Who shouldn't move to Canada? Part 1

You can find a perfect picture on the Internet that Canada is the number one country, it is safe and treats newcomers well. You may want to go to this paradise, take the last of your money out of the piggy bank, invest your savings in immigration, and then it turns out that the country is not suitable for you. And then you will start telling everywhere how bad it is in Canada and how you were cheated. To prevent you from this, I will tell you why you might dislike Canada.

Since 2015, my team and I have been running the Immigrant.Today Canadian immigration project. We conduct webinars about moving to Canada, publish articles, and shoot videos. We have three immigration consultants working in our company. Because of our work and presence in the immigrant community, I am constantly recognized on the streets. People come up to me, ask me questions, and thank me for our help. But there are also dissatisfied people, some of them speak negatively about Canada and want to return to their home country. Based on our experience, I have compiled 7 main reasons why Canada is not for everyone.

Climate

I'll start, I guess, with the climate. Canada is a big country. There are some cities with warm climates, but in most places, winters are still cold. Of course, people from some countries can hardly be surprised that it can be -20 or even -30 °C in winter, but the Canadian climate has other peculiarities.

Tornadoes are quite common in Canada. According to statistics, the country experiences an average of 80 tornadoes each year. Most of them don't cause much damage but are still unpleasant. My family and I live in Ottawa, and we are quite happy with the climate here, as long as we don't get cold. But last year we had a storm and many of our neighbors had trees fallen on their property and shingles ripped off their roofs.

I would like to mention one more peculiarity of the Canadian climate. In some areas, such as Alberta, there are strong warm winds in winter. And it can happen that at first it is -10 outside, and a couple of hours later it is already 10 °C above zero. This is something to be aware of, especially if you are not feeling well from temperature fluctuations.

Outlook on life

If you don't want to change your outlook on life, you may not like Canada. Immigrants from all over the world live here, and they are all accepted equally under the same conditions. In Canada, you can meet people of different nationalities, cultures, colors, religions, and sexual orientations. Some people find it hard to live close to those who are different from them.

Of course, I can't say that there are no problems at all, that there are no cases of racism and the like, or that freedom of speech is never violated. But at least everyone strives for equality, and if there is discrimination, it is fought against.

So if you are going to live in Canada, you will have to learn not to judge people and accept them as they are. And if you are not ready to change your view and you are afraid that a person of a different orientation will breathe on your child or that they talk about same-sex relationships at school, then perhaps Canada is not for you.

Simplicity

If you are used to beautiful subways, fancy holidays, and European architecture, you may not like Canada. Everything here is budget and simple. The first time I was on the Montreal subway, I was a bit shocked. There were homeless people, no marble tiles, just solid concrete. Functional, but cheap. Cities fall asleep as early as 5-6 pm, and many stores, banks, and other organizations stop working.

If you go to a park or forest, not only is it forbidden to roast meat, but there is no place to buy something to eat and have a picnic, you can only buy parking tickets. To enjoy nature, roast meat, fishing, you have to book a campsite 6 months or a year in advance. You will also have to get various licenses, for example, for fishing. So for some people, this may be a significant reason not to move to Canada.

Prices

The next reason why you should not move to Canada is that it is expensive. You need a lot of money. For flights, temporary housing, paperwork, long-term rent, and other everyday expenses like cell phone service, internet, food, and so on. If you are moving without a work contract, there will still be expenses until you find a job. You need to think things through in advance. If you really want to go to Canada, you will have to give up your summer vacation to save money and start saving for the move.

Career

Another reason why you might not like Canada has to do with careers. Many people want to go to Canada because of the high salaries, but you probably won't be paid much at first. After all, you will arrive with no Canadian education, maybe poor English, you won't have Canadian work experience, and so no one will offer you a high position right away. You will only grow in your career and salary over time.

But I want to cheer you up a little bit. Official statistics show that immigrants are often more successful in Canada than natives, probably because of motivation. So you have to work hard to live well. It is also worth realizing that there is a lot of competition here. Hundreds of thousands of people move to Canada every year. You can only imagine how many people want to find a good job and rent a cheaper place to live. Therefore, competition is huge, especially in large cities such as Toronto or Vancouver.

If you are a qualified specialist or simply a master of your craft, you have every chance of success. But, as I said, you need to save up money and realize that you may not be able to find a job right away. If you realize that you won't afford to live in Toronto, then consider smaller cities, but take into account that it is harder to find a job there. And if you don't want to work hard and dream that an employer offers you a great job with a salary of CAD 100,000 per year, then this will not happen, and maybe it's easier not to go anywhere at all because you can dream in your home country as well.

Services

What is really not so good in Canada are the services. There are no multifunctional centers here, where you can do everything: get a tax number, draw up real estate documents, get a certificate of criminal record, enroll your child in kindergarten.

I was very amazed when I wanted to buy a used car, signed up for a test drive, and its interior was full of trash. The official dealer didn't bother much with cleaning. At the beginning of last year, I ordered a new car. At first, it was promised to me in the fall of last year, but until the summer I still have not received it. At the same time, the other day I received three letters thanking me for the purchase, and the dealership did not even call me to inform me that my minivan had finally arrived.

Canadian websites are often inconvenient too. There is online banking, but they say that Canada is 5-10 years behind Ukraine, where I moved from. And it's better not to go to bank branches, I often get the feeling that I have a better understanding of many issues or the bank clerks are just lazy.

Corruption

And I'll move on to the next reason you might not like it in Canada. Although I consider it an advantage rather than a disadvantage. It's that you can't "negotiate" or "settle things" here.

If you can't negotiate with a police officer, it's better not to try at all. I was once stopped by a policeman for running a red light. I started to prove to him that I was going through a yellow light, but in the end, I got a CAD 170 fine and penalty points. However, I won the court case later.

In short, bribery will not work and it is quite risky to achieve something fraudulently. This applies even to immigration. Some people contact doubtful helpers to obtain a visa or make up a reason for refugee status, and it often ends sadly. Just a few months ago, there was a case that 700 students received deportation orders because the agent who helped them get into college and go to Canada turned out to be a scammer.

If you don't want to get into such a situation, contact trusted companies like us. Our company is legally registered in Canada, and we have several consultants with licenses to provide visa and immigration services. This can all be verified.

So as not to completely discourage you from moving to Canada, I'll stop at these 7 reasons why immigrants might not like living here, and then I'll release part two.

Alex Pavlenko, founder of Immigrant.Today