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Rent prices in my area is finally going down. Lined up directly with the post secondary school year, wonder why.

No one talks about the fact that Doug Ford lifted rent controls. Yes he did! Any new builds or “renovated” dwellings built or renovated after 2018 are NOT SUBJECT TO RENT CONTROLS! People were evicted, apartments renovated and prices soared, even in rural areas. I paid $2250 for a two bedroom home. My landlord raised it to $2860.

what was not mentioned in this short video that should have been is proof that immigration is not causing the housing crisis. That is that the housing crisis now extends to small towns and rural areas. It's almost as expensive to rent in those areas these days. I know this because I have been seeking to move out of Montreal to a smaller town for the past 3 years and cannot find anything in my price range (been looking at rural Quebec and Ontario). \n\nHere's the thing, immigrants come to major urban centers like Toronto and Vancouver and to a lesser degree, Montreal. They do not go to rural areas or small towns at least, not in the first few years they're here. Given that, why does the housing crisis extend to small town and rural areas if migrants are not coming to those places?

TFW here, east Asian, a couple of things:\nI am paid the provincial minimum wage, and work in the dairy industry, medium sized farm.\nI started working straight out of high school\n\nFrom what I can see and hear from across the province and largely in the western Canadian provinces, older generation farmers are at the retirement age, but the younger generation is generally very reluctant to take over. \nNot all industries, but definitely in livestock, people sometimes don't realize that, there is literally no breaks, ever! You work every day, holidays, Christmas, and if you do chose to take a few days off, your co-workers, i.e. other family members or workers, have to take up the extra workload. You barely have time for your family, you are often tired around your kids. Farmers have some of the highest suicide rates among all occupations, as well as a difficulty to find partners due to the nature of their jobs.\nThe work is hard, days long, especially during harvests, and if the ever more expensive tractors, equipment fail...\nThere used to be a lot of family owned farms, over the last few decades most have sold their generational farm and left the industry, most because of the cost to operate and because the next generation's unwillingness to take over.\nYong people my age have not been seen applying for my position in a few years now, despite ongoing hiring effort at significantly higher than minimum wage, and I have repeatedly stated that I, although love my job, am ready to step aside at any point so a Canadian PR or citizen can take my position, as required by worker rules. There were a few inquiries from neighboring areas, mostly made by parents, but their children in the end all refused to work, even part time, or seasonal.\n\nOn the other hand, there is the issue of prices: equipment costs have largely more than doubled since the pandemic, grain prices rose... and all that on top of the constant uncertainty of the weather every planting and harvesting season. Most farms don't ever make a profit after the yearly operating cost is deducted from earnings, and the little profit that on occasion appear, goes right back into paying debt or reinvesting in renewing long overdue old equipment.\n\nMy position, and all those similar to mine in agriculture, are in all fairness, very low skilled, with minimum training, and therefore is only worth minimum wage, in my opinion. I was actually offered a higher amount but in the end turned it down because on the job, I discovered the only thing I bring to the table is manual labor (I know that's not really the right way to go about wages, but I do believe that wages should be based on the irreplaceableness of one's skills, and as it stands, although no replacements were ever found, I am very much easily replaceable, skill wise). That, compared to a slightly better paid Starbucks position, with benefits (most farm workers and owners don't have benefits or pension, yes owners too), air conditioning, regular work hours. I mean, if it wasn't for my particular interest for agriculture I'd pick Starbucks any day too!\n\nI think a couple issues are at hand, \n1. Most of agriculture's profit ends up in the corporate processing and supermarkets, that needs to change, workers could benefit, as well as consumers, from distributing that profit between farmers and shoppers.\n2. Agriculture in today's context no longer fit the modern life, although I strongly think that A LOT of people can benefit from getting their hands dirty once in a while and sweating a bit, improve physical and mental health, have better discipline all that jazz. So foreign workers are the temporary solution, if well regulated so that Canadian PR and citizens are ALWAYS prioritized for hire and at a fair wage. This cannot happen unless farmers can turn a profit, stated in point 1.\n3. A new generation of farmers are needed to take over, and they need to be somehow convinced that it is worth the toil, because as it stands, it is not, financially, life style wise. Automation is one solution, although therein lies the huge, foreseeable risk of corporate takeover.\n4. On a specific note, TFW does mandate that workers are provided up to standard housing (not always followed), which puts local workers at a huge disadvantage if they are commuting to work and paying rent, although that rarely happens, and the majority of farms do offer housing to all.\n\n\nI am aware that me being treated up to regulation is not the norm among my TFW peers, which is quite sad and unacceptable. But in my opinion, even if given a leveled playing field, wages , conditions, housing, etc. Canadian citizens and PRs largely will be unable to meet the demand for these jobs, from unwillingness to work really hard physically, unwillingness to live the lifestyle, wanting a career with better prospects... these are harsh words, but I believe to be true, and they also come from a lot of older generation farmers talking about their children and grandchildren. \n\nThis is just in the agri industry, and from what I hear from farmers from all over western Canada : )

After reading a few of these comments, the main take aways are, there are a lot of immigrants, things cost more, healthcare is a mess and inflation.\nI am sorry that things are hard, the costs of everything are up everywhere in the world so good luck in gentrifying other nations and making your problems their problems.\nIt pains me to no ends that after things get tough in Canada many are ready to jump ship for better softer areas where they will trash the place with their incomes creating inequality there as well and then blaming the mess that they will create on the indigenous people that they will abandon for better pastures.\n\nAs a Canadian of native ancestry I never had it anywhere as good as many of the people here complaining about their middle class woes.\n\nMaybe if you fought for a change, like more housing to bring down the prices and fought corporate greedflation and gouging, realizing that much of this problem, the attack on the healthcare services, much of it being done by the conservative governments, then perhaps you would not be so annoyed with Trudeau.\n\nHe is not helping the housing problem by not building the 2 million new homes that he said he would but NIMBY people are making this difficult. They want the charm of a nice middle class feel to their neighborhoods but when it comes to housing, they don't want to build affordable near them and then they complain with their rents are too expensive or the costs of things too high. \n\nI can't say I feel much pity or empathy with most of the people complaining about their lots in life because as far as I can tell, many natives would love to have your problems but the best that many of them can do is to live in their own lands, homeless, even on their own reserves because there is just not enough housing. Yet when the prices of housing was going up, many homeowners loved it, even though it meant that the poor, the actual poor and not you lot, were stacked like firewood into smaller and smaller rooms with no AC so it was hot in the summer and freezing in the winter and the slum lords are having a hey day. \nThe actual first nations people are homeless and being killed daily and are arrested for being poor daily but you lot think you have it bad. \n\nSorry, when non first nations people say that they will leave Canada because its not how they remember it when they were kids and its worse now so they will jump ship to gentrify other nations, I just shake my head and hold open the door as you leave the nation and wonder at your arrogance and egoism.

Some of the stats cited here are straight up wrong or... creatively employed, and there's a lot of contradictory information and the typical conservative 'the sky is falling' sensationalism and misattribution. That said, the bas supposition isn't wrong. The bubble we've been sitting on for 20 or so years has completely burst. As someone born and raised in the Toronto area, it's impossible for me to afford to own a house or apartment here on a teacher's salary. Even rent pushes me to the limit unless I want to live in a... less than nice area. I'm living hand to mouth and enjoying the benefits of living in a 'developed' country less. Here's why:\n\n1. Wages aren't really even close to keeping up with the cost of living. The first tick upwards a bit. The second just keeps rising on the back of housing, food, amenities, and inflation: the four horsemen.\n\n2. Our grocery cabal ruthlessly raise prices whenever we look away, and their lobbyists are all ensconced within the leadership of our three major parties, particularly the Conservatives (so if anyone thinks that electing them will help, they're in for a nasty surprise).\n\n3. We're experiencing 'labour shrinkflation': increasing duties are downloaded onto workers and more is expected: more productivity, more availability (almost 24/7 in some jobs), and higher qualifications. Meanwhile, real wages are decreasing relative to living cost, more positions are 'contract', which is basically a way for employers to not have to give you benefits, and job security is tenuous for a lot of people.\n\n4. Houses are being bought by investors and not owners. Foreign entities are money laundering. The wealthy upper crust of high population countries are moving here and buying property because Canada is (still) more safe and stable and less repressive than their home countries in most cases. \n\n5. There's a cycle beginning: as people are squeezed and forced to spend more on 'needs', they spend less on eating out, entertainment, and other 'wants'. These are significant drivers of the service economy and they're being hit hard. So, what can they do? They can let go of workers or lower product costs to remain profitable, but they their quality declines and, in a market where people are pinching every penny and looking for quality for their dollar, they're less likely to go back. They can raise their prices, of course, but then they price people out completely and their profits still tank. I went to a decent steakhouse for my dad's 60th last week. I can't remember the last time that I went to one before that. \n\n6. Our politicians and news cycles focus on the most niche and irrelevant stuff because it'll stoke anger and get tongues wagging. This carbon thing is almost a non-issue, but our conservative leader is harping on about it like it's singlehandedly the death of the Canadian economy when it's a drop in the bucket. Trudeau focuses on 'equity' measures, hoping for a bit of cheap good press, while his efforts are, for the most part, just window dressing and the issues, while meaningful, are often not of paramount importance or even applicable to the vast majority of the people who elected him. Meanwhile, the middle class is pretty much evaporating as he speaks. The NDP keep talking about this in a pretty real way, for what it's worth, but Jagmeet Singh is giving off an increasing vibe of just being another fat cat politician beneath his rhetoric these days. Also, third-party trolls and screeching conservatives try to bury him on social media whenever he speaks... a lot more than other leaders as well, oddly. I wonder why? Oh yeah, the Greens exist and there's Quebec and the conspiracy theory party.\n\n\nUltimately, what we're experiencing is the revenge of the feudal system. Instead of paying rents to your lord and doing labour on the land for him whenever commanded to, you pay rent to your landlord now and go to work even when you're sick or when work hours are over because you have no union protection or are working 'on contract'. Unless we want to live in the armpit of nowhere, 95% of us are going to be wage slaves living hand-to-mouth, not owning our own property, and working to please our corporate overlords if current trends continue unchecked. While some of Canada's problems are unique, I fear that most aren't. As for me, I'm headed to the 'armpit of nowhere' where I can at least have a ghost of a chance of affording life.

One of Canada's problems is that 90% of all their inhabitants live within 120 miles of the U.S. border, so most\nare seeking to buy homes in the same area, thus 'skyrocketing' prices! We must remember though, that the \nCanadian dollar is only worth $.75 American, so a $400k house would only be $300k in the U.S. & $3k rent would be\n$2,250. here! The biggest problem is that Canadians are woefully underpaid & should also demand a major tax break!

I grew up in Malton (borders Brampton) in the 1980's and it was all Western European and Canadian folks and it was great. Such a sense of community and everyone knew everyone. Us kids would stay out until the street lights came on and played in Parks. It was really safe. We moved away in 2006 because the area had gone such down hill by 1999 and the crime was horrible. Stolen cars, alcohol and drug abusing Punjabi folks and the domestic partner violence of the Indian men beating the crap out of their wives was insane. (I had a friend that was a Peel Region Police officer who ended up leaving because she couldn't take seeing it any longer). I have nothing against Immigration, because my dad was an immigrant, but I do have a problem with the amount of any one country we let in, and the types of people that we let in that contribute to crime and area degradation. It's so sad the slums that have become in Brampton and Malton since we left. I'm glad we got the heck out of there when we did. I feel sorry for all those that are stuck there still. Furthermore with such an influx of immigrants into one area it has driven the house prices and rent through the roof because the pace of immigration was nowhere near the housing starts, and cities think that everyone needs to be packed in like sardines and when you have that many people living in close proximity and you have such expensive living costs it's a disaster waiting to happen and it brings along with it tons of crime and drugs. The Trudeau government really messed up this country and the GTA Cities like Brampton are a shining example of that. It's sick that we pay as much as we do for government at all levels that are this idiotic. It's time we protested in the street and made the government at all levels fear the public again or it's never going to change.

Decriminaliztion of drugs didnt ruin the city. ITs the way they implemented it or in fact failed to implement it properly. You dont jsut decrimialize drugs and thats it. the people going in looking for drugs etc should be helped and supervised but they arent. So these areas are left for zombies walls are spray painted shit eveywhere. ITs a mess what they did. They wanted ot follow i nthe stesp of POrtugal who did it properly and saw drug addiction decline by doing this. Stupid government. LAzy and dont care about the real things in life. We dont have enough money for people here so the government instead gives away biullins of dollars to countries overseas. Its so backwards its angering. Diabled people only get $1308 maxium to survive per month... That includes rent. They give you $505 maximum for rent per month.... there are no places for that price. not even a room. The average 1 bedroom prives for toronto are $2100 per month.

It seems like one of the only viable ways to make money was to work in the city and commute from the surrounding area which is hours of your life wasted and not spent working or making money. \n\nBut even this is no longer as good of a plan because of thr housing crisis. Expensive rent and house prices in big cities like Toronto made a lot of people move out and the rents have risen in the surrounding area where there is less high paying jobs.

I am German , lived in Ontario Toronto area from 2007 to 2010 houses and rent was half of it what you pay today. Houses in Canada are 5 times the price as the equivalent in the US.

1) Toronto is poor value. Getting housing of any kind (buying or renting) is stupidly expensive. And the quality you get for the price is lousy. Especially the newer builds, which are just thrown up as quickly as possible and sold to investors. Policy measures generally all seem to serve to just inflate the price of housing further. The occasional lip service given to affordability is amusing, but ultimately sad. There are lots of people who really do not want the housing bubble to pop. They will fight against it with all they have.\n\n2) It has become kind of boring. There is lots to do if you have money, but it’s harder to find entertainment on a budget. Even the free stuff like parks are filling up. Stuff like sporting events, eating out, going out is very costly across the board. Even the “cheaper” stuff is expensive. It seems like a lot of local culture is disappearing. Even the cool neighbourhoods are filling up with the same chains. I think the high commercial rent and bureaucracy is deflating a lot of would-be entrepreneurs. Most landowners seem to just be banking on cashing out their land for condos.\n\n3) Canada overall has a high cost of living compared to salaries. In the US you can find lower cost of living areas that still give you a real city experience. And in Europe you can be poor but still live a decent, if no frills, life. In Canada the basic necessities are all expensive. Phone bills, grocery bills, rent, insurance are through the roof. Domestic travel is expensive. And the dollar sucks if you want to travel abroad. Health care is free but good luck finding a family doctor or waiting 8 hours in the ER these days. It’s expensive to be poor, or even middle class.\n\n4) Most of the Greater Toronto Area, outside the core, is soulless suburbs with awful transit - very “American” except with worse traffic congestion. You will need a car, which is another huge cost. Row upon row of old cookie cutter suburbs with the same crappy houses. Good luck walking anywhere, and if you do you will need to walk down boring, treeless arterial roads with cars zooming past right beside you, and cross giant eight lane intersections that were never built for humans on foot. In a rainstorm or on a fall evening you have to be really careful not to be run over by aggressive drivers.\n\n5) It is hard to raise a family in an apartment here. You can do it but it’s not very easy, and also you are still kind of judged for it. Lots of young people are feeling stuck and are deferring or avoiding starting a family. Buying any type of house, even a basic townhouse, requires pledging your soul to a bank by taking a massive mortgage with eye watering debt in a volatile market. But few apartment buildings have the kind of sensible gentle density, the family unit sizes and the common amenities, like little courtyards with jungle gyms, that you might find in Europe. No one ever contemplated that anyone would ever desire to raise kids in an apartment. It’s just a cultural thing that has worked its way into how things are planned and designed.\n\n6) The transit system is ok by North American standards but awful by international standards. There are only two real subway lines, one stub line, one line that is permanently out of service after a derailment, and another line that was supposed to open a couple years ago but still has no date for opening. The subways go out of service frequently, sometimes for the dumbest reasons, and then it is a zoo of shuttle buses. The streetcars are nice but so slow. The buses are fine if you find yourself dreaming about riding a daily herky jerky rolling tin of sardines. They are building a lot of transit but it will take decades to get done.\n\n7) There is still a lot of cool multiculturalism and opportunities to experience different foods and cultures - one of the best things about Toronto. Increasingly though it seems to be losing the fun vibe of the 90s, when everyone celebrated each other’s backgrounds and was chill. It seems the immigration is not as broad based anymore and also people are importing a lot of their “old country” grievances here. The immigration system also kind of preys on people abroad by selling them a false fairy tale, so they end up dejected when they arrive and see how things really are.\n\n8) This one might be controversial but it’s kind of an ugly city. There’s nothing particularly of historical meaning or value. Some of the older neighbourhoods are kind of nice, but the last 25 years they have only built giant glass skyboxes, one after another. There aren’t the cool “missing middle” walkups like in NY, Chicago or Montreal (or even LA). There are very few buildings with much architectural character. Some of the buildings they deem “heritage” here are an embarrassment.\n\n9) For safety, honestly on this score I think Toronto is not bad. There are not too many real “ghettos” and it’s night and day compared to much of the US. With that said, there is more vagrancy and social issues these days, with tents and such. It’s very sad but the shelters are full, lots of homeless go into the libraries, parks and transit system. It does make it harder to enjoy these public amenities safely. It is nowhere close to Europe where you might let your kids run free around town. Canadian parents still helicopter their kids and the place again is not designed to really be safe for kids, in the same way as Europe.\n\n10) Finally, a bit of a double edged sword. Toronto had a lot of youthful energy - people coming here from all over. It is definitely not as sleepy as many parts of the world. With that said, it is becoming a bit of a transient place (minus the world class experiences like London or NY). If you are from elsewhere you might find it hard making and keeping friends. I’ve seen lots of people struggle because it’s is hard to build a strong social network. We have a very “shallow” culture here - people are extremely polite but not overly warm and hospitable. We treat one another kind of like neighbours - meaning we’d like to have a cordial, drama-free coexistence and otherwise kind of stick to ourselves.

1. I'm a ??can who moved to Europe 22yrs ago through recruitment agency - the employer paid for my professional REGISTRATION with the nursing board, for my work authorisation permit before I even left, sent me a written 2 yr work contract, the flight(return), a taxi pick up from airport & accommodation for 2 the 1st weeks bnb.\n2. I had worked in ?? for 15yrs, 3 diplomas and a post grad degree, I and had bought myself a small property 4yrs into my career on a 60% government subsidy.\n3. I was in a management position for over 7yrs. \n4. Looking back now, the people I went to college with got millions of Rands at age 60 for their retirement pension. \n5. I am waiting to be 65 for a mere €32 000 retirement lump sum and a weekly income of about €400 plus. \n6. I bought myself a small property after renting for 9yrs here, it was not easy to raise funds while paying rent which is HALF YOUR SALARY, but it was worth it. I still have a balance on my bond which my pension lump sum wont even shift\n6. The regrets I have is that:\ni) I missed out on family, friends and christianity quality life, \nii) I spent too much money flying home every yr and sometimes 2 X a yr to keep my sanity and to bond with my family - adult kids and siblings & now grandkids\niii) I could have had a fair and equal opportunities to improve have more accademic and work status in my own country than in a foreign land & my experienced would have been not only recognised when it suits the employer, but it could have been openly VALUED and NURTURED if I was serving in my own country\niv) I could have retired 3 yrs ago and had a paid up bond and a nice retirement car\nThe POSITIVE side is that: \ni) I have a property in a good area that I can rent out for extra income \nii) I have enjoyed travelling around the world and living in A relatively SAFE COUNTRY for over a decade.\niii) I have come to realise that - \na) There's no place like home - we often take for granted, the standards of practice and quality of education and customer service and the advancement in technology both in both education, work and BANKING in our countries untill we travel and live abroad\nb) it is easy to bring your expertise & work ethics abroad and work like and educated slave for a small price\nc) I have come to realise that, Half the time, most of Our stories as a nation are told by someone else, and the world keeps the narrative going.

As the child of immigrants, i think this is a perspective a lot of Canadians are facing. I could never bring myself to leave, most people my age are the same. All your friends are here, the neighbourhood you grew up in is here and you're simply not cut out to go to where your parents originally came from (half of us come from parents/grand parents who immigrated) because the climate is probably 1000x different lol (I just know I couldnt survive South Asian/Middle eastern weather).\n\nI just turned 18 though so I haven't experienced the insane rent and stuff (as it's literally impossible for me to move out). Things will be better I know it, but the question is how long will that take? Id personally give it 5 or 6 years. We need to put a cap on immigration and just completely cut off the GTA from receiving any for a set amount of time (think 2 or 3 years?). We also need to amplify our construction industry (incentives/rezone some areas for development) and the government should start subsidizing urban development projects with an agreement that prices will be lowered, or offer money to people who are purchasing condos/houses (think iZev but for urban housing and not electric vehicles). \n\nAlso stop taxing us and simply start slowing down/cutting non-essential social services; a specific government program should be created that closes all of these at once for a set amount of time (think 2 or 3 years as well) and they'll be able to redirect the money to more important causes.

I'm not sue what most of you are talking about Canada being safe ?? Gang shootings and killings everyday , car jackings. There are homeless camps everywhere. All the rest stops along hwy 1 in BC are full of people living in rv's and trailers, drug use everywhere. Our health care is free because its terrible. Every hospital is badly understaffed, patients have their beds in hallways. If you want anything done quickly you have to pay and get it done privately anyways. Oh cant forget our taxes. Gotta love the made up carbon tax. I pay 52% income tax. Food and gas prices are way higher because of all our tax. And last but not least real estate and rent cost. Average detached house in the greater Vancouver area is almost 1.3 million dollars and the average rent for a 2 bedroom in Vancouver is $3900. I was born and raised here this is not the same country I grew up in and was a proud citizen of. Our country has fallen.

There is too much tax in canada and the return of benefits is very low comparwd to other developed advanced countries \n\nThe education and health sector is the worst \n\nPublic transport too expensive and not available in many areas \nAnd i am talking of grater toronto area \n\nAnd southwest ontario \nThe heart of canada \n\nIf we move slightly west or north of this area \n\nGod knows how these people are coping with that \n\nIt was easier for them to live away from cities \nBecauss of cheap land and housing \nAnd cheap fuel prices \nThey have their own cars and it was very affordable to drive long distance \n\nThe goods were not expensive \nSo overall the did not need \nPublic transport in many areas \n\nBut now with increasing housing coloniesb and infrastructure \nWith increasing population \n\nAnd increasing car and fuel prices \nBank loan interests \n\nPublic transport is needed and needed at affordable prices \n\nMobile phone networks \nInternet \nIs expensive too expensive \n\nIf you earn good you dont feel it \nBut low income and part timers \nStudents feel the high rate \n\n\nAllowing skilled people especially in health sector education sector and office administration is a must \n\nHospitals dont have the staff \nDont have doctors \nClinics dont have doctors and staff \n\nU dont find a family doctor for months or even longer \nAnd \nEven if find one \nHe stays not for long and leaves \n\nIf u r sucking taxes like blood sucking parasites \nThis is not going to last very long \n\nU have to provide if u take high rate of taxes \nU cannot let people wait for hours in emergency \n\nFor months to get an specialiat appointment \nFor months to get a medical test like ct scan ultrasound etc \n\nEven under developed countries \nAre providing the option for health tests and private treatment \nWhich is even paid by governments to certains extent \n\nI am totally disappointed in canada as developed country \n\nLow salaries \nExploiting immigrants as cheap labor \n\nStudents as cheap labor and rent payers \n\nEducation expensive \n\nHealth care almost not available \n\nBank interest rate high \n\nIts an bank interest binding economy\n\nWhich doesnt want the people tonget out of the financial cycle of paying interest and mortgages\n\nIn other words you have mortgaged ur life ur everthing to the financial institutes \n\nAnd u think u are free and rich\nBut are a slave \nA robot\nWho is controlled by the big sharks of the industry \nAnd the government

Housing is not as affordable as it used to be in Canada. Rents and house prices are far too high. We also have massive food price inflation. Job are better in some areas than others. My beef with the job market in Canada is the wages are at 2019 levels. They need to adjust to 2023 costs of living with all the increased costs. People are friendly in Canada, as it's one of our faults.

Got to love media and their slanted presentation of everything to while is appears like they are giving you news, they're really telling you how to think on certain issues.\nWhy now? Why are they doing this? Really?\nUh, I don't know. Maybe because America through policies has caused a lot of problems in south America, destabilizing the area, which causes a lot of migration of a lot of refugees. Or how about how America closed the border to even legal refugees, causing them to pile up at the border. How about how they can't survive just sitting there waiting for the border to open, despite how the excuse for Covid as being the reason for why the border was closed is long gone. How about how the refugees are being attacked and victimized constantly while they wait.\nYet, ya, they're the bad people for becoming so desparate to get out of their terrible situation. Also, how about how amazing it is that supposedly balanced news networks never seem to balance out their reports by including such realities of the situation in their slanted propaganda reports.\nAlso, I see lots of mentions of large homeless populations in America as being the excuse of why America can't possibly help.\nYet, no doubt all these commenters likleu blane homeless people for being homeless despite how the employment is at record lows and employers are desperately looking for anyone to work for them. It's almost like they don't see how the effects of employers offering wages too low to support paying rent being mixed with large investment firms buying up all the Housing stock and enacting policies of constantly evicting current tenants to increase rental prices isn't a major component in the problem.\nThe reality is, the housing crises could be easily fixed by raising minimum wage to a living wage and restricting investment firms from using residential housing as investment stocks especially as one of their tactics seems to be to intentionally not rent out large portions of their housing stock to create a shortage in supply, this driving up demand along with rental prices.\nYou can't honestly complain about the homeless crisis while ignoring the fact that corporations are intentionally keeping rentals empty to drive up rental prices. I'm pretty sure that fits within one of the definitions of insanity.

We can’t find housing cause a estimated 50,000 people A WEEK MAKE IT OVER THE SOUTHERN BORDER ! That’s the ones that actually get threw … take some basic math folks - \n\n50,000 a week x 52 weeks = 2.6 MILLION people a year coming across … okay so what ? \n\nPhoenix Arizona couple years ago was the 6th largest city In the USA WITH 1.65 million population … DO THE MATH… JUST SAY FOR A EXAMPLE THEY ALL STAY IN PHOENIX. PHOENIX WOULF WOULD TRIPLE ALMOST IN SIZE EVEDY YEAR … \n\nWe can’t afford housing now ! Why? There isn’t enough houses or apartments available so supply and demand. Demand skyrockets and so does price - what do you think happens when we triple our population in a year ? Rent WILL BE MORE THEN NEW YORK… and that doesn’t even touch the traffic as our roads and freeways weren’t built to sustain 4 million people, AND THE WORST OF ALL… our water … we’re all ready having to do severe cut backs cause we’re draining the Colorado river and lake mead and lake Powell … we would kill our natural resources within years …\n\nAnd sorry to say but that many immigrants that fast - in one year . Mexicans would be the dominant population no question by double … they don’t have insurance, speak English , there culture is drastically different … just look at what small amounts can do to certain areas … I know I don’t want my houses in my neighborhoods painted yellow, pink, and merrachi music blasting till 3 am from every neighbor - I say that cause it literally just happened to me as I had to sell my house cause several houses were bought up around me and swathes of them moved in and the entire neighborhood did a 180 real fast… and who do you think pays for every single one of them and there food cards , health insurance , there WIC baby money , there school, there housing .. YOU YOU YOU

@ Make That Change, you are missing some topics!! A person who is born and raised in Vancouver before the 1980's and where both parents were also born and raised in Canada. Since the year 2000, the cost of owning a detached home has risen 10 folds. You could buy a corner lot house in a nice area and good location for an average of $160,000. Now that home would cost 10 times that cost in the last 20 years. Why? Foreign investors and immigration based on supply and demand as this also includes the increase in rent cost. People spend on average about $1000 to 1500 for a room to rent not their own suite in Vancouver. Twenty years ago, you could rent a whole house with a yard for that price on the waistcoats of BC. \n\nAnother issue, there are Canadians who do travel to USA due to people being in desperate need of care. USA has a wider spectrum of medical options in comparison to Canada. Canadians travel to USA because the waiting list is often way too long. Canada is nota complete free medical system as people hear and rehabilitation expenses are not free unless it is inside a hospital. It was from at one time as Medicare was founded on the grounds in the 1960's by Tommy Douglas, former premier of Saskatchewan, who initiated Medicare but it was no sustainable. \n\nJust because a person gets referred to a doctor, particularly a specialist when there are very few doctors in that area of care, it does not guarantee you will receive the treatment. I waited 2.5 years for a treatment in a hospital, only to be told that I was not a candidate for that treatment even though they did not screen me as a precursor before making a rational decision. DEVESTATING! Canadians if they have money often go to USA or Mexico when in desperate need. \n\nThere is a lack of doctors as many people do not have a family medical doctor who know their case personally. Complex diseases do not receive proper care as Canada does not have an integrated medical system of care amongst other doctors for patients. It has been on the news media where people have died being on the waiting list, returning back to hospitals where the hospital emergency because the concern of the disease was undermined with the overcrowded medical system.\n\nThere is a increased gentrification in the metropolitan cities that is an issue as the richer are now richer and the poorer are more poor. As there is an INCREASED immigration there is a huge stress in cost of living as there is not enough affordable housing and increased homelessness in Vancouver and Toronto. Vancouver is the worst place in North America as it is known as the drug hub called Skid Row. You can google this information as there are article written for 2021 and previously. Expo 86 and the 2010 Winter Olympics skyrocketed tourism and immigration that many people who are born and raised here before 1986 are very angry and resentful of how drastic the decline of how the quality of life has become.

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 do not mean to be negative here but anyone of you who is well settled outside Canada, don't come to Canada!, unless you want to do labor work. I know people who have done Masters in Software engineering are working in a Pizza shops. If there is one job opening there are 10 thousand applicants for the same job. Companies showing fake jobs to satisfy govt. pressures. Automated refusals replies of your job applications are common.\n People get hired on sources and within companies. Racism exists, results are killings every now and then. Go and watch news channels like CP24. Thieves are here. Things do get stolen. Recently mass graves are found near schools in multiple areas of small children of indigenous people who were tortured and killed by white supremacy in the past. Recently a whole family is killed by a maniac. No capital punishments so killers, rapists walks free after 10-15 years tops.\n\nAshir sahib is being a little dramatic. I guess the agony of Pakistani bureaucracy has influenced him so negatively that in his mind he is comparing Pakistani life with Canadian life. He himself was driving truck initially. may be now a days retired or staying home or may have sufficient funds. But don't get too excited with his kind words. He is only showing the good side of Canada in some sort of excitement. \nThe bitter truth is that unemployment rate is too high here. Govt hides the truth. They couldn't even handle the pandemic properly. Alcohol is cheap marihuana (Hashish, Charas) is legal now. Every 3rd person is smoking weed. Drunk drivers kills innocents on roads often. Every region have different rules and regulations and policies. I moved to Niagara region and they charged me $200 deposit for water $200 deposit for hydro plus monthly bills separate. $1800 to $2000 is the rent of one bed apartment. Burlington where he lives has $2800 to $3000 rent monthly for a house. Go check online! Price of buying a home is in millions of dollars. Go check real estate.

They came to Canada to invest in the housing market. Many owners of houses and condos in Toronto/Richmond Hill and other areas live in China and pay managers to rent their property and take care of the money for them. China requested Canada to hand over Chinese citizens who took illegal sums of Chinese funds out of China but Canada refused due to the harsh Chinese sentences for that crime. Wealthy Chinese are laundering Billions of funds in the Canadian housing market and other investments. Although there are many other reasons for the Canadian housing bubble the fact remains that many young people and families residing in Canada can’t afford the inflated housing prices. Many Chinese come to Canada for their holidays, and one reason I know when they arrive is because my doctor is Chinese and every spring the office is packed with Chinese people who come to get their annual free check up, they all have Canadian citizenship and health cards too.