The Whale House is one of several initiatives spearheaded by the Multicultural Association of Cape Breton, a grassroots, volunteer-run organization dedicated to “ethnocultural community development in Unama’ki Cape Breton.” Co-founder Ocean Le is the association’s vice-president, and though he’s hardly a newcomer — his family moved from Saigon, Vietnam, to Manitoba and then Toronto when he was a small child — he is a recent arrival in Sydney, having moved here during COVID-19. It didn’t take long for him to fall for this relatively rural city by the sea. One big reason was its cultural diversity. Sydney’s population is just under 31,000, but it is culturally diverse and has been for more than a century. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, immigrants came to work in Cape Breton’s coal mines and steel plants; these days, they come to study at Cape Breton University, which enrolls thousands of international students from over 70 different countries. Many of these students want to stay, captivated by the sense of community and opportunities the city offers.

The first event the association held was a multicultural market. “We had an amazing turnout with so much local support. We learned that a lot of newcomers wanted to cook, but it was hard without access to a commercial kitchen,” Le explains. “As a board, we thought, what can we do?” They found the perfect downtown property and established the Whale House. “It really took off and has allowed our vendors to be leaders in their community. We’re helping them to cook their food, but really we are selling the stories behind it that help build community,” says Le.