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Immigration technically is an asset for a country like Canada, however the open door policy turned that asset into a liability. When you have a migrant community congregate into ghetto like fashion, you know your policy has failed somewhere. Psychologically speaking human would naturally gravitate towards people they have similarities(language, color, likes & dislikes, etc) with and congregate as a "tribe" for warmth & security. Just put one white person alone in the middle of an Indian market at rush hour, i promise you they'd run to the first white person they spot for "security", now tell that one guy that he has to live in India for the foreseeable future and that he has a choice of living in any area of that city and he learns that there a part of town where most of the white people live, where do you think he'll go?

I'm a proud Canadian Immigrant of Indian origin. I came here to do specialized studies in Game Development. I took my time, and studied 6 years as an international student, paying 3x the tuition, sank $200,000 of hard earned money into the Canadian Education system — Not as a fast track gimmick to immigrate, but so I could achieve my dream as a Game Developer. This money was family income, earned on 1/4th the salary, taking 4x longer to save. I was a great privileged to me. Today 15 years later, no one would ever think I'm from India. I sound Canadian, I behave Canadian, I have Canadian values, and I am Canadian. I came here because I loved Canada. I would watch hours upon hours of indigenous history, and on my Citizenship day, I watched Juno Beach to celebrate. However I must say this... I suffered through s*icidal depression here for 8 years, because I had far less leverage here than in a developing country, and it's really telling what sort of situation we're all in... Rent caps in Canada were removed... The housing market was open to foreign investors / and real estate monopolies with a 20% year-on-year rise... Rents went from 1000$ to 2100$ MINIMUM for a 1 bedroom through Trudeau's term and the govt said "It's not a federal responsibility"... Auto insurance is like 2.5-3.5k a year in Ontario and if you get a dent, you pay a deductable... I was quoted 8500$ for two wisdom teeth surgeries while it costed me 260$ abroad... During Covid - property owners, banks, and grocery stores exploited our misery and made record profits!... The govt stopped filtering through it's immigrants with "interviews", and it's operating like a scam — "Bring all your foreign money, convert it to CAD, and keep our GDP stable.. while we neither have the infrastructure, nor the job market to support these numbers". I think some accountability is due... these issues are "symptoms", not the problem — The problem is our Liberal govt / policies, and our wonderful voting body who voted Liberal term after term after term while complaining. Why does this govt safeguard extremism, foreign politics, foreign separatism? Khalistanis are as much of a threat / nuance to India than it is to Canada, but in Canada they actually have a unrestricted platform. Instead of resenting immigrants, we need to start resenting how mismanaged Canada is by our govt, and hold our voting body accountable. We had a chance to vote differently, but once again a repackaged and rebranded Liberal term. Because my ethnicity is Indian, I've become an object of collective resentment / hatred, and I don't think that's fair.. Please direct it at your vote, and govt level policies. Why should I (and other's like me) be crucified with the sins of other immigrants? It's like hating all your neighbors in a burning building, when the management has been lighting the fire.

🇨🇦 I disagree with premise that only "high skill" immigrants should come. Economies need ALL types of workers & those low skill jobs have to be done by someone. According to free trade economics, open borders would maximize world GDP. As for housing market, why not let housing be more mobile & smaller, tiny homes.

China has imposed retaliatory tariffs on US agricultural products , aussie farmers would like to thank donnie youve just opened up new markets for us ????

I would open the market for Chinese EV if I were canadian PM, this just to hurt Elon Musk and Tesla, and I would put tariffs on american EV.

I live in Vancouver and it has the largest open air drug market in North America. I can't recall Trudeau ever speaking about the Fentanyl pandemic so frequently. I worked with NPO's when they declared a public health emergency...hundreds were dying a month, and it seemed at the time that there was so little dialogue due to fear of public backlash for taking a stance on this issue.\n\nI'm not trying to get on a soap box here...but I'm just shocked. I could have given Trudeau a 5 minute drive through main and hastings in my 1998 RAV4 to show him how bad it is, and was...I wonder if he would have opened up this much?

“I am Canadian, and I support Trump because our leaders are a joke. They delay pipelines, restrict the open market, and refuse to trust foreign investment from China or overseas. Instead of strengthening the economy, they bring in a million immigrants while ignoring real growth. If we’re going to rely on America anyway, we should join it becoming the 51st state would make North America stronger.\nIf Canada retaliates against the U.S., it won’t be the government that suffers it’ll be us. Our leaders look weak and desperate. \nWith 25% tariffs, Canada is heading for economic disaster. Companies are moving to America, jobs are disappearing, and our future is at risk. Look at Europe 23 countries share the euro and open borders. We should do the same by becoming 51st state.\nIt’s time to negotiate with Trump and secure real benefits more businesses, better telecom, cheaper flights, lower food costs, affordable housing, a shared currency, and the right to bear arms. Canada would be stronger and wealthier as part of America.”?? ??????\nWe are still Canadians

What else can he do? It's a poor tactic but its all we got. If we had options like Northern gateway or pipelines opened to the maritimes refineries we would have more markets to sell our energy but Fibrals want Canada to lead a Green revolution and tank our own economy without the help of Trump.

You would think they just opened up an ideal market at the border

The basic lesson from the Economy. How did China become rich and have high technology? Thanks to cheap labor, American capital, and factories, we built in China...Thanks to Chinese capital and technology Mexico will be one of the biggest producers of electric vehicles..They don't need the American market. This planet has 9 billion potential customers...The right thing to do was not to put tariffs but to open an EV factory in the USA using Chinese technology and money and everybody would benefit except Elon Musk and gas and oil corporations ..BYD or NIO better than Tesla costs about 25,000$ only... Tesla sells batteries for EVs for 26 000$...The same battery made in China costs 7.000$ because China has its own lithium. We should say goodbye to Elon Musk batteries and import batteries from China or make a lithium deal with Bolivia as China did. We would have American EVs better than Tesla for just 25.000-30.000$.\nCustomers are paying tariffs and this money goes to the government...Adding tariffs on most of foreign products is the faster way to create the Great Depression as Herberr Hover did in 1930 when he added Tariffs on 2000 imported products

How can gov officials be so retarded?? immigration doesnt affect housing. Government interference affects housing. Removing the LTB and changing tenancy laws to a free marketplace will open the floodgate, and everyone will want to become a landlord. Now, no one wants to, and this is what drives rental prices up. You have reduced supply due to harsh rules. If a tenant does not pay rent, they should be arrested for theft. Now, with the current laws, a 1 year lease means a lifetime lease. Who wants to rent for life? Who the hell is the government determining rental increase rates at 2% when inflation was at 7-10%? \nI can get a 1 year lease, and that agreement should be honored, but after that, it should be a free market. \n\nIf a landlord were to charge double, would anyone live there? It would have to be competitive and more people with homes would want to do it. Now most people dont want to due to the rules and this creates the shortage.

In Vancouver, the home prices are skyrocketing, the personal taxes are almost half the income, the people are too busy to work to mingle. I don't like the thought that people can do supported drug use freely. It's beyond me to understand that. Why would a governemnt provide drugs for addicts in the guise of harm reduction? I was in Hastings 3 weeks ago and I saw the crackheads just blatantly doing drugs in the streets. A lot of used up needles are on the ground. There is a market of stolen stuff. It is quite scary to walk around. My son don't like it here even when he is born here. The kids are becoming cynical and angry for no reason. A lot just bully for fun. Prostitution is legal and rampant, you would think the young pretty girls are innocent but a lot are actually sugar babies. I'm in the medical field but I don't support euthanasia. I'm quite open-minded but not to the point of loosing my morals just because Canada is allowing it. It is also getting saturated with races with various beliefs. While I don't mind them, I worry that the tensions & clashes may become too close for comfort. In short, I think the country is becoming too expensive & liberated to raise a young imppresionable child in. Yes, we are also leaving Canada for an affordable, safer, more fun & happy place. It doesn't matter if it is not as progressive as Canada for as long as there is better humanity in the place...

Economic populism's focus on Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) programs misses the mark. Instead, we should embrace OPEN borders, allowing anyone to work and live in Canada without restrictions. This approach aligns with the market’s ability to determine labor needs better than government-imposed limitations.\n\nGovernment restrictions often fail to meet the real demands of the labor market, creating inefficiencies and bottlenecks. OPEN borders would let the market balance supply and demand more effectively, boosting productivity and fostering innovation.\n\nAdditionally, TFWs are often vulnerable to exploitation due to their uncertain status and tied employment. OPEN borders would protect workers from such exploitation, ensuring fair wages and working conditions.\n\nCanada’s demographic challenges, like an aging population, further highlight the need for a steady influx of labor. OPEN borders address these issues by providing a sustainable workforce and supporting economic growth.\n\nIn summary, OPEN borders offer a win-win-win scenario: they improve economic efficiency, protect foreign workers, and strengthen Canada’s economy. It’s time to move beyond outdated protectionist policies and embrace a market-driven approach.

1. open up 10% of crown land to development 2. reduce immigration to 90s levels and focus on doctors and nurses 3. ban foreign investment into Canada's housing market 4. relax regulations and red tape around house building 5. force property corporations and individuals into selling off anything more then 10 houses. \n\nits not like there are not solutions to this mess its that Canadians are apathetic and passive so there is no pressure on politicians to enact measures like these that would fix things in 1 year not 30. either way I am out of here for the US already looking at places cause I have no faith that people here will wake up and demand change.

There's hundreds of YouTube posts online precisely like this post. \nI'm not going to get into how long my family's been in Canada . Because it comes off as like a bragging or a snobbery and I don't go for that. I just want to put it out there Canada is not a destination for purely economic exploitation. \nIt's a place you know for people who I saw people from the former Yugoslavia comment online. Their parents were extremely happy to get out of there in the 90s.. you know they left in the 90s and it's what 2024 . First sight of hard economic Times they decide to pick up and go. \nYou know not a lot of loyalty. But I think you're going to be happier going back home for skin is a free country or free to do that and I wish you all the luck \nLet's see 2 weeks ago I had an accident at work I got four stitches in my scalp I was in and out of emergency in 5 hours which I thought was reasonable.. last week of came down with stomach flu and went to the walk-in clinic it opened at 9:00 I was at 9:15 I waited 10 minutes saw the doctor . I live in Calgary Alberta Canada which is the third or fourth biggest city of Canada experiencing record migration into the town so yeah there's big pressure on new housing. \nI just like to put it out there that I love California and raised lots of generations here not a fanatical American now you know Canada first kind of you know raw raw patriotic Canadian. You know I love my country I'm proud of it proud of my answers and all the couple hundred years of hard work they put in it you have to make this country livable for extremely cold Northern geographic location.\nNow I have a large extended family Oliver Canada the United States Mexico Australia New Zealand parts of Africa England Ireland Scotland Denmark France. \nI've been very fortunate to be able to keep up with this huge family especially because of the internet now. \nSo I keep we talk regularly online and we do business with each other a little bit and some of the countries and Canada's doing reasonably well regarding the job market cost of living and you know those sorts of things. \nYou know we've gone through covid pandemic whatever you want to call that shut the economy down for a couple years worldwide. The worst mistake during the pandemic lockdown in Canada was the government shoveling out free money and people reinvesting it back into their real estate. So you have billions of Canadians locked out of their jobs big shovel taxpayer money and they all just started renovating their homes. To the point where sheets of plywood were you couldn't find them and they went up 100 times and price. Solo's hundreds of billions of dollars that the government's going to take back and taxes from us all draw the cost of housing through the roof. Instead of at the time redirecting half of those two it was 500 billion take a half of that investment in putting it into infrastructure technology innovation for industries. Our education systems from kindergarten through to postsecondary education and spending it on the Canadians that were here. We've turned our post-secondary institutions in Canada into diploma Mills where you know your VA and your you know postgraduate degrees or you know they're worthless. However the government and the education system grew into a very profitable industry grinding out worthless degree after worthless degree for foreign students who thought when they got these degrees with 50% of Canadians have. People have to realize that post-secondary education is a big business so they're going to sell you a dream that's going to cost you a lot of money what I suggest is when YouTubers want to do something on Canada do some proper research let people know that we really do have quality post-secondary education system but you have to look at when you graduate those jobs going to be there to pay that large salary does White collar jobs are disappearing almost gone I purchase an app for my company with small company about 10 employees this inexpensive app alone has taken my office staff from 7: to 2: I have a 10 Red seal tradesman tradeswomen these 10 highly skilled trades people earn between 125 and 145,000 a year in gross salary and I need five more of these highly skilled people and I can't find them cuz everybody's running in to get a useless postgraduate degree. I do find it slightly offensive that a lot of new immigrants new Canadians immigrate to Canada to purely exploit it for its wealth Canada should be looked at as a place to come put your hard work in the struggles the ups and downs? and look at it as your home instead of you know a piggy bank but people are going to leave and there's a long line up to get in I've seen in my 40 year career you know three major reps and three major downs. What's happening in Canada's economy and the economies around the world it's all the same the US economy's doing quite well and talked to last couple of weeks friends that have invested their and families have been there long-term at present the United States is building a war economy so there's money pouring into that effort it does have a booming you know Hi-Tech boom as well however the tech boom is offshore with American companies and it's taking place in a part of the world that no one would think it would take place so if your graduate in the tech industry go online do a little research you'll find out where it is the USA is building a huge chip factories I think they just poured in 70 or 80 billion dollars we're in a transitioning economy don't get discouraged put your head into it do your homework find out where these new jobs are coming from which jobs are not going to be here. Traditional White collar you know middle management upper management jobs they've been gone for years everyone's think of themselves as an independent contractor. Also if you're a millennial or was a gen z person there's going to be a massive transfer of wealth over the next 20 to 30 years as baby boomers simply die off and then you guys are going to inherit their money I live in any one of the g7 economies I just got to find your niece with your qualifications and get in there and innovate because there's not one g7 country that significantly doing better than anyone else another interesting part of the world is East Africa I'm retiring there in 5 years I've already done my homework I've already got partners I've already started to train up people there in East Africa Canada and those parts of the world they have East Africa's great basic infrastructure so now that they've got their first level base of infrastructure a second economy is built off at the service that basic infrastructure that basic infrastructure allows for that second layer a bigger layer of investment you know and that's where the real money is for mid-level investors and you know highly educated Young westerners have got 10 years into their respective careers and these are also very beautiful countries you know so you can if you got family in Canada family in Europe India Asia you know you can start building networks collaborate on projects you know in these you know emerging economies you know mid-level economies but that's you know a good 20-year grind to get good at your career and build your confidence to go into these places and get these things done also you know it's a great life adventure but never expect just because you have an advanced degree that the door even come knocking down your door to employ you if you're going to wait for the opportunity to come to you you're going to be waiting forever you got to take your advanced degrees get out there and hustle and work hard man Canada's doing fine about four or five years it's you know it's going to take off next level and it's going to boom for 40 years and it's never going to get any cheaper in g7 countries Amy's emerging economies his pockets around the world they're starting to come up to in the window to get into these emerging economies with your advanced degrees it's closing if you don't make it if you don't start looking at it in the next 5 years your degrees are going to be gone useless and if you do decide to put your career in these emerging economies like Asia South America Central America Africa do it for the right reasons not just for money we don't want to make the same mistakes as like the industrial Revolution where a few people get rich and the people in that country you know don't get anything have respect for these countries employ their people and you have to get into these places before all the big corporations get set up there cuz they're they're going there Canada's a great place as a great time free medical system and I urge anybody that's feeling down or depressed in Canada you know to go get some therapy join some clubs talk to people don't get down and mostly don't you know don't give up on yourself you guys made it through you know Elite post-secondary education system and if you can if you can do that I mean you can you can do anything a lot of hard work ahead truly best of luck to all you guys

I would like to provide a background to all the native Canadians who are wondering why the East Indian population is growing in Canada they are lot of education consultants back in India who market Canada as a lucrative country to immigrate brownie points for studying to get PR free healthcare free education till grade 12 so everyone is trying their best to come to Canada on a student visa.Once students come on a student visa they need to work 20 hours a week which they are legally allowed to work on international student visa so locals feel they are taking their jobs In US international students are only allowed to work on campus despite so many job opportunities.Colleges in Canada charge 4-5 times tuition which is profitable to the education industry and provincial government.Once these students Graduate they get open work permit where they can gain Canadian work experience and apply for PR and citizenship eventually.All this benefits the government and the educational institutions overall in terms of taxes and revenue..

For some nations Canada turned into nightmare by spoof call attack. Many people died or killed. This kind of attack using impersonation by foreign country agents to target some people like me and many of my friends. Unfortunately most Asian and black and Latino people easily get fooled and used as a tool for attacker to target some people. Drug problem is another big issue in Canada and USA but fortunately gun violence is less than US. Healthcare getting worse everyday. Bad neighborhood experience which destroyed my health for life mostly because of spoof call attack. Bad policing which killed many innocent people. Woke laws and culture which marginalized men who are driving force of society. Very weird working experience. Work for yourself or get enslaved by another employer that's why people would love to work for government. Housing prices skyrocketing in big cities and there is no foreseeable future for its remedy. Cold weather for six month of year and at the end COVID force closure killed many of people and hospitalization was so bad. Anywhere there was no hospitalization people life were saved. There is no open market like many countries which are backed by government to buy goods in reasonable price for low income people. Very restricted laws for driver license. Life in Canada is far from normal kills you or make you disable for life without getting you paid. Now I disabled for couple of years and I'm outside of Canada and just my family saved my life because I couldn't work because of disability due to spoof call attack which cause severe peripheral neuropathy. Even there is no any protocol for this illness to get cured and forced me to see many MDs and cost me lots of money. Just stay away from Canada which is a nightmare and my sickness cost me not be able to protect my family and died because of that. Canada is a hell

You can have the choice because you have the Canadian Passport so you can move on and settle mostly where ever you can. Depending on your income off course. I have been to Malaysia and it seemed like a nice place to stay in. Indonesia too. And you know what! Even if you think how bad it is, Muslim population in THailand is Growing. While I was driving back from Bangkok to Pattaya, I stopped by a rest room area and I saw that there are Prayer Room for both man and woman! Even in the Bangkok airport you will find prayer spot! All the super market in Thailand has prayer room. I am seen Muslim women working on super mall in Pattaya while my daughter was chanting Kalima they were clapping on her! \n\nMy suggestion, if you would like to feel safe and be safe then Medina has opened up a business visa opportunity where you can get in and stay and may stay al song and you can. OR if you want to have mix of both them Malaysia is great. Also if you think you can take a little / slightly challenge situation staying and Dawah then THailand is the perfect place! Because you will find Muslims and halal food any corner in Thailand, Masjid is available all part of the country even on an Island! You can even walk with wearing Lungi and Punjabi with Tupi.

I immigrated to Canada in 2010, and here are my experiences inside and outside Canada. I am grateful for a good education; having a Canadian passport opened up many opportunities in other countries to build a higher-level career. However, if I had known the amount of stress, health, and financial damage that I had to endure, I wouldn't have chosen to come to Canada. I would have remained in the US or EU countries where I could achieve even more without suffering to the level I did here. \n\nMisleading immigration promotion: The government-sponsored Canadian immigration program oversells what Canada can offer. It withholds information on the cost of living, chicken-and-egg problems like Canadian work experience is required to get a job at the same level as you are in, Canadian credit history is required to rent a proper apartment, Canadian education is required to secure a high-level job, etc. \n\nHiring process: I knew the Canadian system was not ideal for immigrants over a decade ago, but it got so bad now that even the born citizens are unable to survive. The Canadian government and employers lack a basic understanding that ambitious, high-achieving people immigrate to other countries for high-level positions using proper channels. It's ridiculous to see that Canada uses a point-based system to choose highly qualified personnel to enter their country yet expects them to pursue low-paying entry-level or labor jobs just because they have brown/black skin. At first, I thought having a Canadian degree and experience might help me get high-level jobs, and I didn't think how I spoke or looked would matter when I had high credentials to show off. So, I got my masters & Ph.D. from the Univesity of Toronto, which consistently ranks #1 in Canada. I have a bachelor's from a prestigious university in Asia and had a high-competitive, well-paid federal government job in another country. Still, none of that was recognized in Canada, and I had to volunteer for over 6 months, 10 to 12 hours/day, in a research lab that led to a funded PhD program. I worked even harder during my Ph.D. with many accomplishments, like 40+ research and leadership awards, internationally recognized scientific discoveries, and innovative technologies. I checked all the above and beyond in various domains (research, teaching, leadership, business, engineering consulting, collaborations, etc.). Yet, employers couldn't see past my race, gender, age, etc., and refused to give me the opportunity at the level of my qualifications. Luckily, I managed to secure short-term work in the UK & the US, and it changed even how I see myself. I was highly respected for my credentials, given higher positions than I applied for, and paid 3-4 times more salary and benefits. Of course, bias is an integral part of every society, but my race, gender, age, etc., were not as big of an issue to begin my career at the mid-career stage in these countries as opposed to Canada. \n\nHealthcare: Access to healthcare was another big challenge for me. When I moved to Canada in 2010, due to extremely low temperatures, I developed hives all over my body, my eyes got red, and I coughed for many months. The doctor said there was nothing wrong with me and refused to give me any medication. It took us years to get a family doctor, and we got one through my personal network. In 2015/2016, I developed an autoimmune disease, and my eyeballs popped out. As of today, I did not get to see an eye specialist as they have only 1 specialist in the area, and the waiting time is for years for the first consultation. Every time the family doctor told me that I had iron deficiency, even when I insisted that they should run additional tests and they cleared, they were flagged. The doctor never diagnosed my autoimmune condition. Luckily, during my short-term work in the UK, I saw competent interns who completed my care. NHS is poorer than the medical system in Canada... they are understaffed, don't have hospital beds after surgery, or don't have stock of paper gowns, yet the staff are highly competent and caring. Within 1-2 years, they did complete diagnosis by sending me to various specialists, completed eye surgery, and even found a lifelong condition that was preventing me from realizing my full potential. Following, in the US, the doctors confirmed the diagnosis of all the conditions within 1-2 months and put me on two small pills for life. It has dramatically changed my life, and I have even more admiration for the medical profession. While in Canada, I suffered for over a decade, and every time, I was treated as a hypochondriac and never given a single prescription. \n\nQuality of life: Big cities like Toronto are mainly affected by high crime rates, overpopulation, cost of living, low employment, low salaries, etc. A few months back, there was a huge auto theft, and one of my contacts lost their Lexus car within minutes of parking. Despite being a scientist, I have no faith in politicians or individuals fixing these problems. The salaries are not increasing, but the taxes and cost of living are on the exponential growth curve. The ridiculous part is that Canada expects you to pay taxes even when you are not employed or living in Canada! I lived in London and Boston, and they offer a much higher quality of life and pay. \n\nGrowth potential: No wonder Canada, being a G7 country, falls at the bottom of the list in innovation, equal opportunities, economic growth, etc. It has a decent education system but, due to its inherent bias in the hiring process and monopoly of certain businesses, loses talented immigrants and highly qualified Canadians to the US, the UK, and EU markets. Unless there is a dramatic shift in policies, Canadians, especially new immigrants, cannot expect any positive experience in Canada except for being discriminated against and losing valuable time and money by being there.

1) Toronto is poor value. Getting housing of any kind (buying or renting) is stupidly expensive. And the quality you get for the price is lousy. Especially the newer builds, which are just thrown up as quickly as possible and sold to investors. Policy measures generally all seem to serve to just inflate the price of housing further. The occasional lip service given to affordability is amusing, but ultimately sad. There are lots of people who really do not want the housing bubble to pop. They will fight against it with all they have.\n\n2) It has become kind of boring. There is lots to do if you have money, but it’s harder to find entertainment on a budget. Even the free stuff like parks are filling up. Stuff like sporting events, eating out, going out is very costly across the board. Even the “cheaper” stuff is expensive. It seems like a lot of local culture is disappearing. Even the cool neighbourhoods are filling up with the same chains. I think the high commercial rent and bureaucracy is deflating a lot of would-be entrepreneurs. Most landowners seem to just be banking on cashing out their land for condos.\n\n3) Canada overall has a high cost of living compared to salaries. In the US you can find lower cost of living areas that still give you a real city experience. And in Europe you can be poor but still live a decent, if no frills, life. In Canada the basic necessities are all expensive. Phone bills, grocery bills, rent, insurance are through the roof. Domestic travel is expensive. And the dollar sucks if you want to travel abroad. Health care is free but good luck finding a family doctor or waiting 8 hours in the ER these days. It’s expensive to be poor, or even middle class.\n\n4) Most of the Greater Toronto Area, outside the core, is soulless suburbs with awful transit - very “American” except with worse traffic congestion. You will need a car, which is another huge cost. Row upon row of old cookie cutter suburbs with the same crappy houses. Good luck walking anywhere, and if you do you will need to walk down boring, treeless arterial roads with cars zooming past right beside you, and cross giant eight lane intersections that were never built for humans on foot. In a rainstorm or on a fall evening you have to be really careful not to be run over by aggressive drivers.\n\n5) It is hard to raise a family in an apartment here. You can do it but it’s not very easy, and also you are still kind of judged for it. Lots of young people are feeling stuck and are deferring or avoiding starting a family. Buying any type of house, even a basic townhouse, requires pledging your soul to a bank by taking a massive mortgage with eye watering debt in a volatile market. But few apartment buildings have the kind of sensible gentle density, the family unit sizes and the common amenities, like little courtyards with jungle gyms, that you might find in Europe. No one ever contemplated that anyone would ever desire to raise kids in an apartment. It’s just a cultural thing that has worked its way into how things are planned and designed.\n\n6) The transit system is ok by North American standards but awful by international standards. There are only two real subway lines, one stub line, one line that is permanently out of service after a derailment, and another line that was supposed to open a couple years ago but still has no date for opening. The subways go out of service frequently, sometimes for the dumbest reasons, and then it is a zoo of shuttle buses. The streetcars are nice but so slow. The buses are fine if you find yourself dreaming about riding a daily herky jerky rolling tin of sardines. They are building a lot of transit but it will take decades to get done.\n\n7) There is still a lot of cool multiculturalism and opportunities to experience different foods and cultures - one of the best things about Toronto. Increasingly though it seems to be losing the fun vibe of the 90s, when everyone celebrated each other’s backgrounds and was chill. It seems the immigration is not as broad based anymore and also people are importing a lot of their “old country” grievances here. The immigration system also kind of preys on people abroad by selling them a false fairy tale, so they end up dejected when they arrive and see how things really are.\n\n8) This one might be controversial but it’s kind of an ugly city. There’s nothing particularly of historical meaning or value. Some of the older neighbourhoods are kind of nice, but the last 25 years they have only built giant glass skyboxes, one after another. There aren’t the cool “missing middle” walkups like in NY, Chicago or Montreal (or even LA). There are very few buildings with much architectural character. Some of the buildings they deem “heritage” here are an embarrassment.\n\n9) For safety, honestly on this score I think Toronto is not bad. There are not too many real “ghettos” and it’s night and day compared to much of the US. With that said, there is more vagrancy and social issues these days, with tents and such. It’s very sad but the shelters are full, lots of homeless go into the libraries, parks and transit system. It does make it harder to enjoy these public amenities safely. It is nowhere close to Europe where you might let your kids run free around town. Canadian parents still helicopter their kids and the place again is not designed to really be safe for kids, in the same way as Europe.\n\n10) Finally, a bit of a double edged sword. Toronto had a lot of youthful energy - people coming here from all over. It is definitely not as sleepy as many parts of the world. With that said, it is becoming a bit of a transient place (minus the world class experiences like London or NY). If you are from elsewhere you might find it hard making and keeping friends. I’ve seen lots of people struggle because it’s is hard to build a strong social network. We have a very “shallow” culture here - people are extremely polite but not overly warm and hospitable. We treat one another kind of like neighbours - meaning we’d like to have a cordial, drama-free coexistence and otherwise kind of stick to ourselves.

This is the chickens coming home to roost, and the USA deserves it.\n\nIf the USA didn't impose sanctions, embargoes, then attempt coups and assasation attempts in Venezuela, then these people would stay at home.\n\nLook at Saudi Arabia; it's much more corrupt, undemocratic, and oppressive than Venezuela, but the USA trades with it and allows it to sell oil on the open market, so it can use the income to provide a livelihood for its people. \n\nVenezuela isn't allowed to do that, so the chickens come home. This is a result of your foreign policy. Leave Venezuela alone and things will be fine.