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I am transgender and out, basically broke the relationship with my family. I’m living alone in the US as an international student (CN citizen) and suffering from the living cost and tuition even though I have a part-time job, and I’m gonna lose it soon because I have to change my visa to a student visa that does not allow me to work outside of campus. I am thinking about transferring to a Canadian university because I’m poor and lonely without family anyway (lol), and I just can’t resist the temptation of starting my life again in a different place while healing my trauma. Moreover, it’s more immigrant-friendly (note I am still going through a visa change in the US), maybe I will not be in the daily fear of having to go back to China, where is definitely not trans-friendly. But I’m so anxious on the other hand. What if I end up unemployed; what if I run out of money…I’m simply uncertain about how to find somewhere queer-friendly to survive with a secured shelter and money enough for food. I’m sorting everything out…please let me know if you have any similar experiences in Canada. Anything can be very helpful.

My grandparents immigrated from Italy and Ireland. They never got nice warm Canada Goose jackets, clothes, Nike shoes designer jeans, free English lessons or welfare. They paid there way, bought their land and found work LEGALLY, paid to learn English.\nThey did not steal unemployed Canadians jobs going through Trudeaus let’s hire out of the country so our government funds part of the wage. What we get are lousy heath care workers who barely understand or speak the English language and are caring for our Elderly and mistreating them. This I saw first had. I took my Mother home out of a senior home and cancelled home care as they never showed up on time. Would they leave there parent in a urine soaked brief for 5 hours as that is how late they were. I had to quit my job to take care of her. I myself am disabled with a spinal injure. The worst part of “Home Care workers” is that they wanted me to call in and cancel so they got paid. This statement gave from the Home Care nurse in charge of these immigrants working here. Seven of my friends, who are educated health care workers, which they themselves paid for, not paid my our government. They can’t get a job. The last job I applied for and they ask you status I put that I am a Canadian refugee in my own country. \nPretty sad when on Remembrance Day you have these woke individuals begging for money to help refugees. They should be ashamed of themselves for this disgusting action as this is a time to remember the men and women who fought for our freedom. Trudeau is a total embarrassment to all Canadians. He brings in more refugees rather than helping Veterans and homeless Canadians.

Canada is what you make of it. You can arrive rich and end up poor and you can arrive poor and end up rich. In between that, you can have a great life that balances your needs. I’ve seen immigrants succeed simply because they see the opportunity in front of them . They worked hard in their own counties to stay just above the poverty line ,but when they apply that same effort here it pays off ten times greater. I feel that compared to a lot of immigrants, natural born Canadians come across as spoiled and a little lazy…we are. We haven’t had to struggle the same way someone from a poorer country might have. I’ve talked to people who’ve worked ten to twelve hours a day just to stay afloat. If you did that here you could make plenty of money to live and have some left over. As far as owning a house goes,yes it’s expensive . I feel that homeownership in any country is relatively expensive. Here is a tip; use that soaring home prices to your advantage. Houses are expensive but you can make a lot of money buying and selling. I recommend putting together a buyers group and share the house for a few years, then sell at a profit, buy a bigger house or two smaller houses.try to buy the worst house in the best neighbourhood and fix it up slowly . That house could double in value in five or six years in the Toronto market. This is nothing new of course ,the people from India and China seem to do this a lot here ,it drives up prices and profits. On the downside to this ,you are now part of the problem. As the housing prices are driven up the non wealthy can no longer afford to own a house . They are at the mercy of high rents with no rewards of ownership. They are caught in a cycle of hard work and (relative)poverty. This could also be you if you can’t keep up the house payments and are forced to rent.\nHow well you speak English is important but your native language is also useful here because Canada is half immigrants . As a Canadian that speaks only english (Irish descent)I have to say to all newcomers that I’m very impressed that you have learned a new language and that you may even speak more than two! Don’t be embarrassed about your abilities . I find that in my experience , Canadians do not look down on people just because they don’t know English. In fact ,I’ve known people that have lived here for decades and still know very little English. They are comfortable in their communities and they function just fine. Learn as much English as suits your needs and be proud of any gains you make.\nOutside of Toronto are other cities that you might consider when looking at southern Ontario.From my experience,most are generally the same, just not as big . There are large immigrant communities in London Ontario, Hamilton and just outside of Toronto where housing is just a little bit less expensive but the commute to work is probably longer. This is just my opinion but in the small towns there are less people of colour , (which is what people of no colour call everyone else . I wonder if I’m called a person of no colour in some other culture ? LoL ). That might make it harder for you to feel integrated ,if that’s what you want. I’m not saying that people from other cultures can’t make it in a small town , I’m just saying that it’s definitely not Toronto . Here, people of any nationality can feel like they have a place where they can belong . It seems that no matter where you are from ,there is a community already here that’s set up restaurants and stores and clothing shops and newcomer support systems. And if your from Portugal or China or India or Africa or the Middle East, there are large groups of your kin here that have established roots for generations and you probably know this already.\nToronto means meeting place and that becomes evident quickly. I was born here and it’s one of the things I love the most about my city. I’m not going to say that there isn’t systemic racism here ,the people of no colour still kind of keep the top position , but as we become a minority in a decade or so ,I hope that will shift to a broader spectrum. It’s certainly happening already. One good thing is that the police department tries to hire people of colour so that racialism may play a smaller role. We’re getting used to seeing our politicians more and more reflect their constituents.\nI have to talk about the weather. Because I’m from here I’m used to the extremes of minus thirty and plus thirty . Eventually you get used to it (somewhat). Dressing in the right clothes is important. Summer is easy , but winter is different. It’s trying to kill you. Spend the most that you can afford on winter cloths . If you can afford a quality parka you should get one. The hood can be drawn around the face and stay out of the wind.\nIf not ,think of layers with a outer layer that blocks the wind. We have things called long Johns that are basically full length thick cotton or nylon pants that go on under your pants and a pair of extra thick socks. Buy your boots to fit your thick socks. Try to get the best boots you can afford ,it’s something that you might spend a little extra for but never regret.\nAll in all we are a fairly organized and peaceful society. Most people are friendly and will give you a chance . We have a good social safety net here and you don’t have to be homeless or starving if you don’t want to. There are people and organizations set up to help ,that truly try to get people back on their feet. It’s a good investment that pays off in ways that matter for the quality of life in a big city. I’m not putting my American neighbours down when I say they do things differently. They have their ways ,we have ours. This is just something that we do because we’re trying to learn how to help those that society has discarded or can’t find their place. Sure we have one or two areas where the homeless have pitched tents and we have some resources for them if they want. Unfortunately The mayor recently forced a small camp to move from a very visible place to more scattered locations. There were social workers involved as well as protesters trying to protect them. I didn’t like that happening and I want to see even more resources dedicated to them ,but on the other hand ,we are trying to avoid something like what happens on the streets when it’s just ignored. When I see YouTube videos of the streets of Philadelphia I’m extremely saddened. I thank the lucky stars that I was born in Toronto Canada.\nFor all it’s pollution and expense and crowds ,I think it’s a great place to do almost anything your heart desires . For every ugly building there is a beautiful park ,for every honked horn there is a birds call , for every cold and dark day there is beautiful sunny one around the corner.

I’m Canadian born but mums family is from Europe. \n\nIt’s seems like not a lot has changed since the 1960’s my grandfather had trouble finding a job for a while due to not having Canadian experience. \n\nIt took my friends 7years to become citizens here. As a born Canadian. They had to go back to school. Unless you are in the medical profession I don’t see why you have to go back to school. \n\nMost of our health care does come from taxes yes I can’t tell you how great it is that I don’t have to pay $80,000 per surgery. I have 17 over my life. In other places in the world that would make me homeless. \nBut the dental care has cost me a lot because of my condition. But even for me that is a fair trade off. (I rather drugs, dental would be covered) \n\nTaxes also include subsided things for the public, libraries, roads that fixed, reduced fares for public transportation, reduced health cost for low income families that’s not covered by the government. etc. Not all great but the health care coverage is great to not have to pay in full. I only pay $6000 in taxes at most a year. I have a low income. The more you make the more they will tax you because it helps get the services for everyone. That’s why you are taxed more if you make more.

I know Canada is not perfect and I find you’re a bit hard on the red maple leaf... just because you don’t find the same things as your native country. It’s like\nfrench people coming from France, going to Quebec province an complaining about the food, the weather etc... well we’re not France, sorry to say! But I can\ntry to understand your situation; it’s probably inevitable that the comparison between your country and Canada would show up eventually. I see regularly \nimmigrants moving here and it’s true that it’s not easy. (Some people will have to be cab drivers because they can’t find work in their field). But you have\nopportunities if you work hard. I have the example of a Russian truck driver who move here with his family (wife, two kids). The man started by working for\na general transport company, then was able to buy his own truck. Now he’s able to work with whoever he wants. So I think every experience is different.\nOne other thing I noticed is that for families coming here it will always be easier for kids (even teens) to adapt quicker then their parents. I live in the east\n(the maritimes) and there is not very large cities. Some immigrants that come here will stay for a while but then they would move to a larger city (like\nToronto) because that city must have the most ethnic diversity in Canada. For cultural differences true that Canadians are like Americans in the «none»\nfashion trending. It’s a different mentality then Europe because over there fashion is a statement; you are judge on your appearance. Here, not as much.\nIt shows you don’t like winter and if you don’t your not a real Canadian! :-) Don’t generalize, a lot of people here like winter. And for taxes I don’t have a clear\nexplanation other then we have a huge empty country that needs roads, infrastructures, etc. and someone has to pay for it! (fun fact, all the population\nof Canada could fit in a country like Poland... it shows how empty it is here). Finally, and I heard this many times, maybe the people or the part of the\ngovernment to blame is Immigration Canada. Maybe they give to much of an idealistic image of Canada! I truly hope that all will be fine for you here.\nDon’t forget that you can make a change to the society; if you don’t like it, you can make it better! Cheers! (Sorry for this long message)

Immigrated from Haiti to Montreal in 2001, I was 22. it was impossible getting work in what I studied but worked odd jobs for a few months. Then I went back to university and got a Masters. Husband went back to university as well and got an accounting degree. I have to say the diplomas worked. We ended getting good jobs in our field and now have very good careers. We have some Haitians friends and after years of effort they are all doing relatively well here in Montreal. So can’t complain work wise as long as you are patient, do what you have to do you should make it. For me the biggest drawbacks are the harsh climate and the difficulty to make Canadian friends but plenty of immigrants to befriend so. Also as an immigrant you need to adapt and a lot of people cannot adapt to a new country and want to have what they had back home here that is not realistic. Immigration is not for everyone. But no regrets.

Lived there for 14 years on and off mostly bcoz had no choice to go back but all the time I was only hoping, praying when time will come that I will leave this country finally I’m out , thank God , truth is that there is too much hype about Canada in other parts of the world particularly in Asian countries , immigrating to other European countries is difficult now , the picture of Canada is being portrayed as the best place , it is a nice country to some extent but living comfortably is extremely hard , way too expensive , everything from groceries to education , it is completely out of reach for a new comer to buy a house in and around Toronto , way too cold , brutal winters , which are very depressing , problem is this country is mostly uninhabitable due to extreme cold weather , everyone is nestled in Toronto and it’s surroundings , very limited opportunities. \nCold Canadian behavior, I always used to call it Cold Hell. I can go on and on ….I’m happy I’m out from there. You can just struggle to survive , you can’t have future in Canada.

As a Canadian it’s not hard budgeting here... on your pay cheque you see where your taxed money is going... if something happens to you and you can’t work you will be okay

As a Canadian I feel sad for all the families who cross the border seeking refugee status and don’t get accepted, but at the same time you can’t just come into a country illegally, without proper documentation and with no threat back home and expect to become a citizen.

I feel bad for them but as a Canadian, do I want them to become Canadian (prob will not pay income tax cause they won’t make a lot of money, being near poverty line)(and will require lots of help from the government)? Or someone from a rich country that goes through investment method to gain PR card (injecting 100-200k into local companies in cash for pr card)(they will most likely buy expensive stuff from our local economy). Let me know what you think guys think. I want 90% of the immigrants to be the latter. Can’t let all the poor peoples in or we will go bankrupt as a nation. This is reality