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  1. #11

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    The Canadian gov has been tightening immigration requirements, OP, so I would need to know more about your background.

    Living: If you are a local Hker, then yes, the pace of life may be slower than in Hong Kong. But that's not necessarily a bad thing. All these Hkers I see everyday stressed out and miserable on the MTR, why not have a change of pace where you actually have time to enjoy living?

    Taxes: Yup, compared to HK, they are WAY higher. But then, those taxes are put to used to provide a welfare system which contributes to Canada's relatively high quality of life. It always strike me as ironic that those local Hkers who complain the most about HK turning into a "welfare state" also happen to hold a Canadian passport. So they would get to enjoy all the benefits of Canada's welfare if they go back, but is attacking HK? They should all give up their Canadian passports then.

    Weather: Most certainly MUCH colder than Hong Kong, but again, this depends on where in Canada you live. I grew up in Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba smack in the middle of the country. It's six months of freezing cold and snow (-30 degrees or more is not unusal in January) and 3 months of giant mosquitos attacking you during the summer. But there are nicer climates like those in Vancouver and Victoria in B.C, with mild winters with only the occasional snowfall (a bit like a British winter I suppose) but with constant rain and no sun for half the year. Toronto is somewhere between the two, it's winters are cold yes, but usually not to the arctic-like cold you get in Winnipeg or Edmonton.

    Real-Estate: Housing prices in Toronto and Vancouver are the most expensive in Canada. Calgary is also expensive, because of the oil boom.

    Friendlier People: Don't mean to stereotype ourselves, but in general, Canadians are a friendlier and more laid-back lot compared to the assholes below the 49th parallel . We don't make so many enemies in any case.

    Last edited by Watercooler; 01-11-2011 at 10:43 AM.
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  2. #12

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    WC, try hardline Francophone Quebecois.


  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by dtb:
    WC, try hardline Francophone Quebecois.
    You are free to have them in Quebec.

    Quebecois....don't get me started on that, hehehe.

  4. #14

    200,000-250,000 immigrants a year, yeah we'll take pretty much anyone at this point, especially in toronto.


  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by hullexile:
    "However, you can also apply for residency status under the Quebec government - restricted to Quebec."

    How would this work? There are no 'border' controls between the Canadian provinces are there?
    Quebec has the responsibility for its own immigration policy and no there are no border controls in Canada over other than goods that can't even freely move across Canada! Unreal but true.

    An Ontario guy was buying case lots of wine a BC winery for transport to Ontario this summer. The winery owner helped him to the car only to see non-BC car plates and there the ancient laws kicked in. Very crazy. I can't recall if the owner had to take back the wine or not but it is nuts that Albertans are made law breakers just by buying a case of BC wine in BC.

    In Quebec new immigrants must send their children to French schools which is no big deal for many.

    Yes, Canada has high taxes it also has great benefits such that my 90 year old mother lives in great state care on her Canada pension which preserves her savings unlike in HK which would not have that safety net.

    I think the gov't in Canada (fed. /prov. and cities to a lesser extent) are pushing too much of the burden onto users/taxpayers with no corresponding tax breaks and are stressing lower middle income earners.

    I gather that they will often let in immigrants IF they don't go to the major cities and thus they end up the cold prairies. After they are there they can move freely.

    You need to be go where the jobs are and while Canada is not like the USA the economy is not that great.
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  6. #16

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    So if someone was allowed into Quebec via their immigration policies are they then free to move elsewhere in Canada to live? Seems very strange.


  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by Football16:
    Quebec has the responsibility for its own immigration policy and no there are no border controls in Canada over other than goods that can't even freely move across Canada! Unreal but true.

    An Ontario guy was buying case lots of wine a BC winery for transport to Ontario this summer. The winery owner helped him to the car only to see non-BC car plates and there the ancient laws kicked in. Very crazy. I can't recall if the owner had to take back the wine or not but it is nuts that Albertans are made law breakers just by buying a case of BC wine in BC.

    In Quebec new immigrants must send their children to French schools which is no big deal for many.

    Yes, Canada has high taxes it also has great benefits such that my 90 year old mother lives in great state care on her Canada pension which preserves her savings unlike in HK which would not have that safety net.

    I think the gov't in Canada (fed. /prov. and cities to a lesser extent) are pushing too much of the burden onto users/taxpayers with no corresponding tax breaks and are stressing lower middle income earners.

    I gather that they will often let in immigrants IF they don't go to the major cities and thus they end up the cold prairies. After they are there they can move freely.

    You need to be go where the jobs are and while Canada is not like the USA the economy is not that great.
    Yup, I recalled seeing many Chinese, Indians and what have you opening restaurants, barber shops, corner grocery shops in small cities (which non-Canadians could'nt find on a map) like Prince George, Medicine Hat or Brandon. Don't really know if their lives are that much better off in Canada then their original home.

    Actually I better be more detailed, for the earlier generation of immigrants, yes, their livelihoods has improved because their lives back home were really an impoverished existence, and they can at least earn a decent living. But as for later (and current) generation of immigrants, I don't really know that is still the case, particularly those immigrating from Hong Kong, Taiwan and such places.

    As for the Canadian economy, it depends on the field you are in I think. Some industries are doing relatively well (oil industry), other once world leading companies have ceased to exist (i.e Nortel). But generally speaking, it's not that easy to find and get a job, let along a secured one, compared to Hong Kong. For all it's faults, Hong Kong provides more opportunities in some industries then in Canada (which is why I am living in HK).

    But in terms of general living or retirement, yes, Canada is much better in that respect then Hong Kong. For one thing, you don't have to be a multibillionaire to have your own house with a little garden like you would in Hong Kong, so that lack of crampness is what HKers would appreicate (or so I am told). And a minor point, but important to me, you get to watch hockey more often (Yeah!-although I think the maple leafs stinks, and I will be cheering my "home" team, the Jets, even if they seem to suck so far this season). The question is, what will you contribute to Canada before then?
    Last edited by Watercooler; 01-11-2011 at 03:31 PM.
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  8. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by Football16:

    In Quebec new immigrants must send their children to French schools which is no big deal for many.
    Not entirely accurate...if one of the parents attended school in English, then the children can attend an English school. However if they both attended school in a third language then they must go to French school. The same rule applies to the local population, Quebec parents that were both educated in French must send their kids to school in French.

    That's one of the reason that Quebec handles its own immigration and because of that, the ethnic communities tend to be somewhat different than other cities in Canada. Many North and West Africans, quite a few from Indochina in the 70s, loads of people from Haiti and unlike Toronto and Vancouver, not so many chinese from HK. Each city has its own unique flavor however there are very few places that are nicer than Vancouver in the summer especially if you enjoy the outdoors.
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  9. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by hullexile:
    "However, you can also apply for residency status under the Quebec government - restricted to Quebec."

    How would this work? There are no 'border' controls between the Canadian provinces are there?
    Not a problem to move within Canada, but i imagine that at tax time discrepancies would be pretty revealing as would anything that requires proof of residency.

    The provinces of Canada govern with more constitutional authorities than say, in Australia. Somewhat like a country in its own right. There's a great sense of 'nationalisim' to Quebec for most Quebecois. Canada Day is celebrated, as is Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (Quebec Day).

    Housing in Montreal is very inexpensive compared to Vancouver, Hong Kong and Melbourne. It's possible to rent a refurbished plain studio apartment in the trendiest part of the city for $550 CAD per month - inclusive of utilities.

    I would love to move to Vancouver. Everything is just big though. There's so much space available in Canada. Shopping aisles are wider than my kitchen in Hong Kong.

    There are some categories of work in Canada, primarily specialist roles energy, mining and the land which don't require the standard work visa.

  10. #20

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    Quote Originally Posted by hullexile:
    So if someone was allowed into Quebec via their immigration policies are they then free to move elsewhere in Canada to live? Seems very strange.
    I likely know more about visas to come to HK than to Canada where I lived all my life.

    The federal gov't and each province and territory has their own targeted objectives for say skilled workers. We do take a lot of refugees and apparently a lot of Honduran drug dealers in the mix.

    Our traditional countries like the UK and Europe have long gone and of course Asian countries - HK, China, Korea, India make up I'd guess a lot of the numbers.

    Like Gilles said Quebec draws from different regions.

    If a person is let in as a skilled worker to a cold in winter prairie province I believe they can stay there and work in that role and later apply to be permanent which means they can then go where ever in Canada they want. This type of entry I think means they must have a job to go to IIRC.

    Canada wants to get them to the smaller cities although my wife has well off customers now from China who are settling in Vancouver.

    There are issues of medical coverage and 3 month waiting periods even for Canadians who move to a new province and once people settle in with families and schools it is harder to move a long way.