Stratford resident and provincial government employee Thilak Tennekone is among the RBC Top 25 Canadian Immigrants for 2015, Finance Minister Allen Roach says.
“To be included in such a select group is a tremendous honor, and Thilak is the only Islander to receive it,” Minister Roach said. “Please join me in congratulating and thanking him and his family for contributing so much to our Island community over the past two decades.”
Tennekone is the diversity consultant for the Prince Edward Island Public Service Commission. He volunteers in Stratford as chair of the town’s diversity and inclusion subcommittee and also played a lead role in establishing the PEI Association of Newcomers to Canada and the International Tea House, a cultural diversity celebration.
When he arrived in 1992, his was the only Sri Lankan family on Prince Edward Island. The Sri Lankan community has grown significantly since then and Tennekone has worked to introduce elements of its culture and traditions to Islanders.
Tennekone achieved the Top 25 honor by receiving enough votes through Canadian Immigrant magazine’s web site to advance from a short list of 75 nominees from across the country. He accepted his award last week in Toronto.
To read more about the award, visit http://canadianimmigrant.ca/canadas-top-25-immigrants/canadas-top-25-immigrants-2015/thilak-tennekoke.