathleth as well

Written by John Tatry A former CBC journalist and we are also, you know, we have some exciting news coming out this fall about it. So in summary, I think what we are building is a, not only a testament, but certainly a remarkable reflection on the human desire for ambition and hope. And I hope, and I really, really hope that Canadians will continue to reflect on human stories like my story when it comes to conversation about the value of not only immigrants and newcomers. You know, we have discussed this extensively in this interview, but the value of

entrepreneurs, the value of seeking entrepreneurship as a way of life, as a career, as encouraging their kids to pursue this in the age of artificial intelligence and the age of the internet. And I think there is a bright future for everyone when they think about how they can make their communities prouder. They can make them more prosperous. And I hope that Peace by Chocolate is going to be on track to contribute even further in this country. Thank you for doing this interview. A few more questions for you. You and your father became the public faces of Peace by Chocolate.

But in the book, you talk about. your mother and sisters are its beating heart. What did the women in your family contribute that the public story may not have covered? Thank you very much. This is a very important question. I really appreciate you raising the point. It's because in so many of the speeches that I do across Canada and across the world about our story, it is rarely that someone really asked me about, you know, the contribution or the role of the woman in my family and really the story. And the answer is there would be no piece of a chocolate without my mother. There would be no piece of chocolate without my sisters. And currently there would be no piece of a chocolate since,

you know, my wife also and I got married back in 2023. So there is massive contribution, you know, when it comes to talking about the, not only the past, the present and the fusion, of the company, but certainly the actual rebuilding of the company by itself. It's actually it was impossible without the knowledge, the patience, the contribution, the expertise, the support that my mother and my sisters and everyone really in my family, all the women in my family that they have been lending hands, supporting, making sure that they are there to make sure that the family is successful, make sure that the company is successful into the future. At the end of the day, I think it's also very important to share that from a cultural perspective,

it was very hard to get my mother and my sisters in front of the public eye in front of the cameras and asked them to do interviews as we grew this company and we grew this story. It was almost impossible at the time. and because they come from a place where, you know, it was not normalized in our culture, you know, that yes, you have to be there to receive credit for all the efforts you have done. And it kind of was thrown on my shoulders over the past, you know, years to make sure that I reflect and I become their voice

when it comes to sharing their values and talking about their stories. And I am very thankful for John in the book because he was very persistent when it comes to sharing their voices and making sure their stories are heard. Although it was not always easy for him to get the stories out of them, but because he was very passionate about making sure that when the story is told,

it is wholesome, it is complete, and it is not only by the voices of the men in the family. It's not only by the voices of my father and I or anyone else in the family. It is actually the true voices of the woman. And that's how, how we grew this, you know, this beautiful family together, and that's how we got to where we are today. So the contributions were enormous.

The voices were extraordinary. The support was endless. We have seen it since the early days. We see it today. And I think the vision that we have, it is also because of the vision that also my mother had when we came to Canada. And because she has raised me based on the values that, when someone lends you a hand, you should pay it back tenfold. When someone supports you with something and calls you to ask if you need any help,

you should call him 10 times after this to ask him if he needs any help and if he needs in support and be there for them in the hard times. And this is really the mindset that piece of chocolate was born on to back in 2016. And that's why the other reason why we build this company called a piece of chocolate, it's because my mother back in May of 2016 was the person who was watching the news and saw people in Fort McMurray in Alberta fleeing their homes after the wildfires were eating everything they have built

and she told me, look son, we have a roof above our head, we have enough food in the fridge, we have money in the bank, whatever we are selling in this company doesn't belong to us. It belongs to Canadians who helped us get here. So then we launched a campaign peace for Fort McMurray back in 2016 and we fundraise, we started fundraising,

calling on all the newcomers we know across Canada to fundraise with us to support the people of Fort McMurray and it was one of the most successful campaigns we have raised with the relief organizations with the Red Cross and many amazing people. So yeah, it's truly, you know, very, very humbling and very honoring, you know, to belong in a family where my mother is my mother.

You became a citizen in 2020 and said Canada was not a hotel or hospital you would leave after recovering. What did citizenship mean to you that permanent residency did not? You know, the moment that I landed in Canada, it was always a dream for me, you know, to be able to call this country home. And I truly felt home in not only in the first day, but in the first hour that I came to Canada, I was greeted at the Toronto Pearson Airport by CBSA officers who came and shook my hand, and they were saying, welcome to Canada, welcome home. And I felt like I'm the prime minister, you know, the moment that I stepped out of that plane

because everyone was coming and shaking my hand. And as I continued on this journey, I was very lucky that I got my permanent residency right at the airport when I landed. Many newcomers don't, unfortunately, don't share this luxury. that I really was proudly, you know, celebrating for the entire time I was in this country. And when I was a permanent resident, it didn't matter to me that I'm a permanent resident or I'm a citizen or I'm a student or I'm a foreign worker or no matter what. What mattered to me is I am on this land, in this very moment, sharing it with the people that I love the most, sharing it to the people that they welcome me.

and that I came here because I was invited. And I came to this country because this country invited me, sent me an invitation to the embassy in Lebanon with my name, got my visa, came here, and started contributing. And it didn't matter to me at all. With title I was holding, titles come and go, paperwork comes and comes and go. And we have seen this in the war.

We have seen in the war people that have billions of dollars. They were in refugee camps, ended up in refugee camps. people that they were extremely successful, but they couldn't survive the war period. So it doesn't really matter. Titles, I think, are just like a formality. And Canada makes it really home for you when you come here by the interactions with the people that you have. From a legal perspective and from a formality perspective and a government perspective, certainly, yes. There's a big difference in the things you can do and you cannot do.

And one of the biggest things for me as a permanent resident is because I love touring the world as a, you know, as someone who got freed from war, as someone who just finally got my chance to share my voice, share my story, celebrate this country, share what Canada stands for. And I was invited to the UK, to Paris, I went to Copenhagen, I went to so many countries as a permanent resident. And every time I needed to go there, I needed to do an interview in Montreal or Toronto at the consulate. and get the visa for a few months at a time. And it was very challenging for me. And, you know, I certainly know that so many Canadians don't have even a glimpse of an idea of what really the Canadian passport needs or having the Canadian citizenship or the celebration of what this country represents globally until they lose that fact.

And that's why I was aspiring, you know, since I came to this country, to pursue the Canadian citizenship. It is because this country has restored my faith in humanity and why I want to become a part of it forever. So it was the marriage between me and Canada, formerly back in 2020. And the thing that has continued to inspire me is that certainly after January 15th,

nothing changed. I felt that I am the same person. And I felt Canada didn't change in the the way that this country has been treating me since I came here. The only thing that changed really is the Canadian passport and the way for me to interact with the world outside of this country. So I was able to start the business. I was able to go to school.

I was able to own properties. I was able to do so many things in this country as a permanent resident. However, the only thing really that changed for me is the fact that I'm officially a part of this amazing Canadian family now and the Canadian citizenship now is an amazing recognition. I think it is, the Canadian citizenship is earned. I think so many people think about it as a right, but for me, Canadian citizenship meant more than just a right.

You just don't have to come to this country, become a permit resident, and here you go, here is Canadian citizenship. And I know that, you know, so many people look at it, So many people that they come to this country look at it the same way that I do, is that you work hard for it. You prove yourself to become a Canadian citizen. You show up.

You step up every day. You help. You volunteer. You call your neighbors to check on them after the hurricanes. You make sure that you help the elders in your neighborhood. You shovel the snow at your, you know, senior neighbors driveway. You make sure that, you know, you are the same. doing it the Canadian way, not only coming here as a permanent resident and becoming a citizen

effortlessly. Certainly, this is not the Canadian way, although, you know, the law doesn't say specifics in terms of what does that mean, you know, to spend so much effort to gain the citizenship, but in my perspective, and to respect myself, I think I've worked so hard before getting the citizenship really to know what this country is all about. So I'm very proud citizen. My family are proud citizens and we will continue to celebrate this country. How can people follow your work? Well, thank God, you know, for social media and the internet. I invite everyone to check out the good work.

We are doing a piece by chocolate. They can follow us across all the social network. And they can, you know, check out my social media as well at Tarikadad. They can follow their speeches that, that I give. I proudly have delivered over 500 keynote speeches in Canada and across the world on entrepreneurship, on the value of second chances, on having our own moments of rebirth, of celebrating the kindness and the compassion that is inside of us and portraying it onto the world. I think it is very powerful when we learn from one another. So I invite others to come and learn about

my story. I'm very excited to learn about other stories as well. Thank you for being willing to do this. I'll be honest that I've been diving into the immigration policy and trying to think it through and have guests on to understand what's going on. And it can just be discouraging. And then, as I said, I posted on X trying to lay out an argument. And it was met with a lot of negativity. And it's just very frustrating. It's a very complicated issue. And you bring the best of what immigration can be forward. And you remind us, one person can make a difference, whether that's your dad, your mom, your sisters, yourself, that you're contributing, that you're adding value. And that's the bedrock of human beings.

That's our goal is to create a community, create a sense of purpose and belonging. And your ability to articulate that, I think, is really important because right now we're trying to figure out who is Canada in relation to the United States. And I don't think it's good enough that we say we're just not the U.S. We need to lay out what that looks like. and you've done that throughout this interview and just are very inspiring and very helpful and people recognizing that you can come from nothing, that you can start from the very bottom in this country and start with nothing and build something out and provide and give back and think of ways to make more and not have a famine mentality.

And I think that's just really important as we try and work out some of these policy issues is to remember the best possible outcomes as well. And I think you represent that and your family represents that. So thank you so much for being willing to do this. Thank you very much. Really, it's a pleasure to have this conversation with you. And yes, I'm very also always, you know, looking forward for bright voices to share, you know, their vision in terms of what the immigration represents and what this country represents. And it's been a very interesting conversation.

Thank you very much, Aaron, for having me.