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I'm a Canadian, and can comfortably state that Canada's reputation was cemented in the early seventies, and anyone choosing to come here based on that reputation, does so under false pretences. The majority of the immigrants I have come into contact with quickly become disillusioned with Canada, and eventually feel compelled to leave. The cost of living, combined with a lack of opportunities, and low wages, means that leading a normal life here is largely out of the question. Crime is a huge problem in BC, as Vancouver has become the de facto money laundering centre for North America. As a result, Canada is now extremely attractive for all the wrong reasons. At present, Canada is experiencing internal mass migration patterns driven by economic necessity, as the cost of living is prohibitively expensive in most urban centres. There is also a corresponding mass migration pattern of those who were born here away from the major cities, as Canada now lets in 500K, largely unvetted, immigrants into the country each year, most of whom are from war-ravaged, or third world, countries. With so many disparate languages and cultures from all over the world, it makes life utterly chaotic. The different nationalities never mix, and there is no effort expended to integrate with the Canadians who were born here. The Chinese live in Richmond, the East Indians in Surrey, and they have NOTHING to do with each other. Having traveled abroad, it's shocking how primitive it is in Canada. My advice to anyone thinking of coming here: Would you buy a ticket for a cruise on a ship that has a massive hole under the waterline?

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.

Great video, I'm glad you are willing to take off the rosy glasses to talk about Canadian reality. I'm a Canadian born myself and everything that was mentioned in the video is accurate in term of the struggles immigrants face. Canada is a very quiet, safe country and crime rate as well as violence in general is low. But Canada can still be as harsh as its climate so don't be fools, Canada is not Disneyland and it's not for everybody. Cities like Vancouver and Toronto are the most expensive cities in North America (Canada + USA) even more expensive than Los Angeles and Montreal is as expensive as New York. Therefore think twice, prepare yourself and do your research before applying. Using John F. Kennedy's famous quote I might add to conclude: \nDon't ask what CANADA can do for you but what YOU can do for Canada.

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

all I have to say is society in community should take Justice by publishing every single personal detail about this woman online...I can guarantee you Canada because your police and justice system is not there to protect you...if we do this collectively you will see these racist and other criminal elements of society will literally be boarded up in their homes and it never leave because leaving the home... dear God their fate would literally be sealed by walking down that street..because as a brown Canadian born and raised one thing people might not realize is when someone is racist to you it is one of the most heinous and vile acts that you can experience... And it produces so much anger that the suspension from her work is not Justice...and any one of you here that has had an attack not just racist against them knows what I'm talking about... If it were up to me these people would never walk free their life would be miserable for years and then they would be given a second chance... You cannot create a society based on fake ideals for some and not for others.. if a society is created that way eventually people will create a society of anarchy.. all rules have no consequences.. have no meaning because rules apply for some and not the others.... This is what you want? Then go keep on voting for Trudeau

Ah...a LOT of Canadian dudes leave their family for weeks, even months to make money up North! Why is this made to seem so horrible and dramatic...Like, it cost us 15, 000 dollars ourselves to move to Sacramento with my husband's job with the Hard Rock Cafe Corp....we were living at the poverty line there...my husband was never home...my Visa was cancelled after 911. Gratefully, I was able to just boot it back home to Canada I detested living in the U. S , and only went along to support my American born husband, anyway. It seems to me that these ppl's expectations were uninformed and unrealistic. Canada is a welcoming refuge, but as with everything, theres a process to becoming Canadian.

At least two more differences between the US and Canada (I'm a Montrealer myself with American-born parents):\n\n1) When going to the different parts of Canada, they feel that much more different from each other (in the buildings, highway signs, etc.) than the different parts of the US. For example, British Columbia feels like a foreign country compared to not just Quebec (the most obviously different province in Canada) but also compared to Nova Scotia or Manitoba, whereas Washington state or Minnesota is less different than Pennsylvania or Massachusetts.\n\n2) Native Americans (or First Nations, as they're called in Canada) make up a way higher proportion of the Canadian than American population, though less so percentage-wise in Montreal or Toronto or even Quebec City, and they are thus much more in the consciousness of the average Canadian than the average American.

*As a minority born and raised in Vancouver I bought my own home by not wasting time complaining about the government regardless of which party is in power.* *I’m the store manager of the largest Canadian owned grocery store.* *Many Immigrants come to Canada and in 5-7 years after working are able to buy a home.* *Yet Canadian born white people can’t afford to buy a home because they spend all their time complaining about the government.*

Racism has always been in Canada, dont be fooled. It may not be as prevalent as in other countries but racism is in fact here in Canada, I grew up here, Im a black born Canadian and dealt with it all my life. Mostly just taunting and name calling but one thing is certain, wherever you find white people you will find a lot of ignorance and even the good ones seem to always be a step or 2 away from a racist rant when they agitated. As long as they don't get violent with non whites then I guess we can deal with the slander and name calling. As a person with a darker hue, you will always be looked at like you are an Alien to them.

A refugee here. Through my job as an engineer, I'm probably giving back more than what half Canadian born do. Many Canadians just live off of interest in money they inhereted while we work to uplift the economy. Refugees would still rather go back to their countries as soon as the war is over. We're not here to steal your money or anything. I bet the guys with negative comments never had to know a refugee in person. Shame.

Moving to Vancouver was a great experience tbh, I'm of nigerian heritage but was born in Finchley, North London...\nCanadians are friendly and extremely welcoming ( Coming from the UK i found this so off-putting ) lol. Ironically its non-white Canadians i had funny experiences with.... from dating to renting its weird\n\n\nAsians under 27 always asking some crazy questions ( Are you an NBA player ) lol it's cute at first but after a while when little koreans walk up to me talking about ( You look like will smith ) it makes you think... To be fair these are not inherent negatives, But asian canadians alone did treat me weird i found, Indian girls i met all wanted to be with me but where also very ashamed to say so or let their family know, but thats a cultural thing so i understood.\n\n\n Of all the demographics White canadian and native men where the most welcoming and open to me, in my experience.. White women of-course where cool too but that does not really count, especially as a good looking black guy with an accent LOOL you know how that goes!! My Tinder and Bumble were obscene LMAO\n\nRenting from asians while black and Male!? is almost impossible!!! Except they think you have rich parents!! Its impossible in Van unless you are an Arab exchange student lol \nArab and Persian students studying english have no issues renting in Vancouver, for some reason!!\n\nI lived out the St. Regis downtown for a month, Looking for places to rent, i had seen so many places online and filled out applications but never got call backs, asides from 2 group showings i went to, i could not even set up a viewing with the apartment building i wanted... \n\nTill i met an african girl in school, and she told me something i found completely crazy.\nShe told me to make a new e-mail addy and to use my English name when i e-mail, then set up a viewing but to show up with a white friend preferably a girl and that if the owner is asian, i should look around, and offer to pay 6months upfront before they get a chance to ask what i did for work or whether i was a student or not LOL. Needless to say, i did what she said and It worked the asian lady asked me to come get the keys later that day. Its just life, as a property owner they really just wanna size you up, not fair and kind of pathetic but its not inherently evil...

trudeau is a lovely prime minister we have to be tolerant of the migrants they are nice people and the tax payer should pay for them to stay in hotels and they should be put in 5 star hotels to show our acceptance, and the prime minister said before they are more Canadian then ones born here as they choose to be here,  he is the best prime minister the country ever had I hope he stays on forever

I was born in Seattle and left to Canada (married) when I was in early 20's!  This then was a good change for me as Vancouver was a great city compared to Seattle, moved right downtown and had a blast so for a young person (then) was great.  Met some great people from all over the world and had health care, medical/Dental etc.... I worked in the greater Vancouver area for 8 years and it was tough, very strict, and did not help that I was from the states, white bread Canadian seemed a bit jealous that I was there, sometimes not very friendly.  The Europeans I met were actually better to deal with and I got along quite well with them.  The cost of living was about the same as in Seattle.  After about 8 years being in Canada and working hard I saw America booming and the Canadian dollar was as low as $.62 cents (in late 90's) so I took my craft from Vancouver and brought it to the US just across the border, I became much happier working in the States, I took a little bit of bs but not bad from some that I had a Canadian accent (go figure when I moved up there I had a twang) I really never left the united states I will always be American and I have been still working in the US for over 20 years and deal with mainly Americans on a daily basis from all over the State of Washington.  Depending on where you grow up or end up you should never see a border Seattle and Vancouver have more in common than Vancouver / Calgary in fact most Canadians don't care much for the other provinces.  After 30 years of being part of both countries, I can say that people are people both have great offerings and if you took the best of Canada and America to combine then we would all prosper, there is so much both can learn from each other.  Bottom line:I take the best of both worlds and what they have to offer, yes, I have found less expensive goods in Canada than what they cost in the states.  I have seen it from both eyes, and if you cant be open culturally then stay away.

Im a Canadian citizen (born in Toronto) who hasn't lived in Canada for over a decade. I left and declared non-resident status. I visit nearly every summer, spending around $8-10k a trip as well as sending money back to support my parents in Ottawa. I get nothing from Canada, and rightly so. I have to purchase my own health insurance when coming back. That's completely okay with me because I haven't paid into the system for over 10 years. How in the hell is someone who hops over the border with no previous ties to Canada entitled to ANYTHING though? They should be shipped back to their country of origin and duties assessed on any imports from that country should be raised to cover those costs or some other method of recouping that money should happen.

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?

They discriminate against Canadian born Chinese too, so I left after my Engineering Master and MBA.\n\nCannot say that I was proud to be born in Canada. Many of these bad incidences are what I remembered as a child. Canada's racism is a polite type. I did go back to my country of color.

growing up in canada, i felt left out in the blk community b/c i am a 5th generation blk cdn on mom's side and 3rd on my dad's - when other black ppl not canadian born met me - i tell them i'm cdn, but i always used to get the question - where are you really from - they were looking for me to say the islands - when i told them my paternal grandma was born in 1901 in canada - that's when the questions stopped. i've been told that b/c i wasn't from the islands, i had no culture in college, but a mbr of the black student society put him in his place i heard he got into a lot of trouble. i was asked what do we eat as in food as canadians what kind of music do we listen to - at our blk canadian weddings, the only carribean song played was hot hot hot by arrow - we played straight up r and b and motown. i hv been rejected by other blk men b/c i'm not west indian enough...it was hurtful. even with 'friends' they made of my cdn heritage but i used to think, why are you making fun of me knowing that my family and ancestors were in canada first - they were 1st generation - i live in the usa now and i'm with an african american man - he has never treated me as if i were different and he loves going w/me to canada. my parents told me it was jealousy on those ppl's parts - one guy i used to be friends with in college, when i went to his house, his mom was from the islands, when she met me - she said, 'you cdn ppl are loud' and that did it for me - i didn't date her son but when he met my parents, they never said any of that crap to him. in the usa, the african americans don't treat differently at all - my ex mom in law thought we were american but decided to live in canada - b/c she was surprised that blacks do live in canada. her other daughter in law's family were from the islands - but she gravitated more to my family and felt comfortable around them more than her family and this ex sis in law would brag about the islands this and that and she would make comments about my looks being skinny and such but it was jealousy - i didn't care much for her b/c she was very insecure. i felt once again, i was a young girl in college again - being around island ppl....i would love to meet drake and ask him did he feel left out and isolated because he wasn't from the islands - he makes me very proud being a blk canadian - his dad is african american and his mom is jewish. i still hv dealt w/racism not much with wht ppl, but with my own ppl - which is quite sad and on top of it-colorism, that also played a part from my family - being called pygmy, chocolate dip, nappy hair - it hurt but these so called relatives, they aren't all that anymore, they had hard lives as children...when ppl see something in you that is special and they don't have, that's when their ugliness shows -

The issue is that the intending migrants and the general public are ignorant as to asylum law. The public think of asylum as some far reaching, grandiose humanitarian gesture- when the truth is that asylum laws provide an EXTREMELY LIMITED basis of relief. \n\nMerely coming from a dangerous country is NOT enough to win asylum, in the U.S. or Canada. A person must prove they are specifically persecuted, by the GOVERNMENT, because of some specific basis. A Central American claiming Central America is full of gangs and poverty, while true, is NOT a basis for asylum. This is why it's my personal belief that the thousands of Haitians making a run for the Canadian border have an almost zero chance of receiving asylum- ESPECIALLY after NOT living in Haiti for many years. \n\nIn spite of this, migrants still make these claims because it forces the country to go through a time consuming legal process, and is a way to buy time and prevent their deportation. Or perhaps allow them time to find a local job, continue their education, or have a child born in the country and then make a humanitarian argument to allow them to stay, even after losing their asylum case. \n\nThe truth is, unless a country holds asylum seekers in detention for the entirety of the process, it's a given that failed asylum seekers will NOT return to their country of origin, and will simply go underground.

+Joe Smith explain? When you join a new country it's generally to start a better life. The moment an immigrant comes here they're as Canadian as I am. I'm no Native so what does the time matter? Immigrants sacrifice leisure time for work/school and other opportunities. People born in western countries do t appreciate what they have whereas immigrants can make magic happen with minimum wage. They work so much harder than an average westerner born and raised. No question.

i love the comment(this is canada i have freedom of choice to islam) ,your right,and as a canadian born and raised i have the choice to say(fk you we dont want you here!) lets play cowboy n muslim.

While I understand the anxiety the Muslim woman in the video feels, her accent is as Canadian as it can be which tells me she probably was born in Canada or came here as an infant. She's obviously had enough time to assimilate. She either has or hasn't. If she has, she's being discriminated against for no other reason than that she's Muslim, which speaks to a mindset that is being espoused by Stephen Harper. When your leader says the things he's saying it doesn't speak well of the country. It would be more honest if he blocked all immigration of Muslims to Canada, but then the Muslims would really have a case if other nationalities were allowed in. Given Canada's small population they're kind of stuck.

As a older Canadian born and bred, but now in Europe because of marriage, I can see things farther toward the wall than most of you perhaps in Brandon, Thunder Bay, Charlottetown, Whitby, Kamloops, Red Deer, etc. This is extremely dangerous. A few muslims are o.k., as they may assimilate to Canadian values of 'PEACE, ORDER, and GOOD GOVERNMENT'. Yet most do not wish to assimilate, only to remain who they are, ungrateful of the bounty Canada offers them, and holding values against those our country has always promulgated. We have separation of church and state in Canada, and fought very hard for it, with a history of bloody wars in Europe to show for it. It is repulsive how we are allowing a bleeding of immigrants into our country who do not believe in our basic creed. This is not racial. This is not hate-based or prejudice. It is simply defending our creed as a country, from wherever you are, and whomever you are. Canada is worth defending. Where are the feminists on this? Why are you not defending Canada is this debate?