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Does anyone know if there will be a problem with getting SIN at a Service Canada in Québec, even though you reside in Ontario, if you were in a border town and the one in Québec happens to be closer? TIA.
Shouldn't be a problem, IMO. SIN is a federal document and it's not tied to a province. On top of that, as a PR, you can live anywhere in Canada (I assume you applied as FSW/CEC and you are not tied to the province).

AFAIR, they don't even ask your address during SIN application; at least, not for the initial one.
 
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Well, we're not on this forum to get likes on our comments! Please do share your experiences, esp. negative ones. The more we know, the better prepared we are.
Sure. My experience as someone who did his masters from one of the top schools in Canada and lived there for 2+ years. If I talk about jobs, then keep in mind, that I am talking about software (backend) with the focus on ML and data, unless specified otherwise.
  1. There are not that many jobs in Canada. I got more interviews when I was applying to EU (and I need a sponsorship) vs. when I was applying to Canada. I had about 2-3 YOE working at a top Russian tech. company and EU took that in consideration; Canada just throw it out of the window and told me that I need to start a junior/lower-mid. The interview process is significantly harder in Canada. Get ready for Leetcode, system design, conceptual questions, super specific questions about some frameworks. Because there are not that many companies, startups act like FAANG because, well, they can. Too many people (see immigration numbers), not enough jobs. My close friend at Zynga told me that they received about 2K applications for a position; after all the filters, they had to make the interview super difficult to hire just 1-2 engineers.
  2. Pushing LGBTQ propaganda. I am ok with every type of people. However, when companies openly state that they will hire A. mainly because he/she is non-binary, trans, gay, etc. I start having problems with that. There is a freedom of speech in Canada; however, God forbid you say anything about not understanding their lifestyle. Even if it's just a comment about how this lifestyle is unusual for you. In most cases, this is an instant write-up or termination. Happened to my former lab mate who was from Saudi Arabia. Had to change the lab and pretty much redo his masters
  3. Rent and house prices. Do I need to explain myself?
  4. Loneliness. This is big for me. Amount of times I was looking at old photos I took in Moscow... It's hard to find friends if you don't have a large diaspora here. Canadians are very nice as people but it doesn't mean that it will go somewhere in terms of friendships. If you are a single guy or girl, you will hard time finding a partner from Canadians. Thus, you are on your own 24/7. No, meetups/gyms/hobbies don't help or work. I tried everything. Good thing is that having no friends helped me to publish 3-4 articles in top journals
  5. Everything is just so expensive. You will have a decent life but it will be borderline impossible to move to another level. Everyone else has that another level and for me, another level might be different than for someone else.
  6. Medical care: in 2017, a wait time was 3-4 months. I don't even want to know what is happening right now. Oh yeah. Dental is not covered by free healthcare. You are so screwed if you have a bad tooth. So, a piece of advice. Go back to your home country every year and fix your teeth there. OR buy a private dental here
  7. Everything is legacy. I got so used to just renting a car in Moscow (per hour rent) that when I got to Canada and realized that I cannot do it here, I was shocked. You have to do it old-school way; Hertz or smth. else. Oh, and it's not per hour. It's per day. Like it or not, you will need a car sooner or later
  8. There is no job security. You can get fired just because. This makes you feel like you are always on the edge.
  9. Infrastructure for public transportation sucks. Why is there still no train going from Waterloo to Toronto on weekends? "We are building new routes". Yup. Been like for 3 years. Still nothing
  10. There are 2 seasons in Canada: construction and winter. The problem is that you get such a low quality from construction workers that I am consistently surprised why people immigrate as engineers, software, etc. Just learn trades and you will make so much money. I hired a guy to fix a fridge. A guy came, took 400 CAD to tell me that PCB is broken, took another 320 (for parts) + 140 (for labor) to fix the fridge. The fridge broke again in 1 week because... PCB was not a root cause but it was giving false alarm due to other faulty part. How I know? Well, another tech. came and fixed it; another 300 CAD. Why didn't I call 1st guy? Because he would come for extra price. So what that it's his fault for not diagnosing it correctly? You still pay for his mistakes.
  11. Speaking about mistakes. The general level of service you get in Canada is super low quality. Everywhere. Just because you paid for it doesn't mean that you will get good service. It takes a long time to find someone who knows what they are doing; barber, plumber, electrician. Once you find him/her, take his/her phone number and follow him/her everywhere. In Moscow, I would just go to a barber that is closest to my home. LOL. Did that in Canada. Ended up shaving my head.
That's it so far. If I remember something else, I will add it.

EDIT: Most of the things I have written are pertained to GTA and Kitchener/Waterloo area.
 
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AlmostThere2

Star Member
Apr 22, 2022
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Category........
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AOR Received.
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Shouldn't be a problem, IMO. SIN is a federal document and it's not tied to a province. On top of that, as a PR, you can live anywhere in Canada (I assume you applied as FSW/CEC and you are not tied to the province).

AFAIR, they don't even ask your address during SIN application; at least, not for the initial one.
Yes I'm FSW, and I thought the same with regard to it being a federal thing. Thanks for confirming they don't ask for addresses.
 

AlmostThere2

Star Member
Apr 22, 2022
192
304
Category........
FSW
AOR Received.
07-08-2020
Sure. My experience as someone who did his masters from one of the top schools in Canada and lived there for 2+ years. If I talk about jobs, then keep in mind, that I am talking about software (backend) with the focus on ML and data, unless specified otherwise.
  1. There are not that many jobs in Canada. I got more interviews when I was applying to EU (and I need a sponsorship) vs. when I was applying to Canada. I had about 2-3 YOE working at a top Russian tech. company and EU took that in consideration; Canada just throw it out of the window and told me that I need to start a junior/lower-mid. The interview process is significantly harder in Canada. Get ready for Leetcode, system design, conceptual questions, super specific questions about some frameworks. Because there are not that many companies, startups act like FAANG because, well, they can. Too many people (see immigration numbers), not enough jobs. My close friend at Zynga told me that they received about 2K applications for a position; after all the filters, they had to make the interview super difficult to hire just 1-2 engineers.
  2. Pushing LGBTQ propaganda. I am ok with every type of people. However, when companies openly state that they will hire A. mainly because he/she is non-binary, trans, gay, etc. I start having problems with that. There is a freedom of speech in Canada; however, God forbid you say anything about not understanding their lifestyle. Even if it's just a comment about how this lifestyle is unusual for you. In most cases, this is an instant write-up or termination. Happened to my former lab mate who was from Saudi Arabia. Had to change the lab and pretty much redo his masters
  3. Rent and house prices. Do I need to explain myself?
  4. Loneliness. This is big for me. Amount of times I was looking at old photos I took in Moscow... It's hard to find friends if you don't have a large diaspora here. Canadians are very nice as people but it doesn't mean that it will go somewhere in terms of friendships. If you are a single guy or girl, you will hard time finding a partner from Canadians. Thus, you are on your own 24/7. No, meetups/gyms/hobbies don't help or work. I tried everything. Good thing is that having no friends helped me to publish 3-4 articles in top journals
  5. Everything is just so expensive. You will have a decent life but it will be borderline impossible to move to another level. Everyone else has that another level and for me, another level might be different than for someone else.
  6. Medical care: in 2017, a wait time was 3-4 months. I don't even want to know what is happening right now. Oh yeah. Dental is not covered by free healthcare. You are so screwed if you have a bad tooth. So, a piece of advice. Go back to your home country every year and fix your teeth there. OR buy a private dental here
  7. Everything is legacy. I got so used to just renting a car in Moscow (per hour rent) that when I got to Canada and realized that I cannot do it here, I was shocked. You have to do it old-school way; Hertz or smth. else. Oh, and it's not per hour. It's per day. Like it or not, you will need a car sooner or later
  8. There is no job security. You can get fired just because. This makes you feel like you are always on the edge.
  9. Infrastructure for public transportation sucks. Why is there still no train going from Waterloo to Toronto on weekends? "We are building new routes". Yup. Been like for 3 years. Still nothing
  10. There are 2 seasons in Canada: construction and winter. The problem is that you get such a low quality from construction workers that I am consistently surprised why people immigrate as engineers, software, etc. Just learn trades and you will make so much money. I hired a guy to fix a fridge. A guy came, took 400 CAD to tell me that PCB is broken, took another 320 (for parts) + 140 (for labor) to fix the fridge. The fridge broke again in 1 week because... PCB was not a root cause but it was giving false alarm due to other faulty part. How I know? Well, another tech. came and fixed it; another 300 CAD. Why didn't I call 1st guy? Because he would come for extra price. So what that it's his fault for not diagnosing it correctly? You still pay for his mistakes.
  11. Speaking about mistakes. The general level of service you get in Canada is super low quality. Everywhere. Just because you paid for it doesn't mean that you will get good service. It takes a long time to find someone who knows what they are doing; barber, plumber, electrician. Once you find him/her, take his/her phone number and follow him/her everywhere. In Moscow, I would just go to a barber that is closest to my home. LOL. Did that in Canada. Ended up shaving my head.
That's it so far. If I remember something else, I will add it.
A shaved guy from Russia, nothing to worry there...lol
Very interesting points, funny enough it's the people that talk the most about tolerance that are the most intolerant of differing views. I get it, it's their country and we're trying to assimilate, but getting cancelled just cause the world is not uniform, shows how insulated some bubbles are.
 
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A shaved guy from Russia, nothing to worry there...lol
Very interesting points, funny enough it's the people that talk the most about tolerance that are the most intolerant of differing views. I get it, it's their country and we're trying to assimilate, but getting cancelled just cause the world is not uniform, shows how insulated some bubbles are.
Lol. I had no other option.

Yeah. There is no freedom of speech in Canada. In Russia, you cannot criticize government. In Canada, you cannot criticize the lefts.
 
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cansha

VIP Member
Aug 1, 2018
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Sure. My experience as someone who did his masters from one of the top schools in Canada and lived there for 2+ years. If I talk about jobs, then keep in mind, that I am talking about software (backend) with the focus on ML and data, unless specified otherwise.
  1. There are not that many jobs in Canada. I got more interviews when I was applying to EU (and I need a sponsorship) vs. when I was applying to Canada. I had about 2-3 YOE working at a top Russian tech. company and EU took that in consideration; Canada just throw it out of the window and told me that I need to start a junior/lower-mid. The interview process is significantly harder in Canada. Get ready for Leetcode, system design, conceptual questions, super specific questions about some frameworks. Because there are not that many companies, startups act like FAANG because, well, they can. Too many people (see immigration numbers), not enough jobs. My close friend at Zynga told me that they received about 2K applications for a position; after all the filters, they had to make the interview super difficult to hire just 1-2 engineers.
  2. Pushing LGBTQ propaganda. I am ok with every type of people. However, when companies openly state that they will hire A. mainly because he/she is non-binary, trans, gay, etc. I start having problems with that. There is a freedom of speech in Canada; however, God forbid you say anything about not understanding their lifestyle. Even if it's just a comment about how this lifestyle is unusual for you. In most cases, this is an instant write-up or termination. Happened to my former lab mate who was from Saudi Arabia. Had to change the lab and pretty much redo his masters
  3. Rent and house prices. Do I need to explain myself?
  4. Loneliness. This is big for me. Amount of times I was looking at old photos I took in Moscow... It's hard to find friends if you don't have a large diaspora here. Canadians are very nice as people but it doesn't mean that it will go somewhere in terms of friendships. If you are a single guy or girl, you will hard time finding a partner from Canadians. Thus, you are on your own 24/7. No, meetups/gyms/hobbies don't help or work. I tried everything. Good thing is that having no friends helped me to publish 3-4 articles in top journals
  5. Everything is just so expensive. You will have a decent life but it will be borderline impossible to move to another level. Everyone else has that another level and for me, another level might be different than for someone else.
  6. Medical care: in 2017, a wait time was 3-4 months. I don't even want to know what is happening right now. Oh yeah. Dental is not covered by free healthcare. You are so screwed if you have a bad tooth. So, a piece of advice. Go back to your home country every year and fix your teeth there. OR buy a private dental here
  7. Everything is legacy. I got so used to just renting a car in Moscow (per hour rent) that when I got to Canada and realized that I cannot do it here, I was shocked. You have to do it old-school way; Hertz or smth. else. Oh, and it's not per hour. It's per day. Like it or not, you will need a car sooner or later
  8. There is no job security. You can get fired just because. This makes you feel like you are always on the edge.
  9. Infrastructure for public transportation sucks. Why is there still no train going from Waterloo to Toronto on weekends? "We are building new routes". Yup. Been like for 3 years. Still nothing
  10. There are 2 seasons in Canada: construction and winter. The problem is that you get such a low quality from construction workers that I am consistently surprised why people immigrate as engineers, software, etc. Just learn trades and you will make so much money. I hired a guy to fix a fridge. A guy came, took 400 CAD to tell me that PCB is broken, took another 320 (for parts) + 140 (for labor) to fix the fridge. The fridge broke again in 1 week because... PCB was not a root cause but it was giving false alarm due to other faulty part. How I know? Well, another tech. came and fixed it; another 300 CAD. Why didn't I call 1st guy? Because he would come for extra price. So what that it's his fault for not diagnosing it correctly? You still pay for his mistakes.
  11. Speaking about mistakes. The general level of service you get in Canada is super low quality. Everywhere. Just because you paid for it doesn't mean that you will get good service. It takes a long time to find someone who knows what they are doing; barber, plumber, electrician. Once you find him/her, take his/her phone number and follow him/her everywhere. In Moscow, I would just go to a barber that is closest to my home. LOL. Did that in Canada. Ended up shaving my head.
That's it so far. If I remember something else, I will add it.
1. True. In addition Canadian companies do not know how to write a job description. You will read a JD and they want everything in one person.
2. Calling something a "propaganda" you don't understand is ignorant. Also, your colleague would not have been fired just stating he didn't understand it. Either you are missing facts or you are hiding those to prove your point. In any case, difficult to agree.
3. True. But that would be true for many major cities around the world.
4. True to some extent. Making friends as adults is anyways difficult. It is not unique to Canada. I have heard / read similar stories from many major cities around the world.
5. True
6. True but unique to Canada anyways. Heard much worse stories from my friends in UK, Germany and Australia. As far as I know dental is not covered in Australia as well. Most employers provide insurance which will cover dental and vision so no need to buy private insurance unless you intent to work as a contractor.
7. Not true. Have you heard about Zipcar?
8. Firing in US is much more easy in US not so much in Canada. I would say job security in Canada is greater than in US. Reference - I have done firings in both countries so I know.
9. Yep really bad.
10. Partially true. GTA is not all winters for sure. And yes trades folks make much more money. And again this is true for many other countries where there is labor shortage. Most people here have basic trades knowledge and it is tough for folks like I (and you) who do not. I have colleagues who are able to rip out an old bathroom and install everything from scratch. I can't so I have to pay a lot. But true for countries like Australia and US as well.
11. Again true for almost all countries I have lived in. I mean your neighborhood barber in Moscow was good but doesn't mean all the ones in Russia were.
 
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1. True. In addition Canadian companies do not know how to write a job description. You will read a JD and they want everything in one person.
2. Calling something a "propaganda" you don't understand is ignorant. Also, your colleague would not have been fired just stating he didn't understand it. Either you are missing facts or you are hiding those to prove your point. In any case, difficult to agree.
3. True. But that would be true for many major cities around the world.
4. True to some extent. Making friends as adults is anyways difficult. It is not unique to Canada. I have heard / read similar stories from many major cities around the world.
5. True
6. True but unique to Canada anyways. Heard much worse stories from my friends in UK, Germany and Australia. As far as I know dental is not covered in Australia as well. Most employers provide insurance which will cover dental and vision so no need to buy private insurance unless you intent to work as a contractor.
7. Not true. Have you heard about Zipcar?
8. Firing in US is much more easy in US not so much in Canada. I would say job security in Canada is greater than in US. Reference - I have done firings in both countries so I know.
9. Yep really bad.
10. Partially true. GTA is not all winters for sure. And yes trades folks make much more money. And again this is true for many other countries where there is labor shortage. Most people here have basic trades knowledge and it is tough for folks like I (and you) who do not. I have colleagues who are able to rip out an old bathroom and install everything from scratch. I can't so I have to pay a lot. But true for countries like Australia and US as well.
11. Again true for almost all countries I have lived in. I mean your neighborhood barber in Moscow was good but doesn't mean all the ones in Russia were.
  1. Agree about JD.
  2. Lol I was there when it happened. He was asked: "Maybe you will find a nice girl or a guy if you are into that". And he answered: "Nope. I don't understand how guys can be with other guys. To me, that's unacceptable. In Saudi you can be killed for that. Maybe, if I live in Canada for some time, I will be more open and understand more". He gets called to his supervisor office and that's it. He gets kicked out of the project. Our supervisor framed it as "hate speech".
  3. Houston, Dallas, NOLA, Berlin... I can write a huge list of major cities that are more affordable. And one more thing; in most cities, the further you live from the center, the cheaper it gets. North York is not exactly cheaper than Liberty Village
  4. It's much easier in certain cities; I spent 3-4 months in Barcelona and I still talk to my Spanish friends I made there. It's smth. about south vs. north culture
  5. Skipping
  6. Most companies DO NOT provide dental and vision unless those are large and well-established companies. However, it's tough to get into 1 unless you intend to work for a non-tech company as a tech. guy. In that case, it's another long discussion with pros and cons.
  7. Yes and I used another one called ShiftRide. They are terrible, IMO. Cars are not near you, so you have to take a bus/Uber to get to the car. Maybe, it's better now than it was when I was using it.
  8. They are both at the will. Not sure what do you mean by "better in Canada"?
  9. Skipping
  10. Lol it's a saying in Canada.
  11. Maybe. In Moscow, if I wanted to get something done right and I couldn't take chances, I would just use the most expensive option. Not the case in Canada. I used internet provider and I paid 70$ for that. Support sucked. I switched to another provider that would charge me 50$. So much better.
 
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Rohit Chhabra

Star Member
Jul 20, 2018
88
71
Sure. My experience as someone who did his masters from one of the top schools in Canada and lived there for 2+ years. If I talk about jobs, then keep in mind, that I am talking about software (backend) with the focus on ML and data, unless specified otherwise.
  1. There are not that many jobs in Canada. I got more interviews when I was applying to EU (and I need a sponsorship) vs. when I was applying to Canada. I had about 2-3 YOE working at a top Russian tech. company and EU took that in consideration; Canada just throw it out of the window and told me that I need to start a junior/lower-mid. The interview process is significantly harder in Canada. Get ready for Leetcode, system design, conceptual questions, super specific questions about some frameworks. Because there are not that many companies, startups act like FAANG because, well, they can. Too many people (see immigration numbers), not enough jobs. My close friend at Zynga told me that they received about 2K applications for a position; after all the filters, they had to make the interview super difficult to hire just 1-2 engineers.
  2. Pushing LGBTQ propaganda. I am ok with every type of people. However, when companies openly state that they will hire A. mainly because he/she is non-binary, trans, gay, etc. I start having problems with that. There is a freedom of speech in Canada; however, God forbid you say anything about not understanding their lifestyle. Even if it's just a comment about how this lifestyle is unusual for you. In most cases, this is an instant write-up or termination. Happened to my former lab mate who was from Saudi Arabia. Had to change the lab and pretty much redo his masters
  3. Rent and house prices. Do I need to explain myself?
  4. Loneliness. This is big for me. Amount of times I was looking at old photos I took in Moscow... It's hard to find friends if you don't have a large diaspora here. Canadians are very nice as people but it doesn't mean that it will go somewhere in terms of friendships. If you are a single guy or girl, you will hard time finding a partner from Canadians. Thus, you are on your own 24/7. No, meetups/gyms/hobbies don't help or work. I tried everything. Good thing is that having no friends helped me to publish 3-4 articles in top journals
  5. Everything is just so expensive. You will have a decent life but it will be borderline impossible to move to another level. Everyone else has that another level and for me, another level might be different than for someone else.
  6. Medical care: in 2017, a wait time was 3-4 months. I don't even want to know what is happening right now. Oh yeah. Dental is not covered by free healthcare. You are so screwed if you have a bad tooth. So, a piece of advice. Go back to your home country every year and fix your teeth there. OR buy a private dental here
  7. Everything is legacy. I got so used to just renting a car in Moscow (per hour rent) that when I got to Canada and realized that I cannot do it here, I was shocked. You have to do it old-school way; Hertz or smth. else. Oh, and it's not per hour. It's per day. Like it or not, you will need a car sooner or later
  8. There is no job security. You can get fired just because. This makes you feel like you are always on the edge.
  9. Infrastructure for public transportation sucks. Why is there still no train going from Waterloo to Toronto on weekends? "We are building new routes". Yup. Been like for 3 years. Still nothing
  10. There are 2 seasons in Canada: construction and winter. The problem is that you get such a low quality from construction workers that I am consistently surprised why people immigrate as engineers, software, etc. Just learn trades and you will make so much money. I hired a guy to fix a fridge. A guy came, took 400 CAD to tell me that PCB is broken, took another 320 (for parts) + 140 (for labor) to fix the fridge. The fridge broke again in 1 week because... PCB was not a root cause but it was giving false alarm due to other faulty part. How I know? Well, another tech. came and fixed it; another 300 CAD. Why didn't I call 1st guy? Because he would come for extra price. So what that it's his fault for not diagnosing it correctly? You still pay for his mistakes.
  11. Speaking about mistakes. The general level of service you get in Canada is super low quality. Everywhere. Just because you paid for it doesn't mean that you will get good service. It takes a long time to find someone who knows what they are doing; barber, plumber, electrician. Once you find him/her, take his/her phone number and follow him/her everywhere. In Moscow, I would just go to a barber that is closest to my home. LOL. Did that in Canada. Ended up shaving my head.
That's it so far. If I remember something else, I will add it.
Thanks a lot for sharing your experience. Really appreciate it.
Yeah somewhere along the lines, the definition of "freedom of expression" has become a bit twisted.
I'm however surprised to learn that the quality of service is a matter of luck, rather than a surity.
 
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Deleted member 1083629

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Thanks a lot for sharing your experience. Really appreciate it.
Yeah somewhere along the lines, the definition of "freedom of expression" has become a bit twisted.
I'm however surprised to learn that the quality of service is a matter of luck, rather than a surity.
I was surprised as well. I didn't have a car but I am sure that the same problem would extrapolate on car mechanics.

About freedom of expression; kinda go with the flow. One time I got in trouble (personally) was when I didn't want to participate in "support George Floyd" rally. I didn't understand why I had to walk out and support the criminal who was on drugs. Obv., I didn't say that but the company took it like I didn't support BLM movement. At that point, I gave my 2 weeks notice so I couldn't care less.

One thing I can assure you; the quality of groceries in Sobeys, Loblaws is top notch. Not once I had to check the produce expiry date; I would just assume that it's fresh. Of course, the one time it didn't work out was in a Russian store in North York (Yummy market) lol
 

cansha

VIP Member
Aug 1, 2018
6,675
5,853
They are both at the will. Not sure what do you mean by "better in Canada"?
Better in Canada.. I had to do lot more convincing for the firing decision. Took 6-8 months to do the documentation etc. In US, you decide and in half a day it is done.

I say job security is better in Canada because of the point 1. The hiring is super slow in Canada so many a times they won't fire someone because it will take that much longer to replace the person. But anyways in this day and age, it is a legacy concept like the one you mentioned around car rentals. Expecting job security is a bit out of sync with the times.
 
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Better in Canada.. I had to do lot more convincing for the firing decision. Took 6-8 months to do the documentation etc. In US, you decide and in half a day it is done.

I say job security is better in Canada because of the point 1. The hiring is super slow in Canada so many a times they won't fire someone because it will take that much longer to replace the person. But anyways in this day and age is a legacy concept like the one you mentioned around car rentals. Expecting job security is a bit out of sync with the times.
Wasn't my experience at all. Interesting. Essentially, everything was done super quick during that one time I had to give a feedback about whether or not a person should be fired. The guy was a junior and on Thursday, they asked my opinion and on Friday afternoon, he was gone.
 

Rohit Chhabra

Star Member
Jul 20, 2018
88
71
Wasn't my experience at all. Interesting. Essentially, everything was done super quick during that one time I had to give a feedback about whether or not a person should be fired. The guy was a junior and on Thursday, they asked my opinion and on Friday afternoon, he was gone.
@MajorGrom @cansha thank you for the dialogue on these topics. I'm sure all of these points would vary a bit from one company to another..
 
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wonderbly

VIP Member
Aug 26, 2020
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Sure. My experience as someone who did his masters from one of the top schools in Canada and lived there for 2+ years. If I talk about jobs, then keep in mind, that I am talking about software (backend) with the focus on ML and data, unless specified otherwise.
  1. There are not that many jobs in Canada. I got more interviews when I was applying to EU (and I need a sponsorship) vs. when I was applying to Canada. I had about 2-3 YOE working at a top Russian tech. company and EU took that in consideration; Canada just throw it out of the window and told me that I need to start a junior/lower-mid. The interview process is significantly harder in Canada. Get ready for Leetcode, system design, conceptual questions, super specific questions about some frameworks. Because there are not that many companies, startups act like FAANG because, well, they can. Too many people (see immigration numbers), not enough jobs. My close friend at Zynga told me that they received about 2K applications for a position; after all the filters, they had to make the interview super difficult to hire just 1-2 engineers.
  2. Pushing LGBTQ propaganda. I am ok with every type of people. However, when companies openly state that they will hire A. mainly because he/she is non-binary, trans, gay, etc. I start having problems with that. There is a freedom of speech in Canada; however, God forbid you say anything about not understanding their lifestyle. Even if it's just a comment about how this lifestyle is unusual for you. In most cases, this is an instant write-up or termination. Happened to my former lab mate who was from Saudi Arabia. Had to change the lab and pretty much redo his masters
  3. Rent and house prices. Do I need to explain myself?
  4. Loneliness. This is big for me. Amount of times I was looking at old photos I took in Moscow... It's hard to find friends if you don't have a large diaspora here. Canadians are very nice as people but it doesn't mean that it will go somewhere in terms of friendships. If you are a single guy or girl, you will hard time finding a partner from Canadians. Thus, you are on your own 24/7. No, meetups/gyms/hobbies don't help or work. I tried everything. Good thing is that having no friends helped me to publish 3-4 articles in top journals
  5. Everything is just so expensive. You will have a decent life but it will be borderline impossible to move to another level. Everyone else has that another level and for me, another level might be different than for someone else.
  6. Medical care: in 2017, a wait time was 3-4 months. I don't even want to know what is happening right now. Oh yeah. Dental is not covered by free healthcare. You are so screwed if you have a bad tooth. So, a piece of advice. Go back to your home country every year and fix your teeth there. OR buy a private dental here
  7. Everything is legacy. I got so used to just renting a car in Moscow (per hour rent) that when I got to Canada and realized that I cannot do it here, I was shocked. You have to do it old-school way; Hertz or smth. else. Oh, and it's not per hour. It's per day. Like it or not, you will need a car sooner or later
  8. There is no job security. You can get fired just because. This makes you feel like you are always on the edge.
  9. Infrastructure for public transportation sucks. Why is there still no train going from Waterloo to Toronto on weekends? "We are building new routes". Yup. Been like for 3 years. Still nothing
  10. There are 2 seasons in Canada: construction and winter. The problem is that you get such a low quality from construction workers that I am consistently surprised why people immigrate as engineers, software, etc. Just learn trades and you will make so much money. I hired a guy to fix a fridge. A guy came, took 400 CAD to tell me that PCB is broken, took another 320 (for parts) + 140 (for labor) to fix the fridge. The fridge broke again in 1 week because... PCB was not a root cause but it was giving false alarm due to other faulty part. How I know? Well, another tech. came and fixed it; another 300 CAD. Why didn't I call 1st guy? Because he would come for extra price. So what that it's his fault for not diagnosing it correctly? You still pay for his mistakes.
  11. Speaking about mistakes. The general level of service you get in Canada is super low quality. Everywhere. Just because you paid for it doesn't mean that you will get good service. It takes a long time to find someone who knows what they are doing; barber, plumber, electrician. Once you find him/her, take his/her phone number and follow him/her everywhere. In Moscow, I would just go to a barber that is closest to my home. LOL. Did that in Canada. Ended up shaving my head.
That's it so far. If I remember something else, I will add it.
Very interesting outlook. The reason why I personally stopped getting involved in all the 'Canada is useless' discussion is how subjective it is. We all are not experience Canada the same way, and I certainly believe everyone should be able to share their experience, being careful not to assume that's how Canada as a whole is. What irks me is the generalisation about Canada. What you experience is a part of Canada and using a specific experience to paint the whole country does not seem fair to me.

My experience since being in Canada have been very different from most:

1. I didn't come to Canada to make money or get better job - life was pretty good for me economically prior to coming here (in fact coming to Canada meant a drop in income for my husband and I, $ for $). I came here to give my kids a better opportunity and quality of life - something that money cannot buy where I was coming from.

2. My Spouse and I work in IT. I have almost 2 decades of work experience, my husband even more. I am currently studying and working full time. My job is a senior-ish role, but not where I was back home. My husband was lucky enough to get a managerial role similar to where he was back home.

3. Rent and house prices where we live is much better, compared to other parts of Canada, particularly the parts where people like to flock to. We were able to buy our own property within 10 months of being here.

4. I haven't really worried about friendship etc cos I have my family and people generally are not my thing :). Our neighbour to the right are elderly white couple and very friendly, we've met most of their family cos they bring them over whenever they visit. The family to our left are Indians and shy :D .

5. I live in Regina. My family have thankfully been healthy, but the few times we have needed a doctor's consultation, we've waited a few hours at most and had a choice of pick. We have had to wait to see a dentist for 1 week, but that was really because I wasn't willing to drive farther from my neighbourhood, and it was not urgent.

6. The level of service is not great where I live - seems like that is something that might be general all over Canada :D. I believe this is because there are few handymen or tradespeople to service the number of requests. Even corporate business offerings leave a lot to be desired. However, they provide you this shoddy service with a smile, which is a welcomed difference for me - where I come from, you get shoddy service AND a scowl :D.

With regards to job security, I actually think they are slower about firing here than what I've experienced in the past. People (especially the permanently employed/union members) do the barest minimum with no consequence. It's shocking.

Having said this, I will be really foolish to think my own positive experience defines Canada. It's like the analogy of blind people touching an elephant in different places and coming to different conclusions.

Everyone is right in their assertion, because that is their experience. Not only that, your situation before coming to Canada will also shape how you experience it.
 
D

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Very interesting outlook. The reason why I personally stopped getting involved in all the 'Canada is useless' discussion is how subjective it is. We all are not experience Canada the same way, and I certainly believe everyone should be able to share their experience, being careful not to assume that's how Canada as a whole is. What irks me is the generalisation about Canada. What you experience is a part of Canada and using a specific experience to paint the whole country does not seem fair to me.

My experience since being in Canada have been very different from most:

1. I didn't come to Canada to make money or get better job - life was pretty good for me economically prior to coming here (in fact coming to Canada meant a drop in income for my husband and I, $ for $). I came here to give my kids a better opportunity and quality of life - something that money cannot buy where I was coming from.

2. My Spouse and I work in IT. I have almost 2 decades of work experience, my husband even more. I am currently studying and working full time. My job is a senior-ish role, but not where I was back home. My husband was lucky enough to get a managerial role similar to where he was back home.

3. Rent and house prices where we live is much better, compared to other parts of Canada, particularly the parts where people like to flock to. We were able to buy our own property within 10 months of being here.

4. I haven't really worried about friendship etc cos I have my family and people generally are not my thing :). Our neighbour to the right are elderly white couple and very friendly, we've met most of their family cos they bring them over whenever they visit. The family to our left are Indians and shy :D .

5. I live in Regina. My family have thankfully been healthy, but the few times we have needed a doctor's consultation, we've waited a few hours at most and had a choice of pick. We have had to wait to see a dentist for 1 week, but that was really because I wasn't willing to drive farther from my neighbourhood, and it was not urgent.

6. The level of service is not great where I live - seems like that is something that might be general all over Canada :D. I believe this is because there are few handymen or tradespeople to service the number of requests. Even corporate business offerings leave a lot to be desired. However, they provide you this shoddy service with a smile, which is a welcomed difference for me - where I come from, you get shoddy service AND a scowl :D.

With regards to job security, I actually think they are slower about firing here than what I've experienced in the past. People (especially the permanently employed/union members) do the barest minimum with no consequence. It's shocking.

Having said this, I will be really foolish to think my own positive experience defines Canada. It's like the analogy of blind people touching an elephant in different places and coming to different conclusions.

Everyone is right in their assertion, because that is their experience. Not only that, your situation before coming to Canada will also shape how you experience it.
You are correct. I added a disclaimer to my OP after your reply.

I described my experience. I know that people try to move to Canada for various reasons (no need to specify those) but I wanted to share a bit about my own experience. Especially, after I met several people from all over the world who moved back to their home countries because Canada (GTA) is not what they expected. I know that everyone says to do the research but it's hard to know what the life is like in Canada (GTA) without living here. Even my negatives would not matter to many people.

You are lucky that you don't have to wait for X months to see a doc. I had an issue with my elbow; 4 months to see a specialist. Yes, I was able to see a doctor in 1 hour at the local clinic in the university but he didn't know what to do. It was close to winter break so I flew to St. Petersburg to see my family and went to a private clinic there.