Merit-Based System is a Lie
Canada is often praised for its so-called merit-based immigration system, and it sounds like a pretty good idea, in theory. In practice, Canadian officials are unable to figure out if merit-proving documents are genuine, so you need to compete to an army of people coming from extremely dishonest cultures if you want to immigrate to Canada and if you’re not in the mood to forge your documents. Of course, there are some other options, such as using a diploma mill or using one of the provincial immigration programs, but they’re all either shady or come with some nasty side effects. I considered a few of those options and none of them appeared beneficial to me.
Exit Tax
Canada is basically a trap, in a way that it’s easy to get in (especially if you’re dishonest enough), but they won’t let you out without robbing you. I didn’t know about it before talking to some Canadian expats here in Thailand, and they said I must be insane if I want to move there. That was a good lesson, actually: it’s really important to talk to real native citizens instead of fresh immigrants who often try to justify their sunk costs.
High Cost of Living and Low Wages
The only immigrants praising Canada are people who lived in poverty in their countries of origin. For them, having $20 an hour is a dream come true, but Canada can’t really compete for more qualified middle class jobs. The local wages are low and the tax rates are annoyingly high. Canadian real estate is barely affordable even to the Canadians themselves, and it’s not possible to have a nice house in a nice neighborhood working an average tech job, which is a norm in many other countries.
Politics
Canada is in US sphere of influence, and this fact is not really bad by itself, but it’s kind of humiliating that Canadians don’t have access to US, so they have to bear the costs of such friendship without getting any real benefits. I talked to many Canadians who wish to live in US, but it’s very hard for them to move there, so being a Canadian citizen won’t help you if you’re considering moving to US in the future. Also, Canada supports the Nazi regime in Ukraine, so supporting that with my tax money would be immoral.
Weather
The main reason why I left Russia is the fact that the weather there is shit 9 months out of 12. Unfortunately, Canada is not that different, and I can’t even imagine living through another winter. Thailand has its own issues, but weather here is almost perfect.
Conclusion
Canada depends on immigration for reasons out of scope of that post, which means it has an incentive to market their immigration programs. As with any marketing, the most important things are things they don’t mention, so it’s crucial to take your time and dig a bit deeper into untold topics. Talking to natives instead of fresh immigrants can also help to see the whole picture and decide accordingly.