The power of making people feel at home...

Guiding Newcomers from Uncertainty to Confidence

Connection, says Craig Lambe, begins with something simple: making people feel comfortable.

That might mean introducing a newcomer to someone who can help answer a question about starting a business. Or it might simply mean sitting down with an entrepreneur who has just arrived from another country and giving them the confidence to ask questions. Either way, it is often about helping someone turn business uncertainty into a next step.

“Connection is essentially making people feel comfortable with me and others,” says Lambe, the PEI Connectors‘ 2026 Connector of the Year’.

It is an approach that has shaped Lambe's work with newcomers.

“Craig was selected as our PEI Connector of the Year because he consistently goes above and beyond in supporting our clients,” says Amy Zhang, the program’s director. “Beyond sharing his expertise through our networking sessions, he generously takes the time to meet one-on-one with newcomers, offering practical guidance that helps them build confidence as they establish themselves in PEI's business community.”

Lambe helps newcomers and a spiring entrepreneurs understand the business landscape they have entered and, perhaps just as importantly, where to turn when they encounter something they don't know. His presentations cover the basics of Canada's financial system and introduce entrepreneurs to the professionals and institutions they may encounter in PEI.

“I always try to tackle it from the approach of: ‘OK, if I was plopped into a country where I didn't speak the language and it wasn't my first language, what would I want to know if I was there trying to start a new business?’”

The answer, he says, is the basics. The goal isn't to turn a newcomer into a financial expert. It is to give them enough understanding and confidence to recognize what they need to know next and to know who they can ask.

“I just make myself available to the peopleI meet with.”

Where Cultural Insight Meets Entrepreneurial Support

His willingness to help is rooted in something much larger. The Charlottetown native has travelled extensively, including studying in Finland and trips through out Europe, Australia, China and the United States. He has seen first hand how different cultures can broaden a person's understanding of the world.

“I think it's super important that we take knowledge from other cultures and intertwine it with our culture,” he says. “I think that creates a smarter, more diverse population.”

That perspective often influences the way he approaches his work with newcomers. He recalls two people who became particularly meaningful connections: Faxin Zhao and Yvonne Liu, who immigrated to Canada from China and eventually joined Lambe's firm. Although both have since moved to Ontario, they continue to work with the company on a part-time basis and maintain close personal relationships with Lambe and his family.

Their story illustrates the courage required to start over in a new country, says Lambe. Many of the people he encounters through Connectors have left established lives behind to build something better for their children.

“I just want to help them in any way I can.”

Building Community Through Selflessness, Kindness and Connection

Those relationships reinforce his belief that newcomers have as much to offer P.E.I. as P.E.I. has to offer them.

“Selflessness and kindness,” he says, are among the most important qualities of a good connector.

That help doesn't necessarily have to involve professional expertise. A connector might be a retiree, a dog walker or simply someone who knows the community well.

“There's so much knowledge to be shared,”Lambe says. “So just have conversations.”

That philosophy is particularly important when someone is new to a community.

“If we can make new immigrants feel comfortable, they'll not be as afraid to ask what they might deem as silly questions,” he says. “And if they ask more questions, they'll get more ingrained in our society, and they'll help our society, economy and country.”

It is a philosophy that also reflects Lambe's own professional interests at Lambe and Associates Inc. He joined the financial-planning business his father, Andy, founded in the late 1980s about 15 years ago and has since assumed leadership of the firm.

“I love entrepreneurship,” he says. “I think it's the cornerstone of a good economy.”

"Helping immigrant entrepreneurs is about more than answering a technical question", he says. "It is about helping someone pursue an idea and build a new life."

“It's tough enough to start a business, let alone start a business in a country you're not familiar with.”

The combination of entrepreneurship and a belief in the value of immigration shapes Lambe's perspective, but he is quick to dismiss the idea that recognition was ever the motivation. When he learned he had been named Connector of the Year, he was pleased, but he says the award isn't why he participates.

“I get enjoyment out of it.”

Away from work, his grounding force is his family. He and his wife have three young children, and much of his life revolves around balancing work with being a father. He hopes the people he has helped would describe him as welcoming, knowledgeable and someone who made them feel comfortable.

For the 2026 Connector of the Year, his conversations are not simply introductions. They are the beginnings of relationships, businesses, friendships and, ultimately, a stronger community.

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