Immigrant success stories found in English as a second language (ESL) textbooks used in government-funded language instruction in Canada imagine Canada as a redeemer of immigrant newcomers. Through a critical discourse analysis of ESL textbooks used in Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada classes in Ontario, I identify two primary strategies of legitimation: positive self-representation/negative other-representation (van Dijk, 2000) and the maintenance of a low orientation to difference (Fairclough, 2003), despite a feigning of dialogicality. The stories of these immigrant newcomers follow a very similar narrative pattern that legitimates periods of economic hardship, social exclusion, and personal struggle. However, they overwhelmingly represent hard-working immigrant newcomers as successful and appreciative of the opportunities provided to them by Canada. I conclude by arguing that ESL teachers should recognize that the diverse experiences of newcomers may not align with these repetitive imaginings of Canada as a redeemer of immigrant others. (Contains 1 figure.)