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If immigration is judged by contribution, Indian immigrants are objectively a net positive, unlike other groups such as Somalians, Afghans etc. Indians, they work, pay taxes, and are overrepresented in high skill fields like engineering, medicine, and tech. Silicon Valley runs on Indian talent, founders, CEOs, and engineers. Remove Indian immigrants and the U.S. tech sector would take a massive hit. That’s not opinion, that’s reality.

In the US in 2025, ICE has deported half a million who are not in the US legally, and an estimated additional 1.5 million have self-deported, in some cases with government financial incentives. So 50k deportations might represent a comparably active effort for Canada, and 18k might be creditable for a Liberal government. But the effort sounds rather bureaucratic, and focused only on rejected refugee applications. I would want to know how many of these "deportations" are entirely on paper -- "your application has been rejected, please let yourself out at your earliest convenience." They spent roughly $5k per deportee, and that would cover air fare if the deportations were done privately, but adjudication costs money, and governments find many ways to make everything much more expensive. Also, if refugee claims can be judged false or inadequate, where are the efforts to determine whether "students" are really students? By the same token, the world is a dangerous place. I figure all those living in any of the many violent inner-city neighborhoods in the US have reason to fear for their lives. Similar facts are true of many millions around the world, and most of them would be rejected by Canadian immigration because they'd be safe if they simply moved to places they can't afford.

My family moved 22 years ago from Mumbai to Toronto…while the struggles said on your channel are real, there are also perks which I feel like you didn’t get to experience. If people have good jobs, stable family life then DON’T move…culture shock is huge that people moving from India don’t consider, just by wearing and eating western food doesn’t make you western! \nThere are sacrifices to be expected which you don’t realized as your great grandparents or grandparents might have made when they started out! \nMoving to another country is never easy, unless you’re loaded with $$$. People in India are lazy as they have people working for them and don’t realize how difficult it is living outside of that lifestyle (not everyone in India can afford housekeepers, cleaners). Being independent and doing things on your own has its own positive (just need to figure it out). \n\nI have worked in healthcare for 16 years and let me tell you…social system works better as everyone gets the health service without being judged about $$. Healthcare is based on priority around the world but people don’t understand this as they feel like their problem should be attended first no matter what! \nNot all drugs are legal in Canada, marijuana is legal though with acceptable limits…you probably were misinformed about drugs! Teach your kids about right /wrong when it comes to drugs, smoking, alcohol and that’s the best you can do! I know people who live in India and do all that which you mentioned you were worried about for your kids. \n\nWhat you experienced was a classic case of culture shock and your expectations didn’t match the reality! Moving away from family, changing lifestyle and being responsible adult (doing things on your own rather than relying on workers) is difficult but doesn’t make the country bad that have you an opportunity to settle! Don’t take things for granted even while you live in India…appreciate the effort that goes into everything- keeping roads clean, people working hard, etc. \n\nBest advice I can give to those considering moving to any foreign country is: Keep an open mind, be ready to work hard and visit the country you want to move to before you make the grave decision of uprooting everything! Things usually turn around and get better after 5 years mark- focus on upgrading your education if you have a basic degree from India (even you know how competitive things are in India, so how can western world not be!)\n\nBeing vegetarian- things are tough when it comes to food but living in Toronto has never been an issue. Even people living in India avoid outside food due to hygiene reason which is not a problem in Canada as food inspection is pretty strict (having worked with ministry of health). \nCities like Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, etc has variety of food options (including veg)…just have to be really open to trying other cultural food (Asian, Mediterranean, Italian,Mexican, etc). My parents are strict vegetarians and have never truly struggled when they are out. \n\nCost of living is definitely higher as the standard living is higher compared to India. Education (until grade 12) and healthcare are free (in reality, you pay tax for it), you get pension when you retire (based on your contributions and type of jobs you had)…you failed to navigate the system and I will say having family around is why you didn’t take opportunity to explore and learn on your own. \n\nPlease don’t come to Canada and make life difficult for other Indians who choose to willingly accept the culture and lifestyle here after going through this hardship- cost of living and housing has gone up dramatically in major cities because of immigration influx! If you’re serious about moving and putting up, only then move! Otherwise all the best for your future endeavours!

1) Toronto is poor value. Getting housing of any kind (buying or renting) is stupidly expensive. And the quality you get for the price is lousy. Especially the newer builds, which are just thrown up as quickly as possible and sold to investors. Policy measures generally all seem to serve to just inflate the price of housing further. The occasional lip service given to affordability is amusing, but ultimately sad. There are lots of people who really do not want the housing bubble to pop. They will fight against it with all they have.\n\n2) It has become kind of boring. There is lots to do if you have money, but it’s harder to find entertainment on a budget. Even the free stuff like parks are filling up. Stuff like sporting events, eating out, going out is very costly across the board. Even the “cheaper” stuff is expensive. It seems like a lot of local culture is disappearing. Even the cool neighbourhoods are filling up with the same chains. I think the high commercial rent and bureaucracy is deflating a lot of would-be entrepreneurs. Most landowners seem to just be banking on cashing out their land for condos.\n\n3) Canada overall has a high cost of living compared to salaries. In the US you can find lower cost of living areas that still give you a real city experience. And in Europe you can be poor but still live a decent, if no frills, life. In Canada the basic necessities are all expensive. Phone bills, grocery bills, rent, insurance are through the roof. Domestic travel is expensive. And the dollar sucks if you want to travel abroad. Health care is free but good luck finding a family doctor or waiting 8 hours in the ER these days. It’s expensive to be poor, or even middle class.\n\n4) Most of the Greater Toronto Area, outside the core, is soulless suburbs with awful transit - very “American” except with worse traffic congestion. You will need a car, which is another huge cost. Row upon row of old cookie cutter suburbs with the same crappy houses. Good luck walking anywhere, and if you do you will need to walk down boring, treeless arterial roads with cars zooming past right beside you, and cross giant eight lane intersections that were never built for humans on foot. In a rainstorm or on a fall evening you have to be really careful not to be run over by aggressive drivers.\n\n5) It is hard to raise a family in an apartment here. You can do it but it’s not very easy, and also you are still kind of judged for it. Lots of young people are feeling stuck and are deferring or avoiding starting a family. Buying any type of house, even a basic townhouse, requires pledging your soul to a bank by taking a massive mortgage with eye watering debt in a volatile market. But few apartment buildings have the kind of sensible gentle density, the family unit sizes and the common amenities, like little courtyards with jungle gyms, that you might find in Europe. No one ever contemplated that anyone would ever desire to raise kids in an apartment. It’s just a cultural thing that has worked its way into how things are planned and designed.\n\n6) The transit system is ok by North American standards but awful by international standards. There are only two real subway lines, one stub line, one line that is permanently out of service after a derailment, and another line that was supposed to open a couple years ago but still has no date for opening. The subways go out of service frequently, sometimes for the dumbest reasons, and then it is a zoo of shuttle buses. The streetcars are nice but so slow. The buses are fine if you find yourself dreaming about riding a daily herky jerky rolling tin of sardines. They are building a lot of transit but it will take decades to get done.\n\n7) There is still a lot of cool multiculturalism and opportunities to experience different foods and cultures - one of the best things about Toronto. Increasingly though it seems to be losing the fun vibe of the 90s, when everyone celebrated each other’s backgrounds and was chill. It seems the immigration is not as broad based anymore and also people are importing a lot of their “old country” grievances here. The immigration system also kind of preys on people abroad by selling them a false fairy tale, so they end up dejected when they arrive and see how things really are.\n\n8) This one might be controversial but it’s kind of an ugly city. There’s nothing particularly of historical meaning or value. Some of the older neighbourhoods are kind of nice, but the last 25 years they have only built giant glass skyboxes, one after another. There aren’t the cool “missing middle” walkups like in NY, Chicago or Montreal (or even LA). There are very few buildings with much architectural character. Some of the buildings they deem “heritage” here are an embarrassment.\n\n9) For safety, honestly on this score I think Toronto is not bad. There are not too many real “ghettos” and it’s night and day compared to much of the US. With that said, there is more vagrancy and social issues these days, with tents and such. It’s very sad but the shelters are full, lots of homeless go into the libraries, parks and transit system. It does make it harder to enjoy these public amenities safely. It is nowhere close to Europe where you might let your kids run free around town. Canadian parents still helicopter their kids and the place again is not designed to really be safe for kids, in the same way as Europe.\n\n10) Finally, a bit of a double edged sword. Toronto had a lot of youthful energy - people coming here from all over. It is definitely not as sleepy as many parts of the world. With that said, it is becoming a bit of a transient place (minus the world class experiences like London or NY). If you are from elsewhere you might find it hard making and keeping friends. I’ve seen lots of people struggle because it’s is hard to build a strong social network. We have a very “shallow” culture here - people are extremely polite but not overly warm and hospitable. We treat one another kind of like neighbours - meaning we’d like to have a cordial, drama-free coexistence and otherwise kind of stick to ourselves.