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Your healthcare system, your prison system, your pharma system is all for profit. Canada negotiated with pharmaceutical companies for lower prices and because of that Americans are coming to buy their drugs in Canada. We've actually had to restrict the purchases of medication if you don't have a Canadian address. AND poor people in Canada can still see a doctor or go to hospital without going bankrupt.

I live in Montreal Canada and as a refugee from Rwanda I have no other options but to stay. \nFor those who are from peaceful countries in Africa and well educated who make at least equivalent of $2000 in Africa, please do not come here.\nFor example: it's not easy to buy a house if you're single, you need to be married to be able to afford a house. Let alone buying a house, renting isn't also easy, the cheapest now for families is $1000.\nLet's say you make $20 per hour, this salary will never get you anywhere unless you're married or have other sources of income. You need a second job and the more you earn the more you're taxed.\nEven those high skilled people can only live comfortably only as working couple because as a single high skilled person even if you make more than $100k a year for you to live a good life here isn't easy. Yes of course, it's still better than the most african countries, but for those doing well in Africa already don't come here, come when you're hardly earning a living in Africa. \nNB: People who make $100k in Canada are less than 11% of the whole population. That's 4257000 million out of 38.7 canadians. The rest are considered low income generating workers who hardly afford things.

I don't know if you know this Tyler but America just hit its final hour, 250 years is the expiration date for empires and your United States just hit that mark. Plus have you seen the way Canadians have socialized systems that give us a high quality of life. Our current government is still capitalist but I currently can't be kicked out by federal mandate if I keep paying rent, the liberals have put this provision in place because the housing market is out of control. The liberals under Trudeau also helped the first nation's people more than ANY priminister to date and he dealt with the mass graves the best a light skinned priminister could. He's facing the same issues Biden is facing, the Koch brothers and Peter Thiel are pumping out propogada like transphobia, climate change, trickle down economics and poisoning the left by buying up publications with there infinite dark money.\n\n56 billion was spent last year on influence alone, That means 100,000 Americans saving ALL their money for 10 years would just match Koch influence powers they have in 1 year. \n\nYour housing market was destroyed by the Koch Brothers, they destroyed our water supplies up north fracking bitumen out of the land. \n\nThen when Koch wanted to leave the oil sands they made a propoganda piece pointing the blame at Trudeau.\n\nSo ya, no one wants to go to he country Koch brothers already control 100% were being fought over by Peter thiel who isn't any better.

Canada still uses 70s and 80s mentality when operating the country.\nImmigration is important, but is managed extremely poorly. Many new migrants struggle to find a home and to get the proper documents to establish themselves, like the rest of us.\nCanada allowed foreign buyers to buy properties and lands, which have driven the housing market to an insane level we see today. Canadians have to go into debt just to have a roof.\nThe current government spend too much time/money trying to look morally correct than actually doing his freaking job to balance the economy. I don't understand why Toronto and Montreal still vote for that drama teacher who is as horrendous as his father was in the 1980s. Now all we have as an alternative is a neanderthal from the conservative party.

Canada is a super expensive country, I've been here for 30 years and still renting houses, unable to save for a downpayment to buy my own house, paying rent forever with my husband and not being able to afford to have kids either. This country is depressing, you go to college and then work and have nothing. Canada is not a happy country, people are broke, paying too many taxes and not getting the proper services, there is a shortage of family doctors in Canada. Also paying too much for rent and gas. The socialist government makes things harder year by year, they don't develop the economy to keep up with the times, the liberal government has a lot to do with the crappy economy here. They create policies to make everything extremely hard for Canadians to succeed. If you are thinking of coming to Canada, think twice, it's a trap, it will take you years to be able to afford anything, you will struggle most of your life.

Yeah, I've been talking to a Canadian over discord for almost 2 years now trying to learn more about the country and what he told me was shocking. Canadian make about 25% less and pay 33% more in taxes then American and somehow a house in the middle of goddamn nowhere cost as much as a house in Portland. If you live in NYC, SF, or LA yeah you can forget about buying a house but its not like in America housing is unaffordable everywhere like in Canada. In Texas, you can get a big beautiful house for 300k, the catch being that real estate taxes is really high and you still be paying that even after the mortgage been paid off. Florida is affordable but hurricanes, Cleveland is really cheap despite a good reputation, and a house in the rural areas is easily under 100k. Canada pretty much have no houses under 300k which is made worse by the fact that they make less, taxed more, investment is harder + more expensive, and it actually hard to establish credit because they don't have looser standard like in the US.

You're not correct about the Quebec government banning the hijab - actually they ban all forms of religious expression in clothes worn at work by public servants - so don't criticize us unless you get the facts straight. All countries are facing public health crisis especially in the aftermath of a global pandemic, you mention how long it could take to get an MRI - weeks/months, but it's no worse than in the UK, or other western countries. I do agree with you about limited competition in banking and tech - but we're still a young and growing country, however, look at the global recession that took place in 2007 - Canada was least affected by mortgage default, the US was hit the worst and hundreds of thousands had their homes foreclosed by the Banks, yet in Canada because of our strict banking policies we were saved and the Banks worked with defaulters to try to keep their homes. Taxes, well most countries require you to file your own taxes at the end of the year - what's so strange about that? Yes sales tax is added onto the sales price depending on what province and what you are purchasing, same as US, just because it's not the same in Europe doesn't mean it's worse! Listen, when you're a newcomer to any country you need to fit in when looking for a job, put in the effort, take the time, do the work, any country is going to expect you to be able to speak the language and know the lingo, so I don't agree with your analysis that Canadians are risk adverse! You are 100% correct about the housing crisis, listen it's been going on everywhere for decades, and international investors in the past 10 years or so woke up and noticed that Canada was a great bet for investment, so the problem got really bad. The government just passed a 2 year moratorium on non Canadians buying real estate - as have many other countries, so fingers crossed no more new foreign landlords just regular Canadians buying their first homes, let's hope so!! I've lived many years in Europe - and I loved it! But the quality of life in Canada is better. If you don't live in the crowded city you can have a nice property with lots of space, good roads, not bad school system, very friendly and helpful people. Quebec has some of the best food on the North American continent, we have clean air and lots of water in Canada - I'm very happy here, so don't be so negative please!

Many of my friends are leaving, and I'm thinking about it. Taxes are very high, Cost of leaving is very high, impossible to buy an apartment or a house, even a 100K CAD a year you'll still poor. Also the Canadian currency is lower comparing to US dollar or to Euro.

Many of my friends are leaving, and I'm thinking about it. Taxes are very high, Cost of leaving is very high, impossible to buy an apartment or a house, even a 100K CAD a year you'll still poor. Also the Canadian currency is lower comparing to US dollar or to Euro.

This means that they will bring more immigrants and tell them they can't work because they don't have Canadian experience. Physicians will end up working as drivers and then people will have to wait for months for a doctor or a surgery. Teachers from other countries won't find work . Let's bring in more immigrants while every place is short staffed and increase wait times for every single thing from buying a coffee to finding a family doctor. Toronto has no more capacity for people. First improve the quality of life for those who are here and then bring new people. I still don't know what a doctor, a teacher, a mechanic, a nurse, ...........with Canadian experience knows that other people doing these jobs outside of Canada cannot do. Probably just a way to keep people back so they pay for college or university education and end up thousands of dollars in debt and still not be able to find the profession that they have been trained for back home for years.

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.

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I do not see Americans as friends to Canada. we have had a softwood lumber dispute for 30 years now. Canada has different laws which Americans will never accept. when it comes to trade, Americans are not Free Trade or Fair Trade but Trade domination to eliminate competition. Boeing cried about Bombardier and secured a 200% tariff, while the Canadian company has no products to compete against Boeing....\n\nCanada still suffers from tariffs on our steel and Aluminum. \n\nAmericans are only friendly if Canada submits.... the latest NAFTA agreement saw Canada accepting American milk.... dumping into Canada at the expense of our farmers. The USA has an over supply of milk and rather than adjusting production to meet demand America is using Canada as a dumping ground.\n\nAmerican companies have come to Canada and destroyed many Canadian companies, Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Costco to name a few. these companies push very hard American products while ignoring Canadian suppliers. In no way would the US ever allow such a concentration of foreign businesses to take control of their economy. \n\nThe USA has been the only nation to violate Canadian Sovereignty.\n\nThousands of Canadians have died to protect the USA, but I can find no American who has died to protect Canada.\n\nCanada has fought in many American wars.\n\nCanada has supported the US during its many hurricanes.... I do not see Americans supporting Canada.\n\nIt must be noted that the USA has the largest military force in the world, yet they always ask for other nations to help them in wars. \n\nthe only nation to invoked Article 5 of NATO has been the USA... Canada responded and assisted America.\n\nThe USA is not a friend really, friends do not treat their partner with such disrespect. \n\nBut hey, Americans flood to Canada to buy lower cost medicines rather that fix their own systems.

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.