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It actually depends from what country you migrated from, your networks here and luck of course. Me and my wife coming from developing country and migrating here in Canada realized how much our lives have changed for the better. We could buy our own vehicle and purchase our own home. Yes its true, we have give up our friends back home but we found new friends here. It is how you accept life as it is and be happy. Canada is not for everybody I agree, but for someone like us, Canada is our second home.

Nice summary of the main challenges. Reading some of these comments leads me to believe that if one is motivated solely by money, Canada is not a great choice for you as an immigrant. The number of commenters hoping to move to the US from Canada due to greater opportunities to make money while ignoring the real and substantial disadvantages of living south of the borders just emphasizes this. My family are immigrants from the US and we didn’t face the same challenges as immigrants from countries further afield but I do understand the differences between the two countries very well and can state unequivocally that moving to Canada was the best decision our family made. Lower crime, better health care (yes even with the wait times), a fairer system and a “boring” but sane political system more than compensate for the few extra dollars I would make south of the border. In terms of where better prospects going forward for children and grandchildren, with the looming threat of climate change, Canada wins hands down. Extra income means little if you have to spend all of it on personal security and health care deductibles. So if you are only motivated by top line items like gross annual salary, Canada might not be for you and you would be better off looking elsewhere and leaving that immigration spot open to someone who can appreciate the more balanced offering that a new life and future in Canada can offer.

Canada is a country of immigrants, which means people who are, in my humble opinion, mostly quite self-centered and expecting the world from others, which never happens! Canada demands a gigantic capacity to adapt, to adjust and, in a word, to change...completely! You must be totally willing to leave everything behind if you want to integrate into Canadian society and this is extremely hard to do! Moreover, most immigrants come to Canada because they expect that country to give them a life of luxury or at least a very easy life, which can be true, as compared to certain other countries where life can be hell because of corruption, poverty or mismanagement and dictatorship. Now, don't fool yourself, you will find all of this in Canada too, in a very different way, although not always that different, but you will find it to a certain extent, depending on what you are trying to do here! Canada pretends to be a free and democratic country, but if there is one thing, that you are not supposed to do in Canada without dire consequences and reactions from most Canadians, it is criticism and voicing dissent! You will face repression too! I am 67 and I have lived in this country for over 30 years and now have lots of health problems, which I would probably never have had in another country, all this because of the frigging climate here...I just hate it here! And yes, don't be cultured and...play stupid and ignorant, otherwise you will face automatic rejection and that same stupidity and ignorance! A country of many cultures...yes, but also of deep rooted prejudices and intolerance! And if there is something that never changes in Canada, it is change! They expect you to change, but they never change themselves! in a word...Canada is a country like all others, no better and often far worse!

Okay I will be first to admit as a canadaian.. yes canada has racism issues. No questions. Every country does in their own culture and society. And this is a huge problem. But having said that, I personally have not faced or may be was not treated in a face of racially biased way. In recent years, I do see huge changes where we have these occurence alot more but not to a degree to our neghibours to south.

Yes I ran into racial profiling when I wanted to ask why CBC is biased and won't report fairly. Being white and male, I was told that my opinion is invalid, and in spite of the taxes I pay for their wages, I don't have any say. Moreover, because I am male, CBC's supreme leader Trudeau has dictated I am not allowed any sort of platform. This is an important issue! Why do you think these sterotypes are so prevalent CBC? Crime statistics? Day to day crime by certain groups? CBC hates the question why because it conflicts with their bias as mandated by identity politics. Once I can walk through any place in Canada and not simply see, with my own eyes, the obvious differences between people based on color, or am treated like a direct decendant of slave owners by our state run media, maybe then the forty-thousand years worth of tribal cues ingrained in me will change. Are there really no examples of white men changing the narrative? No exmples you can provide for us devils to follow? No studies on private donors who are trying to help? Maybe it's time for me to stop, as there is absolutely no recognition of my attempts to make changes. The withdrawl of financial support is now my protest against your bias. CBC-peddling division through diversity indoctrination...but you've got hip, edgy music and have vilified the evil white man so there's that...wicka wicka wack yall...

I was born in Seattle and left to Canada (married) when I was in early 20's!  This then was a good change for me as Vancouver was a great city compared to Seattle, moved right downtown and had a blast so for a young person (then) was great.  Met some great people from all over the world and had health care, medical/Dental etc.... I worked in the greater Vancouver area for 8 years and it was tough, very strict, and did not help that I was from the states, white bread Canadian seemed a bit jealous that I was there, sometimes not very friendly.  The Europeans I met were actually better to deal with and I got along quite well with them.  The cost of living was about the same as in Seattle.  After about 8 years being in Canada and working hard I saw America booming and the Canadian dollar was as low as $.62 cents (in late 90's) so I took my craft from Vancouver and brought it to the US just across the border, I became much happier working in the States, I took a little bit of bs but not bad from some that I had a Canadian accent (go figure when I moved up there I had a twang) I really never left the united states I will always be American and I have been still working in the US for over 20 years and deal with mainly Americans on a daily basis from all over the State of Washington.  Depending on where you grow up or end up you should never see a border Seattle and Vancouver have more in common than Vancouver / Calgary in fact most Canadians don't care much for the other provinces.  After 30 years of being part of both countries, I can say that people are people both have great offerings and if you took the best of Canada and America to combine then we would all prosper, there is so much both can learn from each other.  Bottom line:I take the best of both worlds and what they have to offer, yes, I have found less expensive goods in Canada than what they cost in the states.  I have seen it from both eyes, and if you cant be open culturally then stay away.

RE: Canadian healthcare, my wife broke both her hips in 2017 in two separate falls, she was admitted immediately to hospital without delay and operated on the next day (half hip replacement), after physio and occupational therapy she was discharged and provided Homecare, 16 times per week plus weekly Day Hospital. Our cost for both operations was roughly $160.00 for parking spots for me so I could visit her and about $140 in Tim Horton doughnuts for staff. The system does not have enough of certain types of specialists thus wait times for those specialists, and there are wait times for elective surgery. The system has not really been reviewed since its inception in the 1960s but making significant changes is the third rail of Canadian politics and a hard look is justified after 70 years. Re: illegal crossings; The gentleman in the video has a problem in that the US and Canada have signed a “safe country” agreement and neither will accept refugees from the other as both Canada and the US are deemed “safe havens”. He crossed illegally, if he had crossed legally he would have been immediately turned back at the border but he clearly entered the country between border crossings and was likely arrested and released on recognizance but not returned immediately as the agreement is silent on illegal entries (yes, seems a touch strange). As many people are leaving the US for Canada the system is overwhelmed. Tent cities have been set up in Quebec and public housing used in Manitoba to house illegal immigrant pending processing - those with criminal records are held for deportation. Canada has accepted roughly 25,000 Syrian refugees from camps in that part of the world. These refugees were first vetted by the UN then Canada. These refugees are completely different from the people crossing the border illegally from the United States. This pales to the 75,000 boat people accepted after the fall of Saigon. Canadians have been generally accepting of refugees but wants the process guided by the rule of law. Immigrants are a separate from refugees and the rules governing their entries into Canada are different.