this post was submitted on 05 Sep 2023
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Moved to Canada a year and a half ago. They made the process pretty smooth and easy all told. With that said, I haven't had a good time here and I regret moving. There's a lot of "grass is greener" rhetoric in the US right now, especially from the left. Be warned that a lot of that is misguided. I was underprepared for the host of unique issues that Canada itself has. Leaving the US will not fix all your political problems. It'll just reveal new ones that you aren't familiar with. But, after saying all of that, I certainly would never discourage anyone from trying to move. Seeing the world and opening your mind to new cultures are never bad things. For all my misery here, I have learned a lot about myself. Just make sure you go into it with open eyes. Have realistic expectations. Visit the places you want to move before you move to them.
One thing I'd note about Canada in particular is that the current Liberal Party administration under Trudeau has gotten deeply, deeply unpopular - Conservatives have opened up a 10-point lead in opinion polling - and while their next election isn't until 2025, it's entirely possible that after that they end up with their right wing in charge.
(that being said, the current Conservative leader is both pro-abortion-rights and pro-gay-marriage, so maybe not that horrible a possibility compared to what we're dealing with in the US)
The Canadian Conservative party is not yet anywhere close to the republican party.
Pollievre called Trudeau a marxist the other day. It's the same empty rhetorical bullshit that Republicans in the US love to throw around. The CPC is headed on the same exact path that US Republicans were on a decade ago or so.
Not at this time, but they are using the same playbook (albeit a 15 year old copy)
Not for lack of trying.
Oh honey. You haven’t met an albertan.
I've been in the process of migrating to Alberta, but this definitely gives me pause. Just how bleak are things over there?
They try to live their life to every country song. Small towns in Alberta have a small town attitude and judgment. They have a very ‘capitalist is the only way to survive’ attitude. If you are looking for a bit more liberal but still want a western small town to save on money to avoid the housing crisis maybe towards the east is better.
Aaah, I'd been looking at Edmonton, hoping that the dense population would cause it to lean more progressively. The housing prices there are pretty mind-blowing, hadn't seen many places with that low of monthly cost. I'll dig East - any places you might recommend? I know Toronto's pretty spendy right now \
Also, thank you so much for your response, this is helping me immensely, it's a big move to make, and I want to make sure I'm as informed as I can be :)
Oh yeah Edmonton is a bunch of guys with pickup trucks and ball caps. If you’re looking for progressive attitudes probably far more west or Toronto might be more your jam but if you can get someone living out there to give you the run down you’d be better informed. I’ve lived in Montreal which is cheap to live and very progressive in certain things like minority rights but not in others (they don’t let you live there unless you’re french). And then Vancouver is super expensive but it’s progressive. I get why people avoid Vancouver though, it’s ridiculously expensive.
Phew! Good to know, thank you so much! I'll keep looking, then :)
That bar is effing low though.
I am not one to choose “red” or “blue” based on the party only. I actually care enough to see what the potential candidates have to offer, and both sides here have nothing to offer me besides empty promises and or stripping of what a normal person would call human rights. One side is telling sweet lies, and the other is just blatantly attacking anything they don’t like with enough vitriol to supply a country. I’m tired of being in a country where kids getting to eat, at the place they are required to be, is even something we are talking about politically.
Im interested to hear what new challenges you faced in Canada. I’ve heard their cost of living issues are a lot worse than the US, particularly with affordable housing. I’m not sure if that would be the main issue with moving there or not.
Housing has been one of the top issues for me. That mixed with comparitvely low incomes. I have a bachelors in a STEM field and I struggle to find places offering more than $60k/yr CAD. In US dollars that's like $40kish/yr. Whereas I'm looking at close to a million dollars CAD for a house in some parts of Ontario. It's absurd.
The other big thing has been the healthcare system. It was the big draw for me. But it's severely underfunded and bursting at the seams. My wife called 32 family doctor's offices the other day and couldn't find one that would take us as patients. ER waits are a nightmare and walk in clinics are crowded and overworked.
There are also issues with government corruption and poor candidate choices in the major parties. I went into that in another comment so I won't right here.
The best thing about Canada has been the lack of a police state and the lack of a gun culture.
Depends which province, but you will most likely have a corrupt, inept premier. Health care and education are neglected to a dangerous point. The federal government is a contest of who can be the biggest bozo and still get elected as prime minister.
The ideology in Canada is to pay as much money as possible for everything and try not to complain. Prices for goods and services are out of control. Housing is so unreasonably priced that there is no realistic way of affording to rent as an individual or to buy a house without inheritance.
Taxes are on everything and can be quite significant. Most people don't realize how much tax is included in the costs of most things we buy.
We are also bringing in so many new immigrants so there is a constant labour pool to churn through and wages only ever increase nominally.
If you're coming to Canada with a chunk of money, you'll probably be ok until it's taxed out of you. If you're hoping to move to Canada, get a job and rent or buy a place, then life will be tough.
I would disagree with a big part of this characterization. Specifically that prices are out of control beyond housing (which is completely fucked), but outside of that Canada has done better than most comparable countries when it comes to inflation over the last few years.
Taxes are not that crazy unless your only comparison is the US, which is a bad comparison.
As an Ontarian I also gotta say the bit about the premiers is also spot on.
I guess what I’m trying to do is find an area to settle in that ultimately has the goals of progress as their forefront policies. We’re over here “debating” wether children should have provided meals, at the place they are legally required to be at. The government is ran by children in suits, on both sides. I am just tired of being in the middle of it.
I hear you. I am hoping our issues are temporary up here. Honestly, our biggest issue is that housing is astronomically expensive and no one has tried to even fix it in earnest. Rising rates are having an impact. Houses are going up for sale and sitting there. At some point it will break and prices may drop.
I too hope your issues are temporary. I’d have that same hope for the US, but 20 years later and they’re just going full force to regression.
I fail to see how this is fundamentally different than the US, with the exception of minimum wages and the corresponding cost of living prices that they bring. Housing here in unreasonably priced and prices for goods and services are out of control.
Thank you for your input. Canada was number one on the list since it’s close and “within grasp” so to speak. I know each area will have their own challenges and hurdles, but the hurdles I am wanting to avoid is the stripping of rights from other humans like myself and unadulterated corruption from county to federal. Is that something you have had to worry about since moving?
If you're worried about the stripping of rights from other humans and unadulterated corruption, then I would caution you about Canada.
Quick history lesson: Canada only created their constitution in the 80's after centuries of British rule, both direct and indirect. When creating their constitution they ran into some major issues with provinces needing to get on board, just like the drama that the US faced with their Articles of Confederation and getting the states to get on board. As a result, some exemptions to the constitution were put in place to strengthen provincial power and weaken federal power. Specifically relevant right now is something called the "Notwithstanding Clause". This clause allows provincial premiers (akin to governors in the US) to freeze certain rights in the "Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms" (akin to the US Bill of Rights) at will until the next election. The current premier of Ontario, Doug Ford, has openly thrown this ability around to attempt to suppress strikes. That's right, to end strikes that he didn't like, he attempted to remove the literal right of the workers to strike. And this was a constitutionally enshrined power. So be wary, democratic backsliding is a problem everywhere and Canada is no safe haven from it.
Right now, Trudeau is exceedingly unpopular in Canada because housing prices and the cost of living is absolutely spiraling out of control. The conservative party is offering a horrible and corrupt man, Pollievre, as an alternative. He will only be worse for Canada. The third party, the NDP, has not been being taken seriously here (though they have my support). The NDP has been part of the currently formed government, which has caused them to take a hit to their approval. As it stands now, polls are favoring conservatives.
In terms of provincial politics, most of it is a shitshow here with the possible exception of British Columbia. Ontario has been especially terrible with our premier, Doug Ford, getting caught up in scandal after scandal. His administration was recently caught up in a corruption scandal of trying to use underhanded deals to sell off parts of the Greenbelt, a giant preserved belt of natural lands snaking throughout the province.
The only thing Canada has been noticeably better on for me has been the lack of guns (I don't fear for my life walking around my city at night) and the greatly reduced police state. Even the healthcare system that's so renowned in the US has been going through its own shitshow lately, with it being majorly defunded by conservative parties. It's been put through a major stress test and it's ready to snap. My wife called 32 family doctor's offices the other day and we couldn't get in to see even one of them. There are nightmare stories of 45 minute waits for ambulancea or several nights spent in the ER waiting to be seen. The walk in clinics are the best thing I've found, but those doctors always seem stressed out and very quick to get you in and out the door.
Corruption here (Canada) still happens federally and especially at the provincial level (like Doug Ford, which has many blatant examples and faces no consequences). Municipally (county level) I have not noticed as much, and my municipality seems to have a great local government that functions well... I've even spoken up and had a small issue resolved with little effort.
However I think you'll find if that kinda stuff grinds your gears you'll still have a better time in Canada than the US, despite the problems (and we do have problems).
Source: Canadian (Ontario) but lived in the USA for four years (Oregon)
I'm an Oregonian currently working on migrating to Alberta, I'd love to hear your thoughts on what pro's and con's I'd be running into. Seeing housing prices in Edmonton while my in-laws' mobile home is selling for over half a million really has me thinking...
Edmonton is probably one of the cheaper places in Canada too.
That's honestly why I was looking at it, the prices kinda blew my mind over there, that I could afford nearly 3 apartments in Edmonton for the price of one in Oregon, and the apartments were generally much newer and fancier for that price range.
Honestly, I can't give you the info you need as I haven't lived in Alberta... But it does have a reputation for being the most right wing Christian part of Canada, so compared to Oregon I'd say it might be a downgrade
Oh wow, I had no idea, I was assuming it was mostly in Quebec for some reason and saw the low housing prices in Edmonton. Thanks a ton for the heads up!
Did you have a particular province or area of Canada in mind? Pacific or Atlantic side? It's a broad country with varying cultures. Our province's are run by parties that share names with the federal ones but can be separate in they're stances