Today, I thought to share with you some untold truths about why immigrants are leaving Canada. This thread is not in any way to bash my new home (Canada) or to discourage anyone from moving here. But most threads and information we see online just show you the good things about living in Canada.
As a Nigerian immigrant residing in Canada for 3 years now, here are some of the reasons why people are leaving Canada.
1. Building wealth is hard: Unlike other western countries, particularly the US, it’s really hard to become wealthy in Canada. Taxes are higher in Canada than UK, the US, and even Australia. Canada thrives at redistributing wealth and making sure everyone is at the same income level. It favors low-income earners because they get to enjoy govt benefits, this demotivates people from working hard to become better versions of themselves. For most immigrants, they work hard and succeed in their professions, when they get to high-income bracket where they have to pay almost 50% of their income in Taxes it gets frustrating so they decide to leave.
2. High cost of living: After paying so much in taxes, you spend what is left of your income on bills to live a good life. Expensive houses, high insurance cost, high phone/internet bills, food, and a lot more. The average cost of renting a single room apartment in Toronto is $2,000 per month, the average salary of Canadians is $50,000 per year! Isn’t it insane that you’re spending over 30% of your income on rent? This is another reason why people leave.
3. Boredom/Loneliness: Most immigrants have been seen to encounter their first depression once they move to abroad. Like other western countries, Canada could get very boring and lonely. There isn’t so much to do in Canada even in the big/busy cities. Even though Canadians are considered “Nice” People rarely interact with one another; it’s so hard making friends or building long-lasting connections. Immigrants are used to having people-friendly culture and family-oriented relationships with friends and neighbours, so they miss that lifestyle and leave.
4. Cold: This thread would be incomplete if I don’t mention the harsh weather conditions in Canada. Summer barely lasts for 3 months and the rest of the year you’re cold. Is the weather unbearable? Absolutely not, but it’s very sad and depressing. Imagine having to go to work on a cold morning at 6am when it’s pitch black (cos sunrise during winter is like 7am) to a survival job that doesn’t care if you’re 10 minutes late. There’s something called winter depression and it’s unexplainable, you have to witness it yourself to fully grasp what it’s like. As most people age, they just can’t deal with the cold anymore and would rather move somewhere else that is much warmer.
5. Getting professional jobs: I think it’s insane that Canada encourages skilled workers to immigrate to Canada to start a new life only to not consider them professional enough to get into the professional workforce. Most people have to start all over from the scratch in their careers, it’s even worse for healthcare professionals (Doctors, Nurses, etc) they spend several years trying to get licensed to practice while managing with ridiculous jobs like support workers, Uber drivers, etc. It’s very sad to leave your home country as a Medical Doctor just to become someone else’s food delivery guy. What about for other professionals? They start off their careers with just anything to pay the bills cos they can’t land their first Canadian job without having Canadian experience!! How do I get Canadian experience if you don’t hire me? Are you saying I don’t have transferable skills after migrating here as a “Skilled-worker”? Some people just get fed up and move to other countries with higher-paying jobs.
Honestly, there’s a lot more to say but I’d rather not bore you with too much story. I encourage you to check out my YouTube video, where I discussed this in full detail with another friend of mine.
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