Toxicity Scores & Embeddings

There are many problems with anti-immigrant rhetoric and one of them is the classification who is and who isn't an immigrant and the question of when does a person stop becoming an immigrant and become a Canadian? A significant portion of people living in Canada are first/second/third generation Canadians and so, how do we classify these people, are they immigrants or are they not? And what of their parents/grandparents who immigrated, are they? It's very important to note that without their ancestor parents, all these first/second/third gen Canadians will not be here and they are now 'Canadians' today because we had pro-immigration laws. Also, the idea of accessing services is by itself, very problematic. I spent the first 4 years of my life here paying high tuition fees as well as tax that are used to subsidize fellow Canadians' tuition fees yet I'm not able to access any government services. Following graduation, I worked as a worker on visa where my tax was no less than an average Canadian yet government services were very much inaccessible to me. It was only after I became permanent resident, that somehow everything suddenly became available to me. I have been tax paying 6-7 years before I became a PR here yet all those years, I wasn't able to access a single thing yet somehow, after I became PR, I'm eligible for everything? The tax argument doesn't make sense at all. I will be eligible to apply for citizenship in like a year and does that mean now I am one of you, Canadians?

As an American who worked in HR for eight years at BMO in Canada, I’ve noticed an important trend: many local professionals often attribute their career struggles to the system, when the real issue is a lack of updated skills. In my previous office of 71 employees, around 60% were Indian and Chinese professionals — many of them exceptionally skilled and hardworking. The fact is, immigrants don’t take jobs; they earn them through their capabilities. I currently work at BlackRock, managing a team of 221 people. Individuals with strong mathematical and analytical abilities often come from Indian or Chinese backgrounds, while only about 20% of our workforce is American. I conduct 4–5 interviews daily, and the pattern remains consistent — candidates from Europe, the U.S., and Canada frequently lag behind in technical skills. It’s a tough truth, but one worth acknowledging: in today’s competitive job market, skill development matters far more than nationality.

As a Canada who speaks both French and English and who follows politics quite closely, I have to say that the headline and some of the reporting here is quite misleading. A reduction in immigration has broad support across Canada. I wouldn't say that notion is dividing the country in any significant way. You do have certain industry groups that disagree, but among the population these reductions have broad support. This is a historic change in public opinion in Canada, but it has been driven by the unprecedented increase in immigration under the last term of the Trudeau government. To put this in context, non-permanent residents in Canada numbered around 1.5 million on Q3 2023, but by Q3 2025, that number sat a just over 3 million. The previous government increased immigration targets by 3 or 4 times over what they had been for years, which caused a number of economic issues. Essentially, the volume was simply too high for the economy and society to support. This was unfair to both Canadians and new comers, many of which could not find employment or afford a decent place to live. The changes being suggested are largely bringing Canada back to what the targets were for over a decade before, though a bit lower to account for the sudden surge. Canada remains one of the most pro-immigration countries in the world. However, and this is where I think DW's reporting is misleading, there is a distinction to be made between policies at the federal level and policies at the provincial level. Immigration, per our constitution, is a federal matter, however, Quebec in particular is distinct from other provinces. I don't mean only culturally and linguistically, but also in the powers that have been devolved to it by the federal government. On the question of immigration, Quebec has more powers and more ability to set its immigration targets and programs than any of the other 9 provinces. The particular program discussed here, the Quebec Experience Program (PEQ), is a particular immigration stream that only existed in Quebec. So what is happening with that program cannot be labeled as a whole-of-Canada thing. Where the changes to the PEQ are controversial, unlike the general changes at the federal level, is that people who immigrated under that specific program were promised certain things. There was a multi-year time line to Permanent Residency and then Citizenship. Many of those people have been in Quebec for 5-8 years already. However, the changes made to the program were done in such a way where people who many years into the program, had gotten an education, started a career, had children, ect. are now being told they can't continue and must leave Canada. There are even stories of people who married Canadians, now have children, and the one parent who was under this program now faces the possibility of having to leave Canada and be separated from their family. All through no fault of their own. That is what many people see as unfair, and I agree, however limiting future applications under the program, to bring in less people, that is not controversial. Canada has no responsibility to bring in people who are not already in Canada, but Canada does have some responsibility towards people who uprooted their lives to move to Canada and built new lives here based on promises and representations made to them by the Canadian and Quebecois governments. We should no simply kick those people out of the country.

I immigrated to Canada in 2020 during peak COVID. I lost my job working in the Middle East and I had my PR so it made sense moving to Canada for good. I’m a chemical engineer who worked in oil and gas for about 10 years in the Middle East. Once I landed in Canada, I went to work in Amazon Fullfillment Centre the week after I completed my quarantine. It was hard labor working for $16 per hour in Toronto. I worked for 10 months while working on my qualifications and engineering license. After that I was hired by an oil and gas contracting company and worked as a Trainee engineer after which I was promoted to Senior engineer in a year after I received my engineering license. I moved 4 cities in 4 years for my job. Now I am settled, own a home, got married to my long time girl friend and work at an Oil and Gas company which pays well. What I learnt through my experience is that Canada is a land of opportunities and people respect you for the work you do whatever it may be and do not judge you, all that we will have to do is work hard and improve on your skills. Integrate with the society, donate and volunteer. That’s how new immigrants can integrate. If you aren’t open minded and want to stay as you stayed in your country then you will not develop and it will hinder yours and the country’s progress.

I went to Canada on holiday about 4 years ago and i definitely noticed this but i would argue that it makes the place feel culturally diverse and there were alot of south east asians aswell especially in Toronto

Thank you so much for this video. I just passed the test with 17/20. Few questions are out of this video. And some are tricky. I did some other mock tests as well like Richmond Library, studied the map and etc. Some I remember are: 1. What is the common term for someone elected in Federal elections? A. Riding Winner B. Member of Parliament C. Senate D. Federal Executive. 2. Which of the following represents being Canadian and expresses national identity? A. Symbols like Maple leaf B. Equality C. Unity D. Human Right Commission 3. Jury duty consists of partial jurors and past jurors (in similar meaning) True or False. 4. French and English are: A. Fighting rebellion in 1800s B. French joined hands with Americans to fight against English C. Lived together for 300 years D. All of the above 5. Got a basic question about suffrage movement 6. What are prairie provinces? Saskatchewan, Alberta, Manitoba (SAM) 7. I got a question about provinces from west to east on Canada map. Please look and memorize the provinces locations. 8. Got a question about Peace Arch in Blaine 9. Question about Peace Tower like what was built after first world War. 10. Question about Aboriginals. Ans: First Nations, Metis and Inuits 11. Branches of Parliament Ans: Sovereign, House of commons and Senate 12. Courts do: Ans: Settle disputes These all what I remember. I am not sure which ones I got wrong. Might be in the first 5 I posted here. Test is not difficult but it is better to go through this video multiple times and do some other mock tests as well, in my opinion. Thank you and All the Best 😊

As a multi-generational, born-and-raised Canadian citizen. Recently, I have been unemployed for 1 year and 2 months, which is the longest I have ever gone without a job in my entire life. My EI has run out, and during this stressful time, I have only had 4 actual interviews with real human beings. I am also a caregiver for both of my parents, and working remotely has been my profession for the last 7 years. Remote work allows me to both care for them and bring in a full-time income. Despite having 30 years of customer service experience, I find myself being overlooked. Many companies now use AI to prescreen resumes, so if your resume isn’t ATS-friendly, it often never gets seen by a human. Even if you make it past that stage, there are endless AI-driven assessments before you even have a chance to speak with someone. And when you finally do, it’s often yet another layer of screening rather than a real interview. I know I bring value — I consistently receive compliments from customers across cultures for speaking clearly, precisely, and making their experience enjoyable. Yet I find myself competing with younger candidates who can work longer hours, or new immigrants that companies often prioritize, sometimes with government incentives. At 55, I feel like I’m being overlooked despite my proven skills and professionalism. Right now, I live with my retired parents and should be caring for them. Instead, my father is helping me pay my bills so I don’t ruin the credit I worked so hard to build. If I don’t secure a job soon, I fear I’ll lose everything else I’ve managed to hold onto. The stress is overwhelming — I cry daily, and on top of everything, I also face health issues of my own, but I have no space to focus on them because survival takes priority. Canada today feels very different from the country I grew up in. Since the pandemic, things have become harder in every way — jobs, housing, and simply living. Even if I manage to secure work, rent alone now takes up nearly 75% of what I’d earn, not even including other basic bills. It’s disheartening to feel like no matter how hard I push, I can’t get ahead.

As an immigrant of Canada, I migrated here in 1999 when I was like 4 years old, I love Canada, and I consider myself Canadian, with a Jamaican background, I share my culture, but I assimilated to Canadian culture because this is where I live, my home, I want to be part of Canadian culture not too change it.

My father immigrated to Canada from India in 1961 to complete his PhD, where he met my mother, a local farm girl. They married, and he soon joined Agriculture Canada as a research scientist at the Regina Research Station in 1963. Over his remarkable 40-year career, he contributed significantly to the evolution of herbicide research during a transformative era for Canadian agriculture. In the 1960s, as herbicide use surged across the prairies—building on early selective compounds like 2,4-D introduced post-World War II—his work focused on environmental residues and applicator safety, helping refine application methods amid a boom that saw the number of available herbicides in Canada and the U.S. rise from about 25 in 1950 to over 100 by the end of the decade. This period marked the widespread adoption of chemicals for weed control, enabling reduced tillage and boosting crop yields in grain production. By the 1970s, Agriculture Canada's efforts intensified with the introduction of groundbreaking non-selective herbicides like glyphosate, which revolutionized prairie farming by facilitating no-till practices and minimizing soil erosion while controlling persistent weeds. My father's studies on herbicide drift, persistence in air and soil, and human exposure played a key role in ensuring safer, more effective use, aligning with broader innovations that transformed western Canada's grain sector into a global powerhouse. Into the 1980s, as resistance issues emerged and manufacturing processes improved to reduce contaminants like dioxins in phenoxy herbicides, his research supported sustainable advancements, including better monitoring and guidelines that influenced international standards. Through these decades, his pioneering contributions helped develop and optimize herbicides now employed worldwide, fundamentally changing farming practices and enhancing productivity across the vast Canadian prairies.

And yet, liberal government got elected for additional 4 years. Canada voted for this. No point to complain about it now.