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I married my spouse and moved to the United States from Canada. Before, I didn't give the US much thought and merely loved travelling to a few of the locations. Having said that, even after spending five years there, I have never witnessed a country and a population as divided as the US. You proudly display your flag, yet you're so racist, illiterate, and a bible-thumper that it disgusts me. The United States is not the most free country in the world, despite what the public believes and thinks. In reality, it is also depressing to observe how the healthcare system handles people. The social safety net is completely missing, and by that I mean that most jobs don't pay for maternity leaves or vacations unless you work at a senior level or for a high-end company. The political system is so rigged that it is understandable why people are tired of voting every two years, and perhaps even every year. Most certainly, especially since your elections begin almost exactly when the previous one finished. I suppose I could go on forever, but I'll stop here. Although Canada is not perfect, is not free from controversy or problems, and is not the best at everything, we are able to concede defeat, acknowledge that someone was wrong or that we might have done better, work together with one another, and express that we are SORRY. Yes, it is a word that is never used in the US, and that is also the issue. I'm pleased to be back in Canada, where I belong, and I regret ever leaving. Yes, returning to Canada feels peaceful and inviting compared to travelling to the US, where every trip involves an interrogation to ensure that you don't remain too long. There is no need to worry because I won't be returning to stay, only visit, as previously.

I'm Canadian. I was born here, raised here, and have lived here all my life. However, my parents are American (they came during the Vietnam war), and I have full dual citizenship. I could cross the border into the U.S., get a job, start working and live there for the rest of my life if I ever chose to do so.\n\nHowever, I will never live in the U.S. Why? The cost of healthcare insurance and healthcare in general is definitely a part of that, but another huge factor is the socio-political atmosphere down there that is very unappealing to me. Everything from politics, the gun issue, much higher violence than we have in Canada, more racism issues, the media, and from what I have observed from decades of visits to the U.S.: there just seems to be a lot more people that are on edge and hostile than I am used to compared to Canada as well. For me, the general culture and mindset is just not something I want to live amongst.\n\nThere are some things I enjoy in the U.S., and there ARE wonderful people there too. I have several friends in the U.S. (born and raised), not to mention my entire extended family is American. But for me, the U.S. is a nice enough place to visit, but it's not somewhere I'd ever want to live.\n\nNo matter what kind of trip I take to the U.S., whenever I get back home to Canada it's always like a deep sigh of relief. I feel safer. I feel more relaxed. I feel at home. No matter how good my trip was, when I set foot back on Canadian soil again I always get a feeling of humble gratitude that I live here. For me, other than the warmer weather and some of the sights the U.S. has to offer, I'm much, much happier in Canada. I feel very fortunate to live here.\n\nAs a side note, I have never found our public healthcare system here in Canada to be lacking whatsoever. Any healthcare I, or anyone else I know that has received any, has always been prompt, of excellent quality, and reassuringly delivered in a professional manner.\n\nAs an example, in 1994, my father had a seizure and it was discovered that he had a benign brain tumour that had to be removed. Not even a week later, he was booked for his surgery and he had his procedure. He was operated on by one of the top two neurosurgeons in North America at the time, he spent three weeks in recovery at the hospital, and he had months of rehab afterward. About 2 weeks later, he had another seizure (the last one he ever had), he stayed in another hospital for an additional two weeks.\n\nHowever, all of what I just mentioned, and I mean ALL of it, was paid for by our public healthcare system. All he had to do was show his healthcare card and sign a release form for his surgery, and that was it. Nothing more. There were literally ZERO bills, no insurance companies, no paperwork, no phone calls, and ZERO hassle. Nothing.\n\nAnd no, our family was NOT rich or privileged either. Just an average middle class family. However, my dad's neurosurgeon told us his surgery and all the months of care he received afterward would have cost $180,000 (in 1994!), and our family would have been out on the street if it wasn't for our healthcare system. My dad also had a very minor heart attack in 2007 which didn't require surgery, and he didn't have to pay a dime or do anything else other than show his healthcare card for that either. Since those two events, my father has lived a healthy, normal life thanks to our public healthcare.\n\nIn Canada, EVERYONE receives that kind of care, regardless of if they are a billionaire or they are homeless. Because that's the moral and ethical thing to do, and is just one of the many reasons why I plan on staying here.

I live in Canada as a Kenyan and I have been here for sometime .I work as a HR/Payroll Specialist also certified in the field. The problem is not Canada , Canada is a very good county which I love and I am gland God gave me the Opportunity to Come and settle here with my family.. The problem with some people coming here is lacking of knowledge how Canada works .It’s system is very far from how things work in Dubai or Gulf countries. A lot people are thinking than you can just come and get any job even without proper papers or you can earn a lot of money and then build wealth quickly. Which is A BIG FAT LIE. The tax in Canada keeps you humble. That is how Canada funds it's high end life many admire and want to be part of. The more you work in Canada the more tax you pay and many don't know this, and it is one of the main reasons why a lot of people start to regrets, because they realize there effort of working hard is not paying as they hoped. Another thing in Canada is next to impossible to get jobs or rent a place without proper paper work, like work permit, It is not like USA where you can use someone else papers to work. the The main available jobs , easy to get , don’t pay much. And also the cost of living is very high in some provinces like Ontario and BC. They hardly recognize credentials from outside unless you came through a job offer. Also because a lot of things in Canada are paid by the government through taxes, like health care, education. Unless you are tax paper with (and I repeat) Paper work, you cant access the benefit, including thee free food available for the needy. \nMany people forget Canada is looking for people to work for them. Not to grow rich and leave. The system is meant to keep you working. Unless you understand how a system of a country works, one will continue to blame it. Let people get well informed and well educated first , before they jump in the river. And it’s not Canada a lone , but any country in the world. Also a lot of these media post about Canada are misleading. And there is also another trap called debt, a lot of people once they getting working, rush to but things they cant afford and it becomes a stress instead of a blessings.\nIf you want to live well and enjoy Canada . One of the top thing to do is, go back to school once you enter in it, get a good education and you will get a good job. Also give yourself time to adjust. REMEMBER you are starting from square one. You are not continuing where you left in Kenya or in the country you get from. Also, the general social climate is not as friendly as those in USA for example. Not many people are willing to help for free. The most jobs advertised in Canada are the lower end paying jobs, which a lot of people pay a lot of money to come for, just to realize the job they left behind was far much better than this, but no one told them that, just because it said $18 hrs and you converted it to your country and looked a lot, doesnt mean it carries the same wait once you earn in from here. The living expense are very different. The reality is, it is not where you are , but whom you are and determination knows no barrier. Anyone who will trust God for help, work hard/smart and be patience in life, they will make. It might take longer than they expect, but they will get their eventually.

Winnipegger here who lived in Toronto 2014-2020, moved back to Wpg 2020-2021 and is now back in Toronto. \n\nFirst and foremost, your comments on crime are inconsistent with the data and blown out of proportion. I suggest viewers take a look at StatsCan’s crime severity index which confirms that Ontario is the safest province or territory in Canada (safer than PEI lol). There are also scores for cities and Toronto is safer than almost every other Canadian city, safer than even Ottawa or Calgary, twice as safe as Vancouver, nearly three times safer than Winnipeg. If we start comparing to US cities, it would be even more shocking. Suffice to say, Toronto is not only safe, but it’s the safest major city in Canada and one of the safest major cities on earth. \n\nThe homelessness crisis has certainly gotten a lot worse, sadly. As has the cost of living, but you get what you pay for.\n\nHaving travelled to 35 countries (doesn’t mean I’m an expert, but I have some experiences in other places), I respectfully disagree and think Toronto is one of the greatest cities. It’s one of the greenest cities in this continent, safe, on the lake, super close to other major cities, great infrastructure (relative to Canadian cities anyway), it’s beautiful and there’s a ton to do, not to mention the diversity. \n\nDon’t be turned off by this, if you can afford it, it’s one of the best places you could live on this planet.

And, here I am not knowing why I immigrated to Canada from India amid this chaos, but, I feel safe and secure that I atleast have an option to return back to my home country and live a peaceful and fulfilling life whereas these people who are born Canadians have no choice and have to suffer. It's pity what their own people and government did to them. Also, why are the youth so much into drugs and bad habits??? I mean, it is not good when the younger population instead of investing their time and energy in the better of the society have to do such horrible acts to further increase the homelessness.

I met a guy from Canada & advised me its better to relocate to one of the less desired locations. I mean everybody wants to move to Toronto or Vancouver but there are also cities like Calgary or Nova Scotia. And I think there's a provincial nomination instead of the skilled workers program. I don't know how strictly they follow it but the Canadian system is supposed to give preference to Canadian citizens and permanent residents first.

The most depresssing factor of canada is it's weather...\nIntially i was not realizing it bt it just dawned on me that how important is sunlight for your body and also for your mental health especially in winters......yahan pe sirf 3 mahine hi suraj rehta hai..june july and August .... september se leke may mid tak.rarely you will get a glimpse of sunlight...\nI mean you wake-up every morming nd its always dark and gloomy outside from September end till april end....you dpnt feel like doing anything...especially in winter's you wake up at 9 o'clock and 4 oclock its dark.....you have no idea how much it effects your mental health...people get depressed mentally and also gets deficit of vitamin d...also government have legalized Marijuana and saying oh it will make your mind feel happy and you will not get stressed anymore...i mean how come...government is killing you softly..they dont want you to think higher..they want you to leave behind....i realized most of the people suffer from knee pain..joint pain bcoz they dont get enough sunlight ....\nI read somewhere that most of the suicide case happens inthe month of January bcoz this is the month when people get more depressed....i must say comparatively to canada india is the best place to stay ....you will get sunlight whole year... also in Toronto there is no such social life as india ...so much taxes by the government...houses are getting expensive.....all you r doing is just work , come home. Sleep and go back to work again...you work 12 crazy hours here and your 7 hrs work salary goes staright to the government as taxes...and on top of that car insurance...home insurance ..morgatege payments...phone plans ...property tax..gas bill...water bills...hot tank bills...electricity bills and so much more ...ye sab bulls bharne ke liye ek single person ko double job karni pad rahi hai bocz of which he gets sick mentally and physically...\nAlso the health care sytem is the worst here..if you r sick and call for an appointment they will appoint u after 6 month's....\nDoctors have become more corrupt nowadays.....\nI know india mein middle class family itna afford nahi kar sakti bt alleast india mein log satisfied hain ..khus hain.bhale hi paisa kam ho...atleast they spare some time to spend with their families..friends...bt yahan aisa kuch nahi hai...yahan log paisa bana lete hain bt wo khusi nahi milti..wo satisfaction nahi milta india jaisa........\nAgain i must say canadas weather is the main cause for your sick mental health and also your bine health....if you want to be in a good health....your mind should be in a healthy state first ....and as you all know health hai to wealth hai\n..

Many immigrants find the first few years difficult because of the job ethics. The job ethics here in Canada is quite different from Nigerian with a laidback background. In Canada you work for every cent and it has really worked for them and some of us. I have employed so many Africans especially Nigerians who thought I am mean because they have to work for every penny. You are not paid to come and have a chitchat at work or spend 5 hours on something that could take you 3 hours to do. I will say if you can't change your work ethics and try to integrate into the Canadian system please stay back in your country. I have also seen people who have been clouded with that high life they lived back home and find it difficult to Start at the bottom. Even if you are living a good life in Nigeria, Canada is a better place to live if you can unlearn some things and relearn other things.\nAnd is there systemic racism? The answer is YES. If our leaders treat us right, 80 percent of our people won't leave their country. Let's hold our government responsible not the north American government or their people.

Not entirely accurate. It's pro-wealthy immigration here in Canada absolutely. It's citizenship for sale. Not necessarily wealthy in terms of really wealthy (like Switzerland) but it's definitely citizenship for sale, so if you don't have money, don't bother. Newcomers with medical and engineering expertise can't get jobs here in Canada, in spite of our healthcare system being on the point of collapse and our supposed hi-tech push. Regulatory boards here have made it impossible. Estimates are around 175000 qualified, internationally trained doctors and nurses who gave up trying to practice here and moved into other careers. Ukrainian doctors, for eg, with extensive trauma experience and willing to staff our emergency departments have been told they have to requalify by going to Canadian medical school to retrain for at least 4 years. Same story in engineering. By IT, our government seems to mean low-paid call center IT work, moving the IT sweatshop racket from India onto Canadian soil. If you can afford to buy a business - I believe the total business investment was 500 000 pre-pandemic - that's another way in. Not sure if thats gone up now. So many of our franchise businesses are essentially being used as citizenship tickets. The big ticket item: If you can afford 4 years of postgraduate or undergrad university program, or 3 to 4 year college program - and if you don't have the cash, loan sharks in India will distribute debt across the whole family for decades so one student can go . There us a very good documentary by an Indian filmmaker on the Canadian college/University recruitment drive in India and its consequences. Several of our colleges have student enrollments at over 70% of the entire student body, direct entry from India. Additional problems like grade inflation, different education standards, and outright fraud on ESL testing also mean that Indian students are not well prepared for school here. Many do not have enough English to succeed in their studies. They either need to spend for additional tutoring, take a qualifying year or two ESL (on top of the 3 or 4 program), or fail courses. Universities and colleges keep the tuition though. Honestly our colleges and universities are staying afloat because of Indian students. They're being treated like cash cows - and Indian recruiters are scamming the system, taking fees on their end with unsuspecting students getting falsified documents, or being told they passed their ESL when they didn't. It's a national disgrace. I'm a prof here, I've seen all of this firsthand. Your data may be correct, but the narrative you've constructed for it is not the real picture.

it's funny I moved to Canada a little over a year ago and I want to move back to Australia for some of the reasons you want to leave Australia and more. Housing affordability here is a pipe dream unless you like living near mountains and want a laid back life like the life in Perth, in Calgary. But Calgary's job market is not great and that pretty much extends to every province except Ontario and BC. Living cost in Canada is very high... compared to what I experienced in AU, this is more expensive than living in Sydney. (I live in Toronto but this extends to Vancouver as well.) The healthcare system is weak, inefficient and inconvenient. Bureaucracy is again very slow, inconvenient and in some cases so backwards. Banking is not great, super inconvenient, not people-centric, inefficient and very much backward imo.. work-life balance or quality of life is way better in AU. Infrastructure development is slow and not great at all for a world-class country and personally, I expected better from Toronto.. (I do understand why it is the way it is right now, some justified reasons but some not so much) Things I do give props to CA... Diversity and inclusiveness is not just marketing slogan like in AU.. I don't feel like an outsider here... Its incredible. Job market is here much better than in AU. If you're moving from a country like AU, you will feel how capitalism here is made to make more money out of you every step of the way. But also, you will see how you can use that system to make alot of money. I think Canada is a great place to live if you're an entrepreneur or business person and making money is a primary requirement. But if you're someone who loves quality of life and work-life balance and want to probably own a good house, right now CA is not there. Also this doesn't mean CA isn't great, its fantastic... but compared to AU, canada comes short in many fronts. Also I love the weather here even if we have a pretty long winter.

I mean, Canada is also horribly different from one place to another

As someone who was born and spent decades growing up in Toronto who moved to the US years ago and spend time regularly in multiple states, I disagree vehemently with what Aba said about safety. Aba did not recognize that not only is the US like 50 different countries, with each state being somewhat unique unto themselves, but the cities are like an amalgamation of 2 or 3 different cities. What I mean by that is about the safety and security aspect, it all depends on where you live and where you hang out. Undoubtedly, US ghettos and the sketchy clubbing districts are generally worse than Canadian housing projects and such. If you live in the regular or especially good parts of the city, it's totally safe. \nBecause most US towns and cities are built around neighborhoods, security and safety is always a big selling point. As long as you avoid the ghetto and late night 'action' areas, it's generally safer than Toronto. Toronto suffers from an outbreak of car break ins, car thefts, home break ins and recently car jackings all over. Many US neighborhoods and areas have no such thing. On a side note, as a POC, I also have experienced far less racism in the US than I used to in Toronto. Without getting into a can of worms, if you live in a Democrat controlled city vs. Republican one, you are going to experience more crime, more homeless, higher unemployment, etc. You guys are referencing LA, which has become far worse, like San Francisco and New York. \nAnd the cost of living comment is ridiculous. Again maybe LA and NYC which are shadows of what they once were. Canada has far higher tax burden, way higher inflation, prices of food, energy, clothes and homes are off the charts. In Texas, Florida, Tennessee and Washington, we have ZERO income tax as well as lower tax than the HST. No way, Aba and Preach are dead wrong on these issues, because they are using LA or NYC as a reference. There's a reason the movies Escape From New York and it's sequel Escape From LA are such prophetic movies.

I feel I have to speak up, as a Quebecer, the common opinion in the population, especially in the old one is that they fought to have their own country but lost the vote by a tiny % so overall people feel resentful to Canada and the federal governement. Yeah they live in the past, I know, but if we look in history our ancestors had to fight the british over centuries, most of it was fought in institutions and laws, because Quebecers were catholic and british were protestant, also Quebec absolutely wanted to preserve the french language, this unique dialect we have in Quebec. I don't know why language matter so much, but it does. So yeah, maybe that's why Quebec is racist a little, because in order to have the stuff we have now, a lot of nationalistic leader had to be elected. And I completely agree with it, most people wont say mean stuff but they wont mix in with other cultures.

You both make valid points about Canada. I am 2nd generation Canadian. I do feel like its expensive here and Even I have a hard time landing a job. (Recently got laid off from my career job, they said I didn't have enough experience to work there). My friends who aren't single and live with their partner, have an easier time living here compared to people who are single & living by themselves. \n\nNight life is boring here. However, daytime life specially in the summer is better. I feel like Canada is more for an outdoor person. Depending where you live, there are beaches, mountains, trails, & lakes to explore. Some parts of Canada even look tropical! We have hot springs here as well!\n\nFor the leisure & work life balance, I feel like that depends on the person. I used to work 2 jobs (not because I was bored or needed the money at the time), I just wanted to save more money & help my friend out with his business. I felt like I had good balance of work & leisure. I hanged out with my friends on Friday & Saturdays then I had my 'me' days on Sundays.\n\nIf you are going to move here, do your research, also I don't think people consider their countries dollar into the equation, what I mean is, if you want to convert your money to Canadian... you might have less money then you have. Example, at this moment, 1 Mexican Peso is 0.066 Canadian dollars, therefor people coming from Mexico might have a hard time afford things in Canada compared to a person who is moving from USA. (1 USA Dollar = 1.31 Canadian Dollar).\n\n\nO btw, I love both you hair!!~

when it comes to cultural differences, what you said there is a huge huge generalization. Why? Some preferred cultural behavior might be true for tiny nations (or small geographic areas). That is because of rather reasonable distances, habits could spread all over that area within past centuries (that is how all that is made). But talking even about Russians is a heavy stereotype. By best guess your Russians from around Moscow area and those close to eastern Chinese borders would differ more than those groups of of Chinese (or Mongolian if Mongolia is also close by), that are right on the other side of that eastern border with their Russian counterparts. And of course by Russians I mean here citizens of Russia and not their ethnicity. \nSo Saying how Europeans are all reserved (which funny enough if you mean Europe geographically would include Moscow), is just a huge misstep. It is like calling all USA citizens to be same way (something you might really want to avoid doing if ever you visit USA).\nAlso Climate. First of all Ontario is not the other name for Toronto or GTA area. It is rather big province. So that weather heavily depends if you are sitting in Toronto, Ottawa, North Bay or Windsor. That humid weather as you stated is only truth for the parts that are closer to those big lakes.\nAnd for the love of god. Canada DOES NOT have a paid insurance. Each province has its own paid insurance. So while certain things might be free in one province (like emergency ambulance), it is partially paid in other province.

I mean racism is probably a big problem in canada..\n'But as a whole I think on the defund the police I think this is a one sided piece that didnt portray any defense of the police only criticism, in good journalism you need to let someone defend themselves and bring their perspective, this type of journalism is what you get if you have a ideologically possessed 23 year old fresh out of left wing college.. Perhaps learn real journalism try to portray facts not oppinions formost.. Journalism on a news outlet like this isn't supposed to be activicism but objectively portraying facts, and also doing interviews with people with different perspective.. Like perhaps interview Jordan Peterson and let him say stuff about group-politics actually agitating people and causing more conflict and more harm than healing..

Here's my message to illegal immigrants, liberals and the liberal media. This to the liberal media, Justin Trudeau said all the stuff he said about welcoming illegal immigrants with open arms and all of his Trump bashing also happened for one reason and one reason only. Because your cameras were rolling. It made him look good to all his liberal sheep and it made him feel good that he was standing up to the BIG BAD UNITED STATES AND THEIR BIG MEANIE PRESIDENT. He never for one minute meant what he was saying. Look back at all the things liberals like Chuck Schumer and Barack Obama himself were saying about illegal immigration when Obama was president. Back then they sounded exactly like Donald Trump. Even Justin Trudeau in the video clip they show in this video. I bet you people at Vice News even still think Justin Trudeau is some great awesome prime minister for standing up to the big mean US president. Yet you can't see past your rose colored glasses that he really isn't going to do a damn thing to help the illegal immigrants he promised to welcome. He'll deport them just like the big mean president. He'll just wait till they've spent all their money in Canada first.

There are many problems with anti-immigrant rhetoric and one of them is the classification who is and who isn't an immigrant and the question of when does a person stop becoming an immigrant and become a Canadian? A significant portion of people living in Canada are first/second/third generation Canadians and so, how do we classify these people, are they immigrants or are they not? And what of their parents/grandparents who immigrated, are they? It's very important to note that without their ancestor parents, all these first/second/third gen Canadians will not be here and they are now 'Canadians' today because we had pro-immigration laws. Also, the idea of accessing services is by itself, very problematic. I spent the first 4 years of my life here paying high tuition fees as well as tax that are used to subsidize fellow Canadians' tuition fees yet I'm not able to access any government services. Following graduation, I worked as a worker on visa where my tax was no less than an average Canadian yet government services were very much inaccessible to me. It was only after I became permanent resident, that somehow everything suddenly became available to me. I have been tax paying 6-7 years before I became a PR here yet all those years, I wasn't able to access a single thing yet somehow, after I became PR, I'm eligible for everything? The tax argument doesn't make sense at all. I will be eligible to apply for citizenship in like a year and does that mean now I am one of you, Canadians?