I don’t talk to many people these days so it’s easy to notice when my few remaining friends in America and the UK all seem to ring at once. Over the past six months I’ve noticed most of that short list has been calling “just to check in and oh by the way… I wanted to ask you something about Canada.” A dear friend in NYC from the old publishing days did that just this afternoon and made me think perhaps I should compile some of the more recurrent questions. Here’s a wildly incomplete heap of notes for all to see so I don’t continue to blither on about Canada with the same answers over and over.
Much of the the world outside Canada is facing some big social and political question marks in the near future and thus what I call “The Canuck Option” is coming up on the disgruntled masses radar more often than usual. Some blame the lure on our newly minted and photogenic young Prime Minister. Others point to consistently proven stereotypes of the Canadian “nice” factor – at least until you put hockey sticks into our hands. I don’t think for one second that there will be a mass exodus to Canada anytime soon. These sorts of short-term interest trends have come and gone in the past with little actual movement. A lot of noise and little action as it were but there might be a keen few in the mix that do indeed want to take the plunge. Having first spent several years choosing my adopted home from the global geo-palate and then years more hacking my way through the process, I can say in retrospect with full confidence that it’s a great choice if you’re serious about it. I ‘landed’ more than a dozen years ago and have since day one not regretted the move for an instant. If you’re only interested in avoiding Donald Trump, Hilary Clinton, or the EU/Brexit I would probably tell you not to bother but if any of those are real catalysts for you to seek a kinder, gentler existence in the long term, my lovely (and huge) country as a bigger picture option might suit you very well. We’d be happy to have you, whoever you are. It’s how Canadians roll.
The short answer if you want to read no further is this… Yes, you really can move to Canada, live in peace on the cheap with lifetime health care and the economic and social stability of a western country while likely escaping whatever is so irksome about where you are now. However, it will take you years to complete a somewhat protracted immigration process, eventually cost you about CDN$1500, and is probably out of the question if you’re a criminal*, can’t speak at least some English or French, and suck at doing paperwork. Is it worth all that?
Absolutely.
* Immigration can be very unforgiving in certain cases. What might not be as serious an offence in your country could get you banned from even entering Canada as a visitor. For example, if you have a drink driving conviction, consider yourself in the doghouse and unwelcome for a decade at least.
I consider in my mind that there are ‘two Canadas’. First is the metropolitan quad of Vancouver, Toronto, Ottawa, & Montreal. While I know and love the buzzing (and dim sum rich) vibe of Vancouver, the closest home I’ve had to there was well into the bush almost three hours drive from Granville Island Market. During my own location quest I spent decent time in most of the major cities including the somewhat remote anomalies of Calgary and Edmonton over in Alberta oil country. They are not the Canada I’m talking about here. My notes might still be applicable but at a significantly different price point and with significantly more of the pressure inherent to big city living. The key word there is “significantly”. Like most cities of the world, costs of living and pace of lifestyle change fast once you get into the well defined urban centres scattered about our vast sweeping land and they aren’t cheap or easy. Know however that some of the smaller metropolis like Halifax, Victoria, or Windsor can be lovely half steps between the two Canadas with many of the benefits of both.
The other Canada covers the rest of the country and believe me we have plenty of it. Rural, small community, green, rugged, and lush Canada. Towns where you can meet the mayor for coffee without an appointment. Villages where the local news focuses on the weather and that new sandwich place on Main Street. Vast empty spaces of nature to visit and farmland to colonize as you see fit. Nothing stacked on top of each other, be it people, houses, or ideologies. This is where I think Canada really shines compared to the frenetic pace of life that drives others to consider coming here from points abroad. It comes down to several key comparisons but basically living can be cheap, life can be casual, and no one is particularly mad at Canada in the global scheme of things.
Before I highlight that good life, let me get some of the ugliest bits of the actual process out of the way. You’ll need to visit the Government of Canada citzenship & immigration website to find up-to-date particulars but my main message here is that it takes time. Lots of time. You won’t be clocking into work with poutine stains on your shirt anytime this year. Probably not next year either. The backlog to get in isn’t helped by the fact that usually only one office per foreign country processes immigration requests but the wait time before they even touch your application package can be up to three years depending on where you’re coming from and years longer after your application actually starts to process. This one simple fact rather takes the steam out of panicked Americans looking to flee the current crop of politicians but if you’re a longer term visionary, keep reading.
The good news is that you don’t owe any hefty fees up front in the process but my first point of advice, perhaps even my main point, is to start early. It can’t hurt and will take you only a few hours reading to start that snowball rolling down the ski slope. You can always decline to proceed if your plans have changed when you come up in queue. One of the forms you’ll need to add to any application package is a clearance from your home country’s police saying you have an acceptable (or no) criminal record and that will often take some time to obtain from your current bureaucracy all on its own. For example, in America that means fingerprints and six months waiting before you can even mail in your application so if you’re even slightly serious, get that in the works over maple-flavoured donuts this week. It should cost you about ten bucks, some inky fingers, and a return envelope. As standard as passport photos when it comes to immigration so even if you decide Canada isn’t your cup of tea, you can use the same form on your application to Iceland.
The further good news is that most people can visit Canada for up to six months per year with a simple visa and passport just to test the proverbial (or Provincial) waters. Buying or renting property doesn’t usually require any immigrant status either, at least for now. The shuffle of life can generally proceed while you’re in process but your employment and frequent flyer miles might get bent and battered a bit while you wait. Get started now. Did I mention this might take some time?
There are ample resources online to guide you through the bulk of the process but remember that the forms and applications you need to complete are absolutely free from the government of Canada. You shouldn’t need to pay anyone to fill out, send in, or certify anything beyond perhaps postage and a few local fees for photos at this early starting point. Medical exams come later in the process with approved doctors in your own country and the more hefty immigration fees – currently anywhere from CDN$500-$1100 – aren’t charged until you’re much closer to landing on Canadian soil for the most part.
To be clear, these first steps are an application for ‘Permanent Residency’ which conveys nearly all the rights of citizenship short of voting, obtaining a passport, or running for political office. You’ll enjoy the main benefits of social support, health care, and the right to employment as a permanent resident. Application for actual citizenship comes after you’ve lived in country for a few years and is a relatively short hurdle that’s quick and easy requiring only a small fee, a Canadian knowledge test, and a pledge before a judge. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
There are several categories and scorecards used to measure your initial admissibility but if you’re under 60, reasonably healthy, have no serious criminal record, and can speak English and/or French, you’ll likely pass most of the required benchmarks. Multiple paths to immigration exist including ordinary skilled workers, investors, self-employed, spousal & family connection, entertainers, Provincial sponsors, and special circumstances but I’ll leave those particulars to the bureaucracy for you to find online as each specific programme can be a fluid and changing process over time. The idea here is that Canadian immigration is about as open as any on the planet right now. My opinion is that it can only get harder from this point forward so again, start your process early.
But enough of the harsh legalities, let’s talk about practical life on the ground in my rural definition of Canada. Jobs can be hard to find if you’re looking for one ready-made unless you have a particularly unique skill set, e.g. doctors, farmers, teachers, etc. I think the right answer here otherwise is to make your own job. If you’re an entrepreneur or aspiring shopkeeper, you can pick your spot and do well. Want to swap your hurried legal career and become a potato farmer? Canada will let you. Have an idea from your home country that perhaps suffers from local over-exposure? Import it along with yourself and you’ll be fine. Canada loves a new concept whether it’s in food, entertainment, service, or anything else completely unknown to us as yet. And if I’m honest, rural Canada seems to run behind the rest of the world by a decade or two in trends but is now well primed for an influx of what we read about happening around the rest of the planet. Opportunity knocking as they say. Hydroponics to haute cuisine, we’re ready for you no matter how daunting the immigration process can seem at first look.
On the big issue of housing you might well wonder how we compare on costs and space. The official figures can be misleading because of the inclusion of those cramped and inflated big city numbers. Out here in the countryside, a two bedroom home with an acre or two of land can be had for very little money indeed. Of course it varies across our vast half-continent but in my neighbourhood that would cost anywhere from CDN$50K to $120K* depending on age and quality. Or if you prefer, $275-$600 a month on an average mortgage. How’s that compare to NYC and London rent, eh?
* I use the Canadian dollar in this chat which currently sits around US$0.77 or GBP£0.55. It can sometimes dip lower but only a decade ago peaked at US$1.10. Such fluctuations occur usually based on energy and raw materials prices (e.g. oil. gold, grains, etc,) of the global market over a protracted time frame because we have plenty of them to trade to the rest of the world. And because no one bought into that whole maple syrup standard we tried to adopt. You can’t eat gold, silly bankers.
Property taxes in rural Canada are usually cheap too, another $40 a month or so in my locale to give you some idea. Of course if you head into oil country or even an hour outside Ottawa, it’s going to be impossible to find these sorts of deals but we have most of the Maritimes, all of the Prairie Provinces, and the interior of British Columbia to choose from. Remember we only have 35 million people peppered about ALL this space. That works out to less than four people per square kilometre – compare that to the US at 33 and the UK at 262. Even if you were to discount two-thirds of our landmass for weather reasons, that’s still pretty darn roomy.
I think one of the biggest hurdles here can be mental. People from say, Germany or Japan simply can’t believe that livable places exist for bargain basement prices without some ‘catch’ but believe me they do and can be found in abundance. Dig a bit online and you’ll ultimately see plenty of examples as long as you stay out of the Toronto condo and Vancouver beachfront markets. My own personal favourite theory is that when you don’t pack people in like sardines and keep them out of blazing hot weather most of the year, they naturally calm down a bit and live a peaceful life almost effortlessly.
The rest of life’s necessities can be expensive in Canada depending on where you choose to settle. Sales taxes (similar to VAT in Europe) range from reasonable to outrageous, i.e. 0% in Alberta to 15% in the Maritimes with basic groceries usually exempted. Power and fuel is cheap out west thanks to hydroelectric and the oil sands but less so in the east. Food everywhere is generally 20-30% more than compared to the US and on par with the UK albeit a very different selection. Meat is cheap and fish more rare for example. Canada also engages in price fixing (the politicians call it ‘supply management’) on many items like petrol and dairy with disastrous consequences on the every man’s pocketbook but I won’t delve into those politics here lest I fly into a free-market rage. Just know that the consumption aspects of your budget might increase slightly depending on what you’re currently used to paying. My own answer to such budgetary constraints is to reduce said consumer antics and tend a vegetable garden with solar panels. Since I have to work less to pay a smaller mortgage, I have the time. See what I mean about the pace of life here?
Other services like television, internet, and mobile phones are outrageously expensive compared to the rest of the world – on the order of double other western countries – but my answer there is simply to reduce consumption even farther. Clever people can find ways around most of these modern ‘necessities’. And again if your basic housing needs are met more affordably, you have more to spend on such indulgences as you see fit or skip them altogether as many choose to do here.
Of course Canada also has mostly free heath care as famously vilified by the American politicians every few years. The federal government focuses on quality of care standards and leaves the day-to-day operations at the provincial level. I find the system reasonably efficient and not horribly overloaded as in other countries with socialized medicine but it is still run by government bureaucracies which can present a few hurdles. Some provinces have zero cost and others charge monthly maintenance fees, usually less than $100 per person. Eye care, dental, and medications are not covered but can be paid by private or employer-based insurance or out-of-pocket. There are also ample programmes to cover at-risk and low-income populations. To be fair, I’ve thankfully not needed these services much and a deeper investigation should be undertaken if this is a more important chunk of your budget or situation.
Weather seems to come up in my question and answer sessions with friends a lot. Some people really believe that we all live in igloos surrounded by rabid moose here but honestly, it’s no worse than many other well populated cool climates like Scandinavia or the northern reaches of the US. I think Canadians just like to commiserate about the weather as an excuse to share another doughnut over coffee with the locals while avoiding that driveway that needs snow shovelling. Sure beats reading the doom and gloom news from the rest of the world and truth be told, no Canadian lets the weather stop them if they really want to get something done. We invented the snowmobile after all. Where else can you find skate sharpening services at the grocery store and people sat in tiny huts on frozen lakes enjoying bobbing a fishing line through a hole in the ice?
Consider that the bulk of our scant Canadian population lives near the southern border but even in the Yukon there are pleasantly warm summers. We’re a people that know how to deal with cold, even revel in it. Cities don’t stop here if there’s a few feet of snow in January. We have festivals in the middle of winter on sunny days when the thermometer says -8C. And on the flip side, air conditioning is almost unknown in many places even on Canada Day – that’s July 1st in case you’ve not marked your calendar already. Some of the interior can reach 35C for weeks at a time in the middle of summer and coastal regions rival some of the best gardening climates on the planet. Just up the road from me and all over the entirety of PEI there are sandy beaches that attract bikini-clad sun seekers several months of the year with hot but not sweltering temperatures thanks to agreeable ocean currents. Vancouver Island gets more of the same as well. Granted real Canadian girls also snowboard and ski in bikinis so that might be a relative measure. With a country as vast as Canada, there will be a range you can tolerate somewhere. Most likely one around the edges. And think of all the great sweaters and toques you can buy for the rest of the year.
A more general ‘fear factor’ people seem to have developed elsewhere around the globe is centred on crime and a perceived general disintegration of civilization. Canada is far from perfect on this score but getting back to my ‘two Canadas’ theme outside the urban concrete landscape, we have a decent track record of being mostly civil to each other. Some point to the lack of handguns (they’re mostly illegal here), some point to deeply seeded traditions of kindness amongst frontier neighbours, and others still say it’s just what happens when people are generally happy.
Educational opportunity also comes up on would-be migrant’s checklists as do factors like economic stability and environmental policy. Canada generally ranks highly on the world stage in such matters and where we might fall short, our small populous is keenly aware and able to make real progress rather than getting stuck in political gridlock. There are dozens of intellectual groups much smarter than me that track all these sorts of factors along with some of the other high points I’ve already mentioned to assemble ‘quality of life’ indices. Canada consistently scores in the top twenty in just about any you choose. Here are a few links for you to inspect taking each with the proverbial grain of salt because they all seem to have their own agendas, hidden or not.
UN World Happiness Report 2016 Update (Canada 6th)
Vision of Humanity Global Peace Index 2016 (Canada 8th)
Numbeo Quality of Life 2016 (Canada 15th)
OECD Better Life Index (Relative rankings)
And because I can’t resist a little promo for my local corner of Canada, here’s the wildly popular Cape Breton if Trump Wins website that has gotten a million Americans thinking about this topic. If for nothing else, go look at the pretty pictures there.
So if you’re not merely escaping some short-term political gyrations and are looking for a real change from the rest of the world, I suggest you make the time for some study on the subject. Got any questions? Ask away in the comments or with email. I’ll answer as best I can or try to point you in the right direction.
Or just come for a test drive and don’t forget to try real poutine and maple crullers when you’re here.
