Close Reading

Sooooo.. here is my own side of the story .. i am happy he said *if you are stable*… well for most ppl in a situation like mine.. jobless here in Nigeria or living on 50k salary, no connection to get good jobs, nobody willing to help, getting a canadian visa is like winning the lottery.. its hard dere but i bet we will b able to cope nd cnt complain bcos it already is hard here too(worse)… we cn start small and grow… as for the racism honestly the tribalism here too is real.. all i am trying to say is what can they throw at us that we havnt already experienced, i mean ppl in my class… so was i happy when i got my visa some months ago? 100%.. also 100% ready for the new challenge.. long story short there are two sides to being an immigrant… please correct me if i am wrong ?

I’ve been privileged to actually live and work for long periods of time in USA, Netherlands, and China…and in a variety of locations in each country. Until recently, I’d have chosen Canada without hesitation. Canada has been rocketing into an ideological cesspool rivalling China, but so has USA and the Netherlands. As for the future…if I were middle aged (as opposed to OLD!) I would go to southeast USA Fla or Tx. Not because they are ‘better ‘ right now, but I believe USA still has a chance to sort itself out but Canada is simply too screwed up and corrupt (morally, politically, socially, & financially) to recover at least in my lifetime. I was living in northern China (Harbin) when that idiot Trudeau became PM and hoped he had a chance to improve things in general. But it is clear he (or whoever is pulling his vapid strings) has been a disaster and his current opposition shows signs of being equally awful. I believe US citizens care far more for their constitution and freedoms and more aware of the perilous situation they’re in than Canadians, many of whom still believe we have a functioning health care system. All this is coming to you from a Canadian septuagenerian, highly educated by what was (decades ago) the best educational system in the Western Hemisphere. One who benefited from a wonderful health care system before it got farmed out to private corporations and became a haven for niche specialties while starving out the family physicians who were the front line for proactive family care. Can u tell I’m cranky yet? ?? Might as well laugh about it at this point. P.S. When the history of Canada is written I suspect an unabashed plagiarist will begin with the line, “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.”

The homeless situation is man made created by Liberals. They opened boarder to the every one from across the world specially from African countries who flew their country for crimes.. Now its all over.. They also brought almost 2 million student without any housing and healthcare fix. Now I can see 4 to 5 students live in one room basement apartment each pay $700 a month.\n\nWe are now dropping below other G8 countries in terms of living standards. I remember back in early 90s when Harper was Prime Minister. He use to bring most wealthy business people to come here to open business and employ Canadian. That has boosted the Canadian economy until Trudue came to power and destroyed every thing been built. \n\nWe are fearful our future generation what kind of Canada they will get after 10 to 20 years from now. I hope the Liberals will be out and new PM will do some real work on to stop these useless immigration, international students who mostly come here live not for study as they give up after a year or so due to high cost of fees..

The economic situation in Canada isn't really well summarized by an 11 minute video generalizing the entire country like this. There are massive regional income and productivity disparities between provinces, with worker productivity, median income, and GDP per capita being highest in the province in Alberta, and lowest the east coast maritime provinces. Quebec being rather poor overall (compared to Ontario), and it's place in the federation is a whole other discussion worthy of an entire video series related to Canadian economic problems. Canada is also not a typical federation; the provinces have a very large degree of autonomy and jurisdiction over affairs within their border than other subnational units in other federations. So yeah, as a Canadian with an academic background in economics and political science, I have to say that this video is a gross oversimplification, just something to note for anyone that may not know much about Canada.

Our current crises here in Canada are largely due to recent, unreasonable immigration targets. I'm not anti-immigration - we need immigration - but some questions need to be asked. 1. Are newcomers actually being matched to the areas in which we have labour shortages? The short answer is NO. 2. Would it not be more sensible to increase immigration in ratio to our ability to build new housing? Instead of the total disconnect we have now. Especially if many of the newcomers aren't actually being employed in construction industries? 3. We've had labour shortages and housing bubble issues for over a decade at least; how did the labour shortage crisis and housing crisis suddenly get so bad? Short answer: they didn't. Unreasonable immigration took a shaky situation and pushed it over into crisis almost overnight. 4. Most of our universities and colleges are now relying on international student fees to meet their budgets. Most of them are now operating as businesses, including property developers, instead of educational institutions. (I'm a university prof - 20+ years teaching - I can't believe the changes I've seen in our postsecondary system .) Who is tracking the number of international students who are here 4 plus years and apply for PR after graduation? What is happening with the manipulation of statistics re: international students and/vs immigration? There is a significant statistical overlap that is not being disclosed to the Canadian public. Thanks for reading!

I can 100% relate to Sanjay’s situation. Most of my friends are in the same boat as mine. The lottery system is the most absurd I have ever seen. Literally, careers are decided by fate and not by merit. Canadian system is merit based. Just imagine how tough it would be for companies attempting to sponsor Visas. \n\nIf there are comparable salaries and job openings in Canada. I’m sure a large chunk of the skilled workforce is willing to move to Canada simply because of mental stress and uncertainty in the US.

To Polymatter, please do a video on the Canadian housing problem. Things that you MUST make people aware on are 1) housing and zoning are set by local and provincial governments, not by the federal government which only controls immigration. 2)show where the immigrants are going 3) look at what the PROVINCES are doing to help the situation (as they hold the ultimate levers for housing and development) 4) percentage of housing stock held be corporations and non residents. I think you will find its quite the complex issue.

As a Danish citizen I would much prefer immigrating to Canada compared to the US if I ever would be in a situation to choose. The Canadian system is much more comparable to the European systems and I feel the mentality is more similar as well. Nothing against Americans I just can’t with how everything is politicized and generally seems super toxic.

I'm a Canadian from Toronto that's been living in Boston for the past 4 years. Love the city - probably the most underrated in North America. The people here are friendly (not polite, but friendly), and I've generally enjoyed living here. Having said all of that, I'm moving back to Canada in a week. There are some major benefits to living in Boston over Toronto - the pay is significantly higher for the same job, the city is beautiful, and the weather is much better. My wife has enjoyed her time here less, as there are some subtle cultural differences here with misogyny (men in professional settings always touching her inappropriately, she's been drugged at bars several times, and she is treated poorly by many men). Things that were unthinkable in Toronto. Add the slow deterioration of women's rights in this country, and the general situation with healthcare, and its become a rather unwelcoming place for someone used to Canadian culture.

I like your channel and as a Canadian friend a forest for the trees situation may I point out. Gun violence/kids(schools) Schools are filled with kids with a certain percentage being somewhat unstable not being fully formed human beings yet I.e. hormones and such, not even taking into account mental health issues for some. Then being immersed in a culture of having free and easy access to guns means wether you live in a small medium or large city it can happen to you and yours and just because it hasn’t yet don’t fool yourself thinking oh I live in a good part of the U.S. and school shootings don’t happen here.Forest for the trees my friend

I would consider living in the USA but I would lose many of my Canadian veterans benefits and services that I currently receive. My grandparents are from North Dakota. I could use that to get citizenship through derivation… but then there would be the requirement to file income taxes in both countries. Any tax free benefits I get as a Canadian vet, would loose their tax free status and become taxable if I claimed my citizenship… so I have decided not too. If these issues were not in play, I would consider moving to northern Minnesota or Montana or Vermont. Somewhere close to the Canadian border, close to family but in a better climate zone. I like growing my own food and a longer growing season with nicer forests would be awesome. The climate in Manitoba is not the greatest for growing a variety of trees… and the trees do not get very big. I love Orlando and spend about 6 weeks a year there… but I could not see myself living there full time. Sometimes I will drive the 3600 km south to Orlando and I get a really good view of the wealth disparity in the USA… So that alone, I am happier in Canada… knowing that there is a better safety net for us should a situation in life happen that would leave you broke and homeless in the USA

At the end of the day I think Canada and the US share a lot of common ground in a lot of areas. \nThe major difference in my eyes between Canada and the US is the competitiveness of each economy. The US is far more competitive and innovative than Canada. Canadians are more risk averse and seem to want to work for the government or a big company whereas Americans are more confident in themselves and would prefer to work for themselves and try to start a business for themselves - and importantly - want to have it become a large business. \nAs a Canadian I wish I would have moved down to the States and tried it out when I was younger. I'm too old to move there now... \nCanada still isn't a bad place but it is nowhere near as prosperous for the average person, or I should say the average worker, as it used to be. And Canada's economy seems to be deteriorating rapidly and being usurped by newly developing countries whereas the economic future of the US seems brighter due to the powerful innovation in the US. However the social situation in the US seems to be deteriorating more so than in Canada.

In 2009 I questioned if I could ever own a home but I was still working hard at my career and had some hope if I met the right women to marry. Then along came Justin Trudeau. Within 2 years of his goverment that dream faded fast. Everything I saved and my individual salary still wasn't enough. Property taxes and carbon taxes make it absolutely impossible here in southern Ontario even far a small home not without trying. I always get out bid on the 316 homes I tried to purchase. I can't pay 30%-70% above market value on a single income. Turning in my pensions isn't even an option. I'm not gambling away my retirement with current crrupt Liberal goverment that continues to raise taxes. To give some an idea just how single parents are crushed on taxes. I pay 53% of my income on taxes and get almost nothing back when filing my taxes cause I work hard and excel in my career. I get punished for being a hard work and risking my life to do so. Living in Canada has gotten gradually worse and worse the last 8 years. The socialist way of life isn't good. Now the writing is on the wall that it's becoming a communist country. I'm now searching for employment opportunities south of the border to give my child the best chance to making her dreams a reality. Canada isn't giving me any other options. If everything works out in the US I will surrender my Canadian citizenship at the earliest availability. It breaks my heart but I just can't allow them to enslave me and my child as she becomes an adult. Slavery is the only way I can describe the last 8 years. Also to top it all off 6 if the last 8 year's basic goverment services have been extremely unstable making doing business with Canada very frustrating. Getting a passport during this time has been delay after delay. Finding a family doctor that is stable almost impossible. \n\nCanada's economy status looks good from a far but its really far from good. Our goverment is literally paying 10s of billions in tax dollars to draw auto makers here and to even keep them here. Just further proof the economic future is very unstable. Probably even more so then the housing market. \n\nOur PM isn't even hiding his goverments level of corruption anymore. He actually brags about it at home and on the world stage. \n\n\nI worry about my future more then planing for it. Hopelessness has definitely set in. Now I'm in damage control by no fault of my own to make sure no possible debt are passed on to my daughter in the next 25 years when I'm gone. Even that is looking to be unachievable in my particular situation. It's my worst nightmare to leave my kid with any owing debts.

This is very surface-level analysis. If you want to dive into why Canada's economy is so uncompetitive you have to look at its constitutional framework. Inter-provincial trade is more difficult in Canada compared to Trade in the states or the EU because NAFTA, and the EU trade agreement are more efficient compared to inter-provincial trade frameworks the senate estimates these barriers cost the economy $150b in GDP per year. By comparison, Australia with a similar constitutional structure to Canada managed to harmonize many of its inter-state/ territory regulations leading to increased GDP growth and has long outperformed the Canadian economy. Furthermore, Canada's indigenous rights framework is far to restrictive in terms of allowing the governments to actually govern. This has cost us billions in FDI in projects tossed out by the courts and projects that will simply never be considered due to political and regulatory risks. \n\nThat said, if Canada wanted to improve this situation without meddling in the constitution one thing they can do is to allow housing to catch up to the population. We have the fewest number of dwelling per capita in the G7 in the highest population growth in the G7. This is a recipe for a housing shortage which ensures that a lot of capital will flow into the housing sector simply because it offers promising returns relative to the risk of operating a business. I believe Canada grew by over 1,000,000 residents in 2022 however we had 240,000 housing starts (4 residents per dwelling) and average house size here is 2.51 residents per dwelling. \n\nThat disconnect between housing starts (see regulatory framework above as to why we can't build enough houses) will just cause more capital to flow to the sectors making the business investment environment worse.

Hi, I’m a Canadian living in the USA. Pros and cons for each. For hard workers and entrepreneurs,you will undoubtedly have success- USA is where most of the big companies have started, and small businesses do well, too. Americans work very hard and not everyone is suited for that type of lifestyle. My second point may be a little controversial. As a retiree we have Medicare which covers major medical- hospital and doctors at a rate of 80%. The additional must be paired via private insurance that is optional or out of pocket. We have chosen a good supplemental policy that allows us to make our own referral to specialists- with a waiting period < 2 weeks. The point is that you can choose what you want. No waiting!I know that people in Canada who wait a year to see a doctor in a non emergency situation! You will say that it is expensive,but people choose not to prioritize medical care and instead purchase luxury items etc. what I like is the choice. I don’t want to not be able to see a specialist when I feel I need one!! I like \nChoice!

Each country has its own pros and cons and question is whether cons are balanced by pros. \nI remember when Austrian colleague come to Toronto for a 3 months for a scientific exchange. She was shocked, whereas I, being in my 5th year of my stay there, I no longer react but adapt to a situation. \n\nAs for doctors, I know foreign doctors who can't practice as is taking forever to get papers done. Some of them need to pass all exams from a medical school. \n\nYou reminded me how I was annoyed by tax not included in a price. In Poland price on a price tag is final, the same for the UK or Switzerland. \nSilent racism I will call it fake openness as it also touches white immigrants from Europe. The job market is sealed shut and glass door awaits. My Canadian, academic job experience was good enough for the UK and Switzerland/Liechtenstein. Funny fact, recently I got invitation to apply for a job in Canada as suddenly I am good enough. Of course no one ever invited me to the network so networking is not. Even funnier I was interviewed for a job but when I saw rent for 1 bedroom in Toronto I withdrawn my application.\n\n I was told old building in Switzerland are bad. Maybe. But after living in a carton wall studio in Toronto, now rent is above 2,000 CAN, I have very low expectations. Remember my shock when I saw quality of a buildings.

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)

Preetinder, how are you?\n\nI sincerely hope that all is well with you and your family.\n\nI wanted to check in with you to understand your current situation on immigration to Canada.\n\nYou have expressed your interest to immigrate to Canada on our website, but have not completed the process.\n\nThe first step would be determining your eligibility for a Canadian PR Visa.\n\nWhen you first registered on our website, you selected India as your country of birth and Computer Operators as your occupation.

To me, it looks like Vice is really trying to pull the emotional card to get people to sympathize with this man because he really is in a rough situation. But, he is in a situation of his own making. It sounds like he had not done any prior research about Canada before deciding to claim refugess status. Yes, Trudeau was not giving the full truth when he made those public announcements to the media. Yes, people (educated or not) can be swayed by words of leaders they respect. But, to think you can just enter another country and claim refugee status without understanding what that actually entails is very naive. Canada has very transparent laws that are easily accessable in a multitude of different languages. The provinces also have legal assistance for those who can not afford lawyers. So, the fact that this man was able to spent $15,000 when he is being portrayed as a low income earner makes me question his income, or if he was even aware that he could apply for legal assistance. And since he has a lawyer who has been working his case, I would like to assume that the lawyer would have said something about assistance.\n\nI really want to be sympathetic for this man and his family, because security uncertainty makes life extra hard. But, as I have had to live in more than one country due to the Canadian immigration system refusing my husband due to a very old DUI (which has set our life on a completely different plan than anticipated), I have a very hard time being sympathetic when I feel as though they did not reach out to educated themselves on the laws of another country. I am a Canadian who currently can't live in Canada with my husband of 3 years and I still don't hate my country. I respect the hell out of it (this is not to get into our historic treatment of BIPOC, which deserves it's own seperate time and is a bloody stain on our land's history.)

Hello, I just watched your video. Three years after you made it. I hope you are still with us and a very belated Welcome. Many people throughout the world seem to have so many stereotypes about Americans. Whether it is good or bad there typically is some truth in a stereotype. Overall it seems like you are enjoying yourself and no matter what there is no place like home. I would think no matter what your current situation is you still miss Canada as I would miss the United States if I were to move to Canada. \nA couple things you mentioned in the video were not correct and as with anything there may be a little truth in the matter but yet still incorrect.\nThose who do not have health insurance are not charged or taxed $150 monthly. There is a provision in the affordable care act (ACA) that penalizes certain individuals who make above a certain dollar amount. The amount is either $150 or $300 for the entire year. I concur any monetary penalty against anyone for not having health insurance is outrageous. I could be wrong but I believe this aspect of the ACA was never implemented under President Obama and it was indefinitely suspended or revoked by President Trump. I also feel like I need to address your thoughts about the United States all about war. I believe the American people are like most other people and want peace and civility. The government and major defense contractors have differing opinions at times. Of course there is plenty of people who are war hawks but they are in the minority. Most of us are absolutely sick of war. We currently have been at war for almost 19 years. That's six complete world war 2's in their entirety. \nI think you were being awfully generous when you said obesity is on par with the rest of the world!! Unfortunately there is far to many fat people here and the problem is only getting worse because the media says be happy and proud you are fat. Celebrating obesity is absolutely insane and it sends the wrong message to young people. If a close one is fat of course I love them but I also tell them privately that they are a walking heart attack. It's more than OK to accept someone the way they are but as a friend or family member you doing them a disservice by not mentioning their obesity. \nI'm sorry if you feel I'm being to harsh or critical. I think it is a wonderful thing to share the world's longest border with such a great nation as Canada. I have always thought Canada was like the United States fraternal brother or sister. We are very much alike with a few beautiful differences that distinguishes from one another. It doesn't appear that you upload videos hear anymore but I hope you get the opportunity to read this. Thank you for coming to the United States and I love all my canadian brothers and sisters. Take care.