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I’m from Ontario and I’ve slowly watched my home town turn into new delhi since covid. Brampton has always been especially bad. If I wanted to feel like I was in India I would go to India, when I’m Canada I want to feel like I’m in Canada. A once great country being ruined.

I am a Canadian and I love the cheaper gas and groceries but I’d never live there. I’ve been in and out of hospitals had about 10 surgeries so far at 46 and I’m transgender I could never survive there. When I use to live in Windsor Ontario and lived across from Detroit I use to go over to buy groceries and gas but that enough for me. No offence to anyone it just wouldn’t work for me. I’m proud to be a Canadian and I live in Nova Scotia Canada and health care sucks in the sense waiting for things like surgeries and MRI takes a long time I know someone who waited 2 years for one but it is free and I would probably be dead if I had to pay for healthcare so I’ll stay here.

First off Canada is not a systemically racist country I’m white I’m also poor and I’ve lived here all my life nearly everyone excluding the native population in a immigrant or a descendant of a immigrant my mom is Portuguese and I also have black family members we are no more racist than anyone else in any other country. Every country has a few homeless people and that number has grown immensely due to poor Liberal government policy when I was young there were maybe one or 2 homeless people in my home town and they were severely mentally Ill homelessness has greatly increased since pm Justin Trudeau has been in power and that’s something I can say I have observed first hand living here in Ontario Canada for 30 years - my entire life. Canadian tax payers don’t want to pay for drug addicts to get more drugs the Liberal Canadian government have set up “safe injection sites” and “ methadone clinics” that basically give these addicts more drugs that are payed for with our tax dollars again these clinics and safe injection sites didn’t exist when I was a kid and since then the number home homelessness has increased as well as the number in population addicted to drugs. Also you’re getting your statistics on hate crimes motivated based on race or ethnicity from CTV new a media outlet on the pay role of the Liberal government most people with any sense don’t pay attention to mainstream media here in Canada because it’s no longer journalism when you parrot a narrative that the government that is constantly attacking the fundamental values of Canada no controls I live in a complex that consists mostly of Arabic in Syrian people most racist comments I’ve heard has been between other families that have recently immigrated to Canada and it doesn’t happen often it’s usually just from unruly kids that are too ignorant to understand the implications of the words they utter at one another RBC is one bank in Canada if all the people working there happen to be white it doesn’t make a difference and is likely purely because they’’ve been working that same job for many years now we don’t give people jobs in Canada based on their skin colour people get jobs based on their performance and wether they meet the necessary SKILL requirements for that job there are lots of other banks in Canada that have different cultural diversities so far I honestly just feel like your just shitting on my county and that’s extremely rude of you eh. It is hard to find a family doctor these days a lot of doctors were fired for refusing to take the Covid shots I also refused to take the Covid shot and I haven’t had Covid through out this entire plandemic not once I hardly even wore a mask because I know when I’m being lied too I know how to spot when someone is experiencing duper’s delight when they think they’re getting away with doing something wrong Justin Trudeau and Christia Freeland frequently express duper’s delight when they refuse to answer questions or deflect questions your voice sounds like your from either Sweden or Switzerland how close am I I’m not surprised that’s also where the WEF “word economic forum” is from yes? It really seems like you’re just trying to demonize Canada as a whole and quite frankly it’s insulting I love my county and all the people in it where ever they come from again accept for the natives we all started out as immigrants here and I find the stuff that you’re saying is extremely divisive the only people that really leave either do so because they want a good job and a life else where for their own personal experience and life fulfillment or have been deported for what ever reason we have strict immigration laws so there are many ways to get sent back to ones original country.

I’m from Ontario, but I’ve been working outside of the country for over 4 years now. If I ever move to a different province, my top choices would be Alberta and British Columbia. Other possibilities would be Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, and Quebec.

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.