Skip to content
Canadian Immigration Dashboard [ CID ]
Research Tool

Close Reading

Click a comment to load its sentiment categories, AI rationale, and reply thread.

Clear

Comments

Page 1 of 1 · filtered
Published Reply likes Comment
2026-01-27 0
I went through a drive thru in Weyburn Saskatchewan and almost shit my pants when I seen (1) white guy working there, 99% Indian in the smack dab middle of the country, and it’s like this everywhere. Have heard half a dozen times from separate ppl that they were asked if they spoke Hindi or Punjabi to work at Tim Hortons because “all the staff spoke it” they take our jobs because they accept lower wages. I’m just fatigued, it just sucks because I know the vast majority of Indians before 2020 were actually nice and adaptable decently well. Now when you go out to eat or buy groceries you don’t even get a “have a nice day” which is a Canadian custom IMO. Most of the time besides the transaction details, they will not speak to you.
2026-01-27 0
Here is a aggressively neutral take as a Canadian elementary school teacher in an area with an extremely high Indian population (around half our school is ethnically Indian). It is also my own opinion, and some opinions on the internet suck: The good: Cultural integration IS possible (the Indian families are more into hockey than the white families where I live), tons of cross-cultural friendships, beautiful blend of cultural celebrations, top achievers are almost always second-generation immigrants, kids are growing up to love their parents' culture while also loving Canada's, many fantastic families who engage their children well and raise them very respectfully, religious temples that will feed an amazing meal to ANYBODY who walks into them (as long as you cover your hair), low rates of family trauma (drugs, abuse, divorce, etc.), families that take care of their elders The rough: Not all families are interested in being Canadian (some families just send their kids to Indian speaking private schools, live in Indian areas, and only seem to practice Indian ways of life - what's even the point?), many Indian families retreated into their home-lives during Covid which removed their children from integration opportunities, a very small percentage of the families are absolutely TERRIBLE at parenting and treat their sons and daughters with different levels of respect, multi-family households pay a single property tax which makes the contribution per taxpayer much smaller (while social benefits are equal to anybody else), some crime such as extortion and gang activity has been imported into the country, some individuals' disregard for rules and laws (setting fireworks on Diwali in the middle of a dry, grassy field is just plain stupid), some Indian communities seem to vote blindly for their own ilk during local elections without any regard for policy or experience, LMIA immigration program has been corrupted by the nepotism of bad actors and the greed of large corporations (wages can be federally subsidized which makes it cheaper to hire immigrants than the 16 year old down the street). Many of these families were simply making good choices for their own family, so don't blame the people themselves for this - blame the government that allowed it to fester unsustainably. I'll continue to stick up for the majority of these beautiful families though - haters be darned! Watching these kids grow up gives me some hope for humanity!
2025-09-20 0
The old Dutch guy in the interview was right. When my father applied to bring us to Canada, we went through many tests and procedures, police checks from back home, and even from the FBI to prove we had never been to North America and the process lasted almost a year and a half. No money was given to our family, my dad was working our step mother was working; but now all these immigrants get in quick and free. I have a friend that works for a bank and he tells me people who can't even speak English or French show up and deposit government cheques for 30 or 40 thousand dollars. What about Canadians born and raised here, some need help, they don't get big cheques. There has to be a stop to all this influx of people coming from other countries who have it really easy once they're here, thanks to the government. I'm not anti-immigration, as I'm an immigrant myself, but this BS has to stop.
2025-09-20 0
Most of them are South Asians but they are Canadians, not indians. Just like you are caucassian and Canadian, white people also originally didnt exist in this land. This video screams racism. Almost all of the people you see are legal immigrants , the government gives half a million PRs every year.
2025-08-25 0
1. Almost 2.5 million Indians are currently living there. The total population is 41.6 million, so about 6% are Indians. The total number of Pakistanis is around 500K, and Bangladeshis about 100K. 2. Out of all these, an estimated 1.5 million people are either overstaying or have entered illegally. 3. Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are also involved in illegal activities (I’m not defending Indians—they are also involved, I’ll come to that). If you ask them, many will claim to be Indians. You can see the same trend in the UK as well. The reason I’m mentioning them is because they have a similar appearance to Indians. 4. Almost half of the Indians in Canada are living there illegally. Why do I say this? Because here in India I personally know many people from Punjab and Haryana who go there. In both states, you can easily find many agents who reassure people that they can send them to Canada or the USA without much difficulty. You can also see the trend among Punjabis—many aspire to drive trucks and cars in Canada. In India, people often see Punjabis as if their only purpose in life is to go to Canada. I love Punjabi people, but I don’t like this mindset. 5. So, the people you see doing disgusting things are most likely illegal immigrants. Why? Because genuine people go there to educate themselves and contribute something meaningful to the culture—not to behave like those individuals. 6. I really hope Canada can recover from this. I have a friend who went there in 2015, and he once told me to visit the country. Canadians are truly amazing, and the natural beauty (except the winter!) is so nice. Please, Canadian government, take some steps for the well-being of your people.❤
2025-03-04 0
To all Canadians almost half of the US did not vote for these idiots.
2025-03-04 0
I as a Canadian I'm concerned. But in reality I'm more sad for the Half of America who aren't on Trumps side. From what I've seen, it's almost the brink of civil war. \nWhen has Russia ever been a U.S ally??? Has history been forgotten already???
2024-12-05 2
I’m an international student, from my perspective it seems like the government can’t keep themselves from messing with the economy, basically crippling it by regulations, making the market unable to take advantage of the increased labor supply.\n\nI have spent almost half a million in Canada, which includes tuition, living cost, and starting a business which now employs two Canadians. But because I spent one term as a part time student, I have became ineligible for PGWP, which means I have no way of staying in Canada through my own agencies.\n\nThat is a slap in the face for immigrants whove come here to settle, the fact that I have positively contributed to the Canadian economy than many Canadians ever have, while withdrawing absolutely zero from public benefits, now if I buy a house here yall will drop on me a 50%+ capital gains tax and then kick me out, why would anyone want to invest in Canada? I’m seriously considering just moving to Florida because of all these. \n\nWhat happened to the good old days when you can come here with nothing, integrate into the community, and then become Canadians? Almost none of the forefathers of Canadians had to contribute this much into the society first to become Canadians, they stayed because their peers wanted them to stay, and the market was free to adjust to the labor supply and housing demand without government interference.\n\nWhat I see is not an immigration problem, it’s a big government problem, Canadians have become addicted to the government making decisions for them. The government has its grip on every aspect of Canadian life, it has hindered the responsiveness of the economy so much, that it cant even pivot to take advantage of free capital (int’l students) and third world labor rates (temp foreign workers).
2024-09-16 1
While I agree with most of what was said in the video, there are a few major mistakes that are very misleading. For example, the video states that Canadians spends more on gas than any of the G7 members. This is FAR for the truth. I’m a German who moved to Canada 3 years ago. Gas here in Canada is HALF the price of what it is in Germany! So, the per litre price is super cheap in Canada! So, why is the total number on spending for gas so high? Because Canada is insanely HUGE. People drive insane distances and thus need an insane amount of gas. You can’t compare total spending on gas. You would need to compare the price per litre of gas, which is pretty cheap in Canada. In fact, the only country that has cheaper gas than Canada in the G7, is the USA. All the other G7 members pay more per litre. \n\nThen you also mentioned dairy prices. Yes, they are highly regulated. But compared to Europe, dairy prices are almost the same as in Europe. Again, the only country with cheaper prices in the G7 is the USA. What is (insanely) more expensive however, is meat, housing and groceries in general.\n \nIn general, your point still stands: Canada is insanely expensive. However, you listed the “wrong” items, because the ones you listed are relatively cheap compared to the G7!
2024-09-08 0
Its math.....look at the people immigrating and the shortage of homes. The Canadian manufacturing and agricultural sectors have declined to limited relevance. You can't run an economy on retail, real estate, services and debt. Almost half the economy how is public sector spending. That's not sustainable.
2024-08-06 0
We had an Indian family with 2 smalll kids freeze to death a few winters back trying to cross the border on the Canadian Prairies. It was almost 100 degrees when they left home from India and 24 hours later they were exposed to -35 and didn't have proper clothing. It was only a 2 mile walk but they barely made it half way before they were overtaken by the cold.
2024-07-21 0
So basically, Canadian govt. data says Indians who are citizens as per 2021 are 1.3 million i.e. 2.5 % of the total population..lets add almost half a million more in terms if students and work permit guys... That makes it 4-5%..\n\nThis looks like a sinister video plan and editing to me..I am an Indian in Canada learning the ways here..bt its always give and take...we learn few good-bad things from others Nd likewise they do.\n\nWhites were never the original Canadians...they are europeans!! They have been living peacefully under the shadow of U.S\n\nCome to Richmond in Vancouver and do the same tailored survey for Chinese ethnicity origin..i have nothing against them...China is interfering by running there own police stations...don't you see what TEMU is doing to the market!! Just think where are all of our Banking info going and profits going!!!
2024-07-12 0
Dear Abhi, I am canadian PR. I attest to the facts presented in this video. Students are suffering and it feels bad to see and witness their ordeal. Healthcare is so bad that I have stories of surgery done wrong and person almost died. Colossal level of mis-management is going on in this country. I am professional and at executive level in corporation, still half the time in a year I struggle to keep up with expenses. I am re-considering my decision to stay in this country. If some student is reading this please think 100 times before you come to Canada.
2024-07-04 0
Annual CO2 emissions Who emits the most CO2 each year? In the following visualization, we show annual CO2 emissions aggregated by region, with a special focus on the leading emitters including India, China, and the United States. The emissions shown here relate to where CO2 is produced (i.e., production-based CO2), not where the goods and services that generate emissions are finally consumed. We look at the difference in each country’s production vs. consumption (trade-adjusted) emissions here. Asia is by far the largest emitter, accounting for around half of global emissions. As it is home to almost 60% of the world’s population this means that per capita emissions in Asia are slightly lower than the world average, however. China is, by a significant margin, Asia’s and the world’s largest emitter: it emits more than one-quarter of global emissions. \nCanada emits 1.5% of global emissions. Canada provides China with the coal to fire up /fuel their power plants. Canada is enabling climate change, not fighting it. China is building more coal powered plants this year than it has in previous years. What we do here will have no impact on climate change. \nCarbon Tax is a cash grab by the Federal Liberal Government to squander. Causing inflation and hurting Canadians financially. The Federal Liberal Government are liars and hypocrites. \nTrudeau cares for Trudeau and no one else . He doesn't care for the well being of Canada and Canadians.
2024-06-22 0
I came from France back in 2015 whith my familly when Harper was still prime minister at the time , really I'd say things have been really great , my family and I have worked hard to get to where we are today and have always wanted to give back to our community here but I am disgusted to see in 2024 what Trudeau has done to the country and to see that immigration is no longer as prestigious as it used to be. Unlike some people we have today, I had to wait 3 years with my family before receiving approval to move to Canada (after so many exams, appointments and waiting times). I did my middle school here until college and I'm currently still looking for work in correctional and when I see that people arrive here afterwards without being permanent residents, who are literally flooding spots at colleges/university and also jobs that are normally open for young canadians in their 15-16 (When I was in high school, my first job was at a McDonald's, and without exception, everyone there was Canadian. Today, when I go back to the same McDonald's for a cheeseburger every now and then, the entire staff is nothing but Indians) .As a person with an immigrant background, I'm the first one to say that there's a very big problem in Canada, and that current immigration, mainly from India, is no longer for economic reasons but to reunite families.(They do not, and will never, assimilate into Canadian culture.)Now that I've grown up in Canada for almost half my life, I'm already thinking about either returning to France or start over somewhere else if nothing changes.\n\nThe Trudeau government, uncontrolled immigration, dangerous idelogies from extreme far left idea, rising unemployment, and economic misery getting worse every day , gradually pushes me away from the country I love, Oh Canada.
2024-05-13 0
There's hundreds of YouTube posts online precisely like this post. \nI'm not going to get into how long my family's been in Canada . Because it comes off as like a bragging or a snobbery and I don't go for that. I just want to put it out there Canada is not a destination for purely economic exploitation. \nIt's a place you know for people who I saw people from the former Yugoslavia comment online. Their parents were extremely happy to get out of there in the 90s.. you know they left in the 90s and it's what 2024 . First sight of hard economic Times they decide to pick up and go. \nYou know not a lot of loyalty. But I think you're going to be happier going back home for skin is a free country or free to do that and I wish you all the luck \nLet's see 2 weeks ago I had an accident at work I got four stitches in my scalp I was in and out of emergency in 5 hours which I thought was reasonable.. last week of came down with stomach flu and went to the walk-in clinic it opened at 9:00 I was at 9:15 I waited 10 minutes saw the doctor . I live in Calgary Alberta Canada which is the third or fourth biggest city of Canada experiencing record migration into the town so yeah there's big pressure on new housing. \nI just like to put it out there that I love California and raised lots of generations here not a fanatical American now you know Canada first kind of you know raw raw patriotic Canadian. You know I love my country I'm proud of it proud of my answers and all the couple hundred years of hard work they put in it you have to make this country livable for extremely cold Northern geographic location.\nNow I have a large extended family Oliver Canada the United States Mexico Australia New Zealand parts of Africa England Ireland Scotland Denmark France. \nI've been very fortunate to be able to keep up with this huge family especially because of the internet now. \nSo I keep we talk regularly online and we do business with each other a little bit and some of the countries and Canada's doing reasonably well regarding the job market cost of living and you know those sorts of things. \nYou know we've gone through covid pandemic whatever you want to call that shut the economy down for a couple years worldwide. The worst mistake during the pandemic lockdown in Canada was the government shoveling out free money and people reinvesting it back into their real estate. So you have billions of Canadians locked out of their jobs big shovel taxpayer money and they all just started renovating their homes. To the point where sheets of plywood were you couldn't find them and they went up 100 times and price. Solo's hundreds of billions of dollars that the government's going to take back and taxes from us all draw the cost of housing through the roof. Instead of at the time redirecting half of those two it was 500 billion take a half of that investment in putting it into infrastructure technology innovation for industries. Our education systems from kindergarten through to postsecondary education and spending it on the Canadians that were here. We've turned our post-secondary institutions in Canada into diploma Mills where you know your VA and your you know postgraduate degrees or you know they're worthless. However the government and the education system grew into a very profitable industry grinding out worthless degree after worthless degree for foreign students who thought when they got these degrees with 50% of Canadians have. People have to realize that post-secondary education is a big business so they're going to sell you a dream that's going to cost you a lot of money what I suggest is when YouTubers want to do something on Canada do some proper research let people know that we really do have quality post-secondary education system but you have to look at when you graduate those jobs going to be there to pay that large salary does White collar jobs are disappearing almost gone I purchase an app for my company with small company about 10 employees this inexpensive app alone has taken my office staff from 7: to 2: I have a 10 Red seal tradesman tradeswomen these 10 highly skilled trades people earn between 125 and 145,000 a year in gross salary and I need five more of these highly skilled people and I can't find them cuz everybody's running in to get a useless postgraduate degree. I do find it slightly offensive that a lot of new immigrants new Canadians immigrate to Canada to purely exploit it for its wealth Canada should be looked at as a place to come put your hard work in the struggles the ups and downs? and look at it as your home instead of you know a piggy bank but people are going to leave and there's a long line up to get in I've seen in my 40 year career you know three major reps and three major downs. What's happening in Canada's economy and the economies around the world it's all the same the US economy's doing quite well and talked to last couple of weeks friends that have invested their and families have been there long-term at present the United States is building a war economy so there's money pouring into that effort it does have a booming you know Hi-Tech boom as well however the tech boom is offshore with American companies and it's taking place in a part of the world that no one would think it would take place so if your graduate in the tech industry go online do a little research you'll find out where it is the USA is building a huge chip factories I think they just poured in 70 or 80 billion dollars we're in a transitioning economy don't get discouraged put your head into it do your homework find out where these new jobs are coming from which jobs are not going to be here. Traditional White collar you know middle management upper management jobs they've been gone for years everyone's think of themselves as an independent contractor. Also if you're a millennial or was a gen z person there's going to be a massive transfer of wealth over the next 20 to 30 years as baby boomers simply die off and then you guys are going to inherit their money I live in any one of the g7 economies I just got to find your niece with your qualifications and get in there and innovate because there's not one g7 country that significantly doing better than anyone else another interesting part of the world is East Africa I'm retiring there in 5 years I've already done my homework I've already got partners I've already started to train up people there in East Africa Canada and those parts of the world they have East Africa's great basic infrastructure so now that they've got their first level base of infrastructure a second economy is built off at the service that basic infrastructure that basic infrastructure allows for that second layer a bigger layer of investment you know and that's where the real money is for mid-level investors and you know highly educated Young westerners have got 10 years into their respective careers and these are also very beautiful countries you know so you can if you got family in Canada family in Europe India Asia you know you can start building networks collaborate on projects you know in these you know emerging economies you know mid-level economies but that's you know a good 20-year grind to get good at your career and build your confidence to go into these places and get these things done also you know it's a great life adventure but never expect just because you have an advanced degree that the door even come knocking down your door to employ you if you're going to wait for the opportunity to come to you you're going to be waiting forever you got to take your advanced degrees get out there and hustle and work hard man Canada's doing fine about four or five years it's you know it's going to take off next level and it's going to boom for 40 years and it's never going to get any cheaper in g7 countries Amy's emerging economies his pockets around the world they're starting to come up to in the window to get into these emerging economies with your advanced degrees it's closing if you don't make it if you don't start looking at it in the next 5 years your degrees are going to be gone useless and if you do decide to put your career in these emerging economies like Asia South America Central America Africa do it for the right reasons not just for money we don't want to make the same mistakes as like the industrial Revolution where a few people get rich and the people in that country you know don't get anything have respect for these countries employ their people and you have to get into these places before all the big corporations get set up there cuz they're they're going there Canada's a great place as a great time free medical system and I urge anybody that's feeling down or depressed in Canada you know to go get some therapy join some clubs talk to people don't get down and mostly don't you know don't give up on yourself you guys made it through you know Elite post-secondary education system and if you can if you can do that I mean you can you can do anything a lot of hard work ahead truly best of luck to all you guys
2024-04-24 0
Well , almost half of Canada votes for turdeau and the bobble heads , what does that make them ??? There is very little Canadian left in Canada !!
2024-04-09 0
As a Canadian High School student we have seen major pushes to improve our industry through education with an entire half of a semester in grade 10 being spent almost completely on pushing for an industrial career.
2024-01-11 0
People have to stop using rental prices in cities like Toronto and Vancouver. That's like Americans using rental costs in Bel-Air California or Manhattan as an example of what rent costs in America. It's not a realistic portrayal of rental costs. \nHere in Quebec the the annual tax rate is between 26.53% and 53.31%, depending on income. Then you have to consider all the socialist programs that you are forced to pay into, which also sucks up a significant amount on your weekly salary. After that, you must consider that you pay 15% sales tax on almost everything. It's safe to say that half of your yearly earnings, give or take, are taken in taxes and socialized programs. As for salaries, less than 20% of the Canadian population make a 6 figure salary. We're not talking about household income. I am talking about individual income. You're not going to become rich here in Canada! The majority of people who do become rich leave Canada to avoid taxation. Canadians live a life of debt. You will live just balancing your debt to make sure it doesn't get out of control Few Canadians have money in savings without debt. The ones who do have money saved, most of them have debts on top of their savings which is counterproductive in my opinion.
2024-01-10 0
Hi Girl , glad to see this video, I enjoyed it somuch! Thank you! \n\nI am Canadian citizen, a HKG Citiizen as well. Shuttle between HKG, USA , Toronto/Canada and Shanghait/China It seems your 10 points cover pretty well about the subject. \n\nHere I have some experiencese to share about the OHIP. yse. it is free system for us. However, the quality is rather inferior to HKG or even in Maindland China. The Dentistry is not free, by the way. and other specialist, such as Protates (Yes, for aged man like me ), the quality (cure results) are really 2 levels down. To my disappoiment. \n\nThe Taxes and service charge make up the bill almost 30% extrate, while in in NY State, it could be half of it. \n\nTThe Canada now is NOT a country, it is another state of America, Canada has been administrated as a genocide government but it keeps barking on the world about others but seldom think about herself of all the wrong doings. This is pushing people to leave even more. \n\n\nNow we are planing to leave Canada. Fortunate enought, we could have a choice. Thanks God!
2023-12-16 0
Um a Canadian citizen living in Thailand.\nI left canada in 2005 and am very happy living in Thailand with a better life and good weather almost all year long?\nAnd less than half of what canada costs to live?
2023-11-07 0
The government still thinks with 750 dollars welfare money a human being can live in canada. Single guys have to live in dumps called rooms in basements and couples have to give away 75 percent of their combined income to rent a half decent apartment. So much for the canadian dream life! Looking back after 28 years living in canada i think i was better off living as an alien in usa than living here. I am still lucky to have a house otherwise i would have been in a mental hospital now. Dirty cities, over crowded hospitals, freezing temperatures, high taxes and many more issues. Still canada is better than 90 percent of the world but to have a little better life you have to sacrifice a lot, almost all your life.
2023-07-16 0
I'd just say as a Canadian we have all of the best the US has to offer with very little of the negatives it has. So why would we go to somewhere where it only becomes worse.\n\nMost people in the USA are not ok when it comes to healthcare. The minor stuff sure, but if you have anything serious happen most likely your healthcare will only cover half or a quarter of the costs. The USA also has some of the worst healthcare care out of almost all western countries.\n\nTo put into perspective of kids and gun violence. From 2019-2023 on average 9 kids get shot dead in the USA per day, so 3 285 per year. If we look at 2019 specifically we have 73million people under the age of 18 exist. If we use the average of 9 shot a day and put that to 18 years of life we come up to 59,130 shot over the 18 years; however out of 73 million it means you only have a 0.081% chance of dying from being shot. Doesn't sound too high, but it means you're more likely to get shot dead than almost all other forms of death, more likely to be shot as a child than someone to win the lottery.
2023-07-16 0
Tyler... I like you. I really do. But MOST Americans that would want to move here, couldn't if they tried.\nIt's not that easy. Right now, you'd have a better chance being Mexican and willing to work in a restaurant or factory. \nAs far as moving to the USA, no way. NEVER! Not even if you pay me. Right now, only crazy alt-right Canadians and rural Prairies gun nuts want to move to the USA, more specifically Southern states like Florida and Texas. \nAlso, you were born there and all of the things that we find extreme in the US, you might just see as normal. Just like most of you think bagged milk or Ketchup chips are weird, when almost half of American women got plastic bags inserted INSIDE their milk producing organs, and you put ketchup on French fries, which are basically thick potato chips. \nEverything is relative.
2022-11-02 0
high prices small wages almost impossible to live in this country\nmy sister just moved to Europe and then she said that there is everything half or even more cheaper\nfor example for car insurance she paid 240 a month in Europe she is paying 15 dollars Canadian a month
2021-10-09 0
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
2021-09-07 0
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.
Showing 1–27 of 27
Prev Next