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Can’t wait to hear more about Canada when ye arrive to Toronto — already sorted our tix!

I’m Canadian living in Toronto. I own a house in Greektown. Never have I had a struggle. But my grandparent who were immigrants did. That is what happens to the first to arrive. Btw you don’t give 50% tax off your pay cheque unless you are making a lot of $.

As a Canadian in Toronto, surrounded by a vast diverse community, I full understand that professionals, such as doctors, lawyers and engineers arrive here to find that their education credentials do not meet Canadian standards. They are subjected to the need to upgrade education and experience to be certified for that profession. What I do not understand is why, a doctor for example, ends up driving a cab, working in the fast food industry or another minimum wage job. If they are a certified and experienced physicians one would think that their skill would at least allow them to be a very valuable asset to Canadaa as a PSW (Personal Care Worker), laboratory technician or in a nursing environment.  A PSW, a lab tech or a nurse is going to earn two to four times more than a taxi driver and allow them to afford to upgrade their skills to receive their full professional certification.  Canada may be wasting a very valuable asset.

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.

I totally agree with your video.\n\nI am European, and l have been living in Canada for 7 years, including 4 years in Toronto 2 years Ottawa and now In Montreal.\n\nWhen l arrived in Canada l started from the scratch in order to get Canadian experiences and improve my Eng, undestanble and l accept as new comer.\n\nI come back to college in order to get Canadian Educatiom post graduate program. \n\nI got my Canadian Citizenship, l am improving my French, as we know its important to be Bilingual in Canada.\n\nSo far after all this steps l didn't find my perfect and dreaming job, harder to find well paid job and stable.\n\nSometime l feel l loose my time here. I learned the well paid job need strong connection, no well paid or low income for new comers. That why Canadian Gov. need new immigrant .\n\nCanada its not country for opportunity for every one, and it is not well being city, cost the life its extremely hight, renting in Toronto and Vancouver are impossible to manage specially like me single, social life a little boring and trashy compare Europe.\nHigh cost to travel domestically and internationally are crazy, compare euro and USA, so sometime l feel stocks here.\n\nProbaly someone after read my comments, they think why you here? Come back you home country? \n\nWell l could but l have to start again from scratch in my country, l say l am in the limbo now.....

Trudeau going to have to establish a DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program in Canada now - people don't realize there is probably thousands like her scattered across the country mostly in the major cities. They all want similar relief from potentially being deported if they are caught. I have no problem giving it to them since most of them are young but I would enforce the condition that they have to resettle in Manitoba, Northern Ontario and the Atlantic Provinces - areas in Canada experiencing population decline, aging demographics and high job vacancy numbers. We don't need people who didn't follow the rules further overcrowding cities like Toronto and Vancouver where the cost of living is rising every year.

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