Close Reading

I’ve lived in Canada my whole life, I’ve gone through a year of culinary school and passed high school with decent grades. Yet still improving my quality of life is an uphill battle. Bus prices and efficiency is awful, if you don’t have a car good luck cause you’ll spend much of your wage on bus fare and still have to walk through poor sidewalk systems to get to your destination. Schooling really didn’t teach me anything about taxes, or getting a job. But let me tell you I sure as heck know how to lease a car.... can’t wait to get a job so I can do that. My year of culinary training, under 4 red seal chefs has gotten me not one job. No matter how perfect you are for the role is you will ALWAYS get an entry level position first. (In my experience at least) and they are completely right, references are 100% key. I have a first shift tomorrow (wish me luck) that I only got because my chiropractor gave the pancakes house owner his reference. Very weird but I’ll take it. On top of all this winter just sucks, politics have gone nowhere in years, and if you don’t live in the major cities of Quebec, BC, or Ontario it’s going to be even harder. Plus living in Manitoba is odd cause people always call it “friendly Manitoba” but everyone (including me) is always frustrated. Needless to say I’m in the process of researching new place to move to, most likely in Europe cause America has all the same problems. (But worse)

I lived everywhere in Canada except the Territories, Manitoba, and N.B., and I always come back to Quebec. It's NOT that it's better in everything. It's just that it's better in everything that counts for ME!!!\n- It's the CHEAPEST place to rent or own but has great wages and a high minimum. \n- Most of our cities are in the St-Lawrence valley. That means we have a LOT of local produce in-season. \n- We have a diversified economy. Less manufacturing and heavy stuff than Ontario, but LOTS of high-tech and knowledge-based jobs. With a HUGE service industry, bloated by the constant influx of tourists.\n- It's got the BEST quality of social life in the country. It's an all-year party and club season. \n- It's got FOUR real and distinct seasons.\n- It's almost as beautiful outside as BC. Until autumn and the colors, then it's better for a few weeks.\n- It's got the BEST social net in the country. \n- It's got the most beautiful women too. No question whatsoever about that one.\nAnd it's the SAFEST... That and being cheap to live in are the two main points. I'm bilingual, so I don't care about the French-only oddities, they are few and far between. It's 2021, not 1980. The Internet and Cable tv from the US changed EVERYTHING. ALL of the kids and young adults will answer you in English if you aren't acting like a jerk. So will almost anyone under 60.

Ranking Quebec above PEI is a crime. This is coming from an Ontarian who has travelled to the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic on a motorcycle. I have seen nearly all of Canada. Yukon, BC, Alberta, Sask, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and PEI. Trust me there are many provinces that are better than Quebec. \n\nI have been all over BC and I must say BC is the most aesthetic province. When I was travelling and camping there it made me question why people willingly live in places like Toronto... you are spending the same $$$ for rent or mortgage except in BC you get the view of the Rockies.

I agree with everything you have said in this video. I've lived in Canada for over 10 years and must admit, i don't feel at home here at all. I feel Canada is overrated for no reason. House prices are insane, it's almost impossible to buy housing in any big city in Canada anymore. I agree with a lot ppl, the healthcare system here is poorly managed, with long waiting hours if you have an emergency (personal experience). As someone living in a big city in Ontario, it feels like everyone is just busy chasing money. Nobody has time for friends, chilling, etc...Sometimes i feel i have to book an appointment with my own friends if i want them to hang out with them. As an immigrant myself, i must say I hate the mass-immigrant policy that the government is pushing. The neighbourhood i live in, has changed face/demographics so many times... Every group sticks to their own and it feels you'll never be able to adapt as it keeps changing so fast... I also don't like how Canada is pushing their far left agenda down the throat of everyone, with being Politically Correct, promoting LGBQT to underage kids (i don't have any issue with what ppl do in their bedroom, i just have issue with the promotion of it), minority this & that (even though im considered a minority myself). If you come from a middle income country, you'd soon realise Canada ain't so much better than where you come from esp if you have education, healthcare and jobs available. I'm only waiting to win that lotto max now, so i can just return back home and live a quiet peaceful life.

I living 12 years in Ontario …1 years Northwest Territories and 30 years in Quebec ! …Quebec is best place for living cheap on all,but you want see a doctor or take appointment with specialist for health, you wait and wait…so bad !…..Ontario to much expensive on all with food and rents over $1500.00 and you need give the first ans last month $3000.00 in Ontario ! …. N-T people so close ..help you … talk to you …easy on all with peoples …but the food so crazy expensive in Yellowknife city.

I lived in Southern Ontario for 68 years and a year and a half ago moved to Vancouver. For me BC is the most scenic province over all. It's also too expensive for most people here once you get closer to Vancouver. The best thing in my opinion after moving to Vancouver is the fact that a person really doesn't need to own a car. With carshare systems, bikeshare, and an amazing bus, skytrain, and seabus transit system a person can travel anywhere inexpensively and easily.

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 will be leaving Canada within a year or so after declaring non-residency and bring my business with me. My view is that Canada is a good place to live a normal life. Healthcare covers your peace of mind, even if the waitlist is long and bureaucratic. Social benefit is not as generous as people suggest sometimes (at least in Canada unless you're on actual welfare where you can't work but you can't rise your way up easily and you're forever stuck in 1.5k CAD/month... which would be ofc much better than other struggling countries but immigrants often aspire for greater things than that. \n\nEven though I was an Asian immigrant, I never faced significant racism afaik (I could be socially naive however), but there are definitely limitations of opportunities. It's not too difficult to find entry to intermediate jobs, at least for me but that's probably because I did schooling here in Canada. And I was able to network aggressively and learned to be an extrovert, so that also helped. But still, Canadian living cost is high (and I'm saying this from Calgary... imagine what it's like in Vancouver/Toronto). Is it doable? Ofc. 50-70k CAD/year is quite doable ESPECIALLY in Calgary, Alberta. But it'd be difficult to achieve financial independence and true wealth. This is true everywhere ofc but more so in Canada compared to, say, USA where living cost is lower and wage is higher with more opportunities. It's a great place to live normally. If you wanna become exceptional (wealth, customized goods and services, etc), it become harder and costs more. \n\nEven now when I now own business after struggling to get here over 10 years that generates income that I need to achieve financial freedom, tax becomes frightfully bad. Alberta (that imposes lowest tax rate compared to other Canadian provinces (not including territories for obvious reason) is comparable to California in USA that is among the highest in all US states. And let's be real; Alberta is nowhere close of being California. Imagine the taxes in BC/Ontario shiver. \n\nOnce my tax rate becomes high enough to justify moving, I will pull the trigger. Still window-shopping where I wanna go and I have some lists but it's gonna happen especially as Canada will have to deal with their struggling economy, further distancing from US and their government mismanagement that continues to cost the society. I will not have any part in it. I may come back once in a while for visit or potentially retire depending on what the future looks like but right now, I just don't see my longterm future here.

This is really ridiculous that the Premier of Quebec and Ontario are pretending that this is not happening? Not just towards black comunity, is against brown people, against latinos, and the special of all indigenous and of course against against lgbtq and against anyone that is not white... and this is in a very covert way they will ask people of your minority comunity to harass you and discriminate on you so the white lords are not going to be blamed of discrimination and harassment... but behind of all this is always a white person either a man or a woman pretending that they don’t know but they are actively engaging in constantly attacking and diminishing minorities

Yes, Vancouver doesn't snow that much, but it rains ALL THE TIME. Winter storms from October to next year's April, and very likely you will not see any sunny days in that half of a year. The humidity is insanely high so that even though the temperature is above zero, you are still freaking cold. I stayed in Vancouver for two years and found I am depressed due to the lack of sunshine. So I moved to Ontario three years ago, and it's like heaven compared with BC. At least I can see the sun in the winter, and by wearing the same winter coat I actually feel warmer here in Ontario's winter.

?? Im from Ontario Canada and have always worked management in retail. I've always taught any employees in any department that if you see anyone lingering for any longer than 5 minutes, black, white, or any race for that matter to ask if they need assistance! Again I don't care the color, race, most people that come into a store have come in and know what they're looking for! When I see a customer looking for longer than 5 mins, it's just common practise to ask if you need help. I'd suggest you's re-think this practise that we all are taught in stores

Also thousands of Chinese underage children are brought here and left with 'fake relatives' all Living together even though not related. They attend Chinese 'schools' that are in office buildings mainly in Scarborough and North York. They come here to attend these 'fake high schools' so they can eventually take the IELTS English test to get into University. It's a complex system but this group https://myetc.ca/officetest-location-spadina-college/. Works closely with these FAKE Chinese high schools with students who are underage and entering with fake id or varying levels. the MYETC is an IELTS company that tests the Chinese High School students but doesn't follow the REAL British Council Rules and the seating is millimetres apart in dirty classrooms where these kids spend their days. Why is this happening on such a mass scale? Is there internal corruption for this to happen on so many levels. Well, feel free to check it out. It's real. @britishcouncil #britishcoucil The ONLY proper rules from the British Council IELTS test is followed when they use the U of T as a test centre the other places around Ontario are not proper testing and students have been known to have fake documents and you can see they are underage living with 'families' . Big scam.

Ontario is having a big homeless problem, among other provinces. Why don't ALLTHE HOMELESS CANADIANS, sneak across the border and then walk back and claim asylum. Someone can anonymously call RCMP to report a CARAVAN of what appear to be MIGRANTS headed up whatever road they will be on. Tell them you are without a country of your own, to depend on, (not a lie). They can all stay in hotels, NO MORE HOMELESS.

I used to live in Brampton and this is the city where I first landed. No hatred for the city but people have ruined it. I'm a brown guy myself so I can't be racist against my own people and tbh, some of the best people I know in Canada are Sikhs but even they accept the fact that there is a large number of bad apples in their community. Sikhs have played a major part in both positive and negative way, to make and break this city.\n\nInsurance scams in Brampton cost their citizens to pay one of the highest premiums in the country. Generally, drivers in Brampton have no fuckin' idea how to drive because the licences were literally bought. \n\nA large number of people of our brown community always hell bent on abusing the system, wherever they go. We bring the same back home mindset here in Canada rather follow the system. \n\nThe only thing mostly brown community is focused on is how to make money and that's all. Don't try to learn the language, don't like to mix with people, don't care about the laws or anything. They only like to have nice big houses, show off their leased fancy cars and that's all.\n\nI left this city for good and don't regret my decision at all when I see numerous videos about the bad situation in Brampton. I'd love to move back to Ontario but cannot live in this city anymore. One thing really pissed me off when I was there that most people expect every brown person to speak Punjabi and when I used to tell them that I don't speak or understand Punjabi, you could see the surprized looks on their face.

with respect to the job situation I am not really surprised at all. The higher up you go in terms of qualifications requirements is the less likely you are to find discrimination based on names in Toronto. \n\nThe real discrimination is at the bottom of the pay scale where the people making the decisions are less likely to be university educated and more likely to be say a white forklift driver who came up through the ranks and has been promoted through length of service rather than and specific qualification. He is likely tp still hold on to that Èthey are taking our jobs È mentality.\n\nAnother thing to consider in this Ontario/Toronto employment thing too is this. Ethnic employers tend to discriminated HEAVILY against anyone who is not of their ethnicity. The Chinese hire almost exclusively Chinese, partly because they can pay them less than minimum wage and get away with it. Indian employers hire almost exclusively Indians for the same reasons but additionally because they can get away with any number of safety violations because Indian workers tolerate and in fact tend to violate those safety codes in a normal situation anyway.\n\nThe same with Portuguese construction workers, they can pay them way less, get them to violate construction codes and cut corner on safety without being reported by or having workers complain. Polish and Romanian construction workers the same thing.

I would like you to do a test in Brampton in Ontario Canada where East Indians pretty much rule the scene , send in White People for a job at a work place that is owned and operated by Easts Indians and see if they hire the White person or hire the East Indian person . Stop picking on the White race when in fact all people have some form of racism in them

I find it to be mainly related to two key points: the level of education and the area you are in ! Highly educated people tend to be more decent and respectful to all people. Areas like Alberta is full of Racists compared to BC or Ontario