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LOL next time you go to British Columbia go to where I'm from and it's a little Valley called blueberry Creek it's in the interior about 400 mi from Vancouver Vancouver isn't as bad as you say it seems that way but truly I lived there for about 10-15 years after I grew up in blueberry and it is definitely unpredictable that's for sure you have to take an umbrella with you or a raincoat or a sweater or something cuz you could go out in the morning it's bright and sunny and by the time you get to the bus stop it's raining that is very true but it doesn't last long there is certain seasons that it rains but if you look at the meteorology it really isn't that much more than anywhere else and gloomy you want to talk about gloomy you live in Alberta I live there for quite a while and one morning I woke up and I just couldn't take it anymore all you see is different shades of gray and brown so I packed up and went home and finally saw green again I'm glad you guys are in Canada but boy do I hear you I used to be middle class owned a home and some land and then I became homeless because yes that's what our government is trying to do they don't want me to class people we have too much power when Harris came into power he almost succeeded in wiping out the middle class dirt poor have no say in anything so I'm trapped here I hope you guys have the freedom to go where you like I really do you guys are great

My wife, my 3 kids and I used to like Vancouver but not anymore!!! The weather is why we plan to leave for good but also the expensive rents! I also heard about horror stories at many hospitals (and yes, I have worked in Africa and to be honest, Africans hospitals are way more functional than the ones in Canada in terms of human aspect… there they care, Canadians do not give a shit about anyone!!! And I am saying this as a Belgian!!! I have some African colleagues at work here and at least 80 percent of them either want to go back to Africa (one is actually going to start an Afro business there and build his own house) or move to Europe (one of them plans to live to my homeland Belgium and two others in France as apparent the pensions there are way better than the Canadian one) as soon as they get enough experience in canada! None of us at work , including me, want to retire or get old here in Canada! For me personally, it is the Canadian extreme loneliness and lack of willingness to open to others that really shuts me down… I am fed up and and tired of paying taxes in a country where some (not all) hospitals and some retirement homes treat patients like … objects, not human beings! I now understand (as before I did not) why even some of my African colleagues are looking forward to go back to Africa or to some of them, immigrate to Europe! .. none of us want to be left alone and depressed in this so highly individualistic and unfriendly, falsely “cool” country called Canada… a country that claims America and France are racist countries when not even one CEO in Canada is coloured! I am also fed up of Canadians being cool!!!! Cool???? Yes, their humour is crap and they are all too serious… not astonishing why so many end up being depressed or on meds to be able to function! \nLast: I am fed up with 1. The stupid credit score system which makes North Americans anxious and frustrated!!!! Stupidity does not even exist in France or Belgium where I am from! 2.food is Canada is … not good…lol… really close to being bad! 3.the country is boring… reason… people are so disciplined and nothing happens!!! I just miss Europe even if we are far from being perfect and I prefer our imperfections to the Canadian perfect society which end up making people boring and annoying!!! 4. Canadians are shallow compared to us Europeans 5. Their transit system sucks if compared to Europe 6. Health care system is nothing comptable to what we got in Europe!!!! \nResult: I leave Canada years before retirement as The last thing I want for me is to remain in a country and get “sunk” Into Canadian depression, Canadian loneliness and Canadian “coolness”. \nOhh just as an indicator, it is really rare to see someone who is happy in Vancouver BC these days… the city just looks like a factory to make people work, make Canadian banks richer and pay taxes! Apart from that, I do not give a damn about the beautiful scenery and lakes as long as everyone around gets scammed with unjustified and ridiculous high cost of living!!!

Pretty good Adam I'd just mention a few of those things are...I don't want to say inaccurate but way more diverse. For instance French. Yes Quebec is the only French province BUT New Brunswick is the only Bilingual province and basically half and half. This is good for things like federal of provincial services because by law they must provide service in both languages but not so basically everywhere else. The problem with this is you can have an almost completely English town almost nobody speaks French and drive 15 minutes and be in a town where nobody speaks English. Research on this might be hard because a town with a French name may not have any French people in and vise versa. Also this problem is multiplied in the fact that if you Do want a French area we don't speak standard French or Quebecois but instead Le Chiac which is a difficult and confusing mix of old French and english (almost exactly like the Cajun dialect). Second part of this is that Montreal is easy to live in if you don't speak French and is so multicultural you are just apt to hear Swahili as French in public. Last part is be very careful where you move on the prairies as they have may isolated towns some that speak French also. Next is tipping I've never had to tip anyone for a haircut outside of the military and all other forms of tipping here on the east coast are purely optional and wait staff don't get upset if you don't leave a tip unless you were a jerk or left them extra work like making a big mess (I worked as cook for a while after I got out of the army and I rarely ever head staff complain) HOWEVER....tip a waitress well and she might accidentally give you 2 pieces of pie lol and tip a taxi driver well and he will not only get you the cheapest fare he will find ANYTHING you may need no questions asked. Lastly on the nice thing....we are nice for sure especially compared to our southern neighbours BUT there is a lot of passive aggressive nice that happens and this also varies greatly. For instance as a city boy of course you answered the way you did but a guy who have lived all over this country in big and small, French and English places who now has retired to a rural town I can say I find the cities quite snobby and the French and the English can be quite snobby to each other and where I live now if you asked a random stranger for 5$ chances are you would get it also driving down the road people you don't know will just wave at you as if you were the closest friends. Canada is certainly a weird place so many extremes and my advice to anyone wanting to move here is do your research and then visit and travel a bit if possible because even us Canadians can be surprised by thing or two across this gigantic country

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.

Canada is a country of immigrants, which means people who are, in my humble opinion, mostly quite self-centered and expecting the world from others, which never happens! Canada demands a gigantic capacity to adapt, to adjust and, in a word, to change...completely! You must be totally willing to leave everything behind if you want to integrate into Canadian society and this is extremely hard to do! Moreover, most immigrants come to Canada because they expect that country to give them a life of luxury or at least a very easy life, which can be true, as compared to certain other countries where life can be hell because of corruption, poverty or mismanagement and dictatorship. Now, don't fool yourself, you will find all of this in Canada too, in a very different way, although not always that different, but you will find it to a certain extent, depending on what you are trying to do here! Canada pretends to be a free and democratic country, but if there is one thing, that you are not supposed to do in Canada without dire consequences and reactions from most Canadians, it is criticism and voicing dissent! You will face repression too! I am 67 and I have lived in this country for over 30 years and now have lots of health problems, which I would probably never have had in another country, all this because of the frigging climate here...I just hate it here! And yes, don't be cultured and...play stupid and ignorant, otherwise you will face automatic rejection and that same stupidity and ignorance! A country of many cultures...yes, but also of deep rooted prejudices and intolerance! And if there is something that never changes in Canada, it is change! They expect you to change, but they never change themselves! in a word...Canada is a country like all others, no better and often far worse!

Hey Yes there is a problem of racism in Canada too. They will not show directly but indirectly will do that at most of the places. Its really rude especially when i try to help out somebody or don’t have any intentions to hurt people. I always try to make people happy and smile. Why is that? Before anything we are all humans, that should all matters. Please being respectful to everybody, you never know how the person is already going through in their lives. I apologize if i say anything wrong but thats a bitter truth. Thank you!!!

I never feel uncomfortable at shopper drug mart they see me often and I chatted with them quite often but at some place yes I kind of wonder why they do that and make me don't want to spend any pennies in their store again for sure .

By these comments, Canadians hate immigrants even more than American white supremacists. This man is scared for himself and his family. His case is just ignorance. He doesn’t know the proper ways to go about it. Him getting a lawyer and what not has showed he’s a bit smarter than many immigrants seeking asylum but most cases people don’t know the proper way to migrate out of their countries. They just know that there are better and safer opportunities elsewhere. As for everyone whining about why he doesn’t speak English, not EVERYONE CAN LEARN AT THE SAME PACE. There’s people that live in other countries for years and only know enough to get around and then theres people that just pick up on languages In less than a year. The language doesn’t matter. I’m sure he knows enough to communicate with people. I’m more surprised at the amount of people that law this and law that. Yes there are laws that should be followed but do people even consider morality? I hope none of you alls countries go to war or are over taken and you have to try to seek asylum in another country because I highly doubt you all would escape the ‘proper’ way. Most of you in the comments are sick and sad and will never truly understand the despair these people feel until you’re put in their position. Don’t bother replying to this comment because I won’t answer. I said what I said.

Not only does this man break American law by coming here illegally,he does the very same thing by entering Canada illegally,in all the time he was in America he did not learn English,this man and his family must be deported \nImmediately, he and his family have been bilking the U.S.A.by using programs that they have no business aplying\nto.Now I can say for certain that he has tried to get freebies from Canada too!.\nWhen are our governments going to learn not to be pushed around,by people who are nothing but takers,takers ,takers with no appreciation for the country who is keeping them alive,if you want to speak\nyour foreign language,full time,while living in America full time,do it somewhere in private,I am tired of having people here that could be talking about me,or worse yet my country and our politics,while standing right next to me!.\nI am so glad that he wasted that money,earned in the U.S.A.and while milking our entitlement programs dry,\npayback is a bi_ch, now he knows how I feel about non-citizens getting away with cheating our government,\nThis man was brazen enough to go on camera and complain about living in the U.S.A.and feeling unwelcome,\nwell now I wonder why that is?he speaks on Spanish,in a English speaking nation,he's hiding from authorities \nhoping not to draw attention to himself,who might want to check his legality of being in this country.\nI'm sick of the internal takeover of this country,without any shots being fired like those of a real invading foreign \narmy, instead, over the past 50 or 60 years, a never,never,never ending,stream of people breaking into our country\nuninvited,undocumented,and very,very UNAMERICAN and UNCANADIAN.\nPUSH BACK AMERICANS,PUSH BACK CANADIANS,do not let our governments allow our countries to be turned into the shitholes from which the invaders are coming from.\nVote yes vote at your election times,and remove the people who are not stopping the illegal invaders,vote them\nout of their political positions,in favor of people who will stand for our countries founding identities,if not\nwe can kiss our histories goodbye FOREVER!.

I'll lay it out for you: Me: typical middle of the road liberal oriented Canadian. Non white, immigrant (I wasnt born here) I worked in a Refugee housing for over 4 years in Ontario. Most were not war areas refugees (Yes I know there are other types of refugees). I only encountered few refugees from war areas. ONLY 1 person from Iraq, about 2 families were from Afghanistan, 1 couple from Pakistan(I doubt they were real refugees they spoke fluent English, maybe political refugee), and a most from African countries. Its too far for real refugees to get here. Its Easier for them to go to other countries nearby or Europe. MOST SEEM TO BE ECONOMIC REFUGEES. Most were coming from Africa. Some are coming from Latin America, which shouldn't be happening. Once they showed up at our doorstep and we processed them into the system, they were immediately in the same class as a Canadian resident homeless person if they were making a refugee claim. We get money to house and feed them (from the government), and they are given a stipend for basics from the government processed through the Social Assistance/ Welfare system (they get less than a resident/citizen I think.). They then have to get their case processed by the refugee board, and most seem to get in. I've only heard of few getting sent back. One person I know at our facility, was given a subsided social housing apartment after a year in our facility. So they went straight from a shelter to a government/city owned subsidized apartment. (Didn't seem like it was a issue for the housing worker...they didn't report it (if they were not the ones that helped the person to get it), they were white, the housed person was Latin. This refugee claimant, and then month or two new Canadian resident person was given an apartment in a prime area of the city, instead of the 1000's of Canadians, those who came before them, and born Canadian citizens on an extremely long waiting list. How this was allowed to happen I don't know. The person was probably sucking on someone's straw. I'm just trying to think the barriers these people have to go through to get a job here. We are far removed from the time of the 80's and 90's., and housing and jobs are so hard to get. Lol the "Canadian government asks them to repay the traveling cost to Canada if they are sent back"....I wonder how much the government recoups?.....more like 0 probably. What a bunch of crap. How do you demand someone to repay their flight cost when they get back to their country?

Being a Black Lady in America has not affected me negatively. I believe that is some white women especially don't like me because I walk with my head up. I give off an aura that they cannot stand. After looking at me funny, asking me questions, they stop talking to me. (they did me a favor) Some say, where are you from? Yes I am from JA. Hey! You can't touch this. Black America always talk negatively about one another. I say to some of them, if you guys don't like each other, how do you expect people to like you?