Canada - North America's Hope
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| The Maple Leaf |
Canada - The second most largest country by area, blessed with lakes and astonishingly beautiful flora and fauna is one of the most sought after countries by people worldwide. Being geographically near to the United States, Canada is a diverse nation. Multiculturalism and plurality has been one of the strong pillars of Canada for a while now and fellow Canadians have embraced people from outside. Canada offers opportunities and in particular - the Canadian dream. To provide a good living and offering the perks of being a developed nation, it also tries to provide equity in terms of healthcare, safety, public infrastructure etc. I am an immigrant who has spent more than a couple of years now in Canada. I have an overall happy story with its fair share of struggles being a part of it. Through my lens today, I will try to paint a picture of what Canada is to me, what inspires me and what I look into the future.
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| Summer in full bloom - Sault St Marie |
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| Winter in full chill - Sault St Marie |
I came to Canada as a student from India. I traveled all across the globe and jumped from one continent to another. The very first change - which I observed when I landed in Canada was the air. I suddenly felt there was a stream of pure oxygen air which I was breathing through. The journey of a student is a roller coaster ride. Being a student has a tough life. One needs to go through the arduous process of working part time jobs, managing your studies, doing internships, hustling for your job and ultimately trying to balance your life. Its pure chaos when you are a student and there are no two opinions about it. But its also great fun when you are sure in which direction you wanna ship your way in and are learning stuff. In a country like Canada, I would recommend anyone to work on their skillset and most importantly try to look out for something which you truly love. Otherwise, there are other ways through which you can make a lot of money but ultimately you will need to ponder about in the future - and you may have a feeling of being stuck. I have met so many countless people who have made money over the years, they have multiple houses, cars and everything but they are ultimately not happy with what they are doing. Or their job is such that maybe making 10 grand a month but they are away from their family. The curios case of work like balance and peace of mind haunts a lot of people.
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| Downtown Toronto with the Union station view |
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| The famous Yonge street in Toronto |
One of the defining moments of my life was when I visited Toronto's downtown area. Tall and swanky office buildings took my breath away. The Bay Area of Toronto's downtown is truly one of the economic hub's in Northern America. All big banks starting from TD, Scotiabank, Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Montreal and big auditing firms like PWC, Deloitte, EY are all located in the downtown area. Apart from that you have media, tech, fashion, investment banking corporations located. Having worked as a Consultant Project Manager in the downtown area gave me tremendous insights into the world of business, how fast it changes. After a busy day at office, hitting a coffee shop in the evening really gives you that feel that you accomplished something today. That you are a small part of a bigger picture and trying to contribute something. I was also a project management volunteer at an organisation and regularly participated in various meet-ups with different industry people on many occasions. There is so much of learning from experience of people that it cannot be put into words.
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| Nathan - Philips square housing the city council |
Though having a dynamic work environment and thriving economic opportunities, there is a strange sense of the job market which currently exists in Canada. The government has been focussing upon immigration a lot in the last many years because Canada's current population is ageing. Hence they require young blood into the work force. While there are ample people who are working at jobs at convenience stores, pizza shops, burger joints, restaurants etc there are more people who are seeking jobs in these areas. There are highly skilled people like in the software sector who are also unemployed at this point of time. They are having a tough time finding a job. Hence the situation is such that both labour jobs or any high skilled jobs are very limited at this point of time. The main problem of this sticky situation as called out by many news outlets is that Canada has very less jobs in comparison to the number of people who are coming into Canada. The strange thing is that even native Canadians are not getting jobs or are out of jobs because of this situation. So the argument that immigrants are coming in and are taking away people's jobs is also going away.
One of the big reasons of the job market is also because of real estate issue. With interest rates rising, there is not enough adequate infrastructure right now being developed to match the growing population of Canada. This holds more weight especially in the Greater Toronto Area. The result of this being that rents have already skyrocketed with $2650 being average rent in the GTA area alone for a one bhk apartment. The house prices have grown exponentially and it is impossible to have a home within the city limits. People who are working remotely, especially in the tech area are choosing to buy houses in the GTA area owing to affordability and away from the hustle bustle of the city. Oshawa, Hamilton, Burlington are the new trendy places where people looking to buy homes to settle down. The homeless situation in every city of Canada is a major problem too.
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| Tulips in High Park - Toronto |
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| Niagra Falls |
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| Bracebridge lake in Muskoka |
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| Toronto International Film Festival - 2022 |
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| Food @ Jack Astor's - Toronto |
Canada also has a strong sense of festival culture especially in the summers. Film festivals, food festivals, exhibitions, EDM music, concerts with artists from all over the world spring life into the country. People also have a strong sense of pub culture and like to indulge in binge drinking and enjoy every moment of it. Casino gaming is also extremely popular in Canada. I have had the pleasure of going to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), Canadian National Exhibition (CNE), Japanese food festival and the recent Indian food festival. Summer is a whole different feeling altogether as people go way out trying to forget the chilliness of the harsh winters. The province of Quebec which is largely French, offers a taste of the European culture. I have travelled to Montreal and enjoyed the French flavour to the city which offers a rich cultural experience. I have heard through many friends of mine that Quebec City is even more beautiful. I do hope that I get to visit it one day.
When it comes to health care, Canada has a publicly funded system where the medical treatment is made available free of cost. I have also personally experienced this when I had to do a regular health check ups with a doctor appointment. Appointments are scheduled based on the availability and everything is billed directly to the provincial health card. There are so many people who have taken the benefit of a health card for major treatments like heart surgery, chiropractor, mental health, orthopaedic etc. One thing of concern is sometimes the wait list for a lot number of people. There also have been instances where people had to wait for long queues for their appointment to come in and they have suffered. From a closer point of view the way I see it, the health care system in Canada swings from best to worst. There is not an intermediate point as of now. People have to be more aware and smart enough to book appointments at places where they can get the best treatment.
Canada funds a lot of the population with lots of financial benefits to low income families. From time to time, there are so many benefits which credited including GST/HST, Climate incentive, child benefits, dental benefits among others. When I was a student, I was also one of the beneficiaries who has received benefits vested to me based on my student income. When you switch over to a higher income, you immediately cease to get those benefits and end up paying heavy taxes.
The great white North also has tremendous business opportunities in terms of technology, media, fashion, hospitality among others. Market is quite competitive but people who have managed businesses well now enjoy the fruits of the business. Apart from Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver also offer a host of business opportunities. Montreal is a hot place for gaming, AI technologies and attracts a lot of investment from different investors. The restaurant business is a big hit in a multicultural city like Toronto where people wanna try different food from different countries.
If you wanna experience diversity and a place full of beautiful flora and fauna, Canada is the place to be. You might initially face some adversities in terms of cultural shock, the way things work among others, but it certainly grows on you slowly. You meet different people, make new friends and have a good job, you definitely start feeling a sense of belonging.
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