- News Headline: Why Some Are Leaving Canada for Affordability. “Some Canadians are making the difficult decision to move to more affordable countries amid the country's affordability crisis. The high cost of housing and other essentials such as food are among the factors prompting people to seek to live somewhere where their money goes further.” Yes this trend goes largely unnoticed, as the roughly 100,000 per year who leave is overshadowed by the number who arrive.
- News Headline: “The Walking Route”: How an underground industry is helping migrants flee China for the US. The South American country of Ecuador allows visa-free entry for Chinese passport holders. So once you get there, it’s just a simple matter of walking to the United States! (It kind of makes ya wonder why, considering how easy it is to get entry to Canada.)
- News Headline: Thinking of Leaving Canada? There’s More than Just Personal Tax Rates to Consider. Don’t get me wrong. I love Canada. It’s absolutely beautiful, and it’s been pretty safe (knock on wood). But believe me, after nearly three years of living here, I wouldn’t fault any Canadian for wanting to leave. The affordability crisis is real. It ain’t just housing, it really began to spike about 7 months after we arrived (we started really noticing it around January 2022). And yes, Canadians talk about leaving all the time. In fact, I’d say leaving Canada is almost as commonplace a topic as weather or sports. And the number of people in the US that are thinking about moving is not far behind Canada. And I don’t just mean during those reliable and predictable election-season spikes. No, I’m talking about a steadily increasing trend of US persons leaving or considering leaving. In the article above, the author, Kim Moody, correctly points to a couple of key reasons besides high taxes that Canadian expats and expat wannabes cite. But I assure you, if taxes were the only thing that’s out of control, that wouldn’t be enough to incentivize most people to leave. It’s everything else. The rules. The rules on top of rules. No beer in the park. No playing frisbee without a permit. If you’d like to engage in still photography, simply call 416-392-8188 for permission😳. You can’t imagine until you’ve lived here just how expensive every little thing is. And just how little say in matters people feel they have. The land of ever-stricter rules, and ever-diminishing representation (sound like the US?) is becoming divided among those same stale, obsolete party lines they’ve drawn up in the US. Do you want to see what the US is going to look like once they’ve finally completely hollowed out the middle class? Come on up, it’s on display everywhere. It seems the people in charge are increasingly contemptuous of the majority who fund their lavish lifestyles. They’ve stopped pretending democracy even exists up here. Most Canadians I’ve met don’t bother to vote. And why should they? And yet voter apathy still isn’t as low as in the US. With lobbyists, revolving doors, and the whole bloody country bought, sold and paid for, it’s no surprise that more and more people have begun to figure out that voting with your feet is about the only thing you can do. Not that they would care if you left. But for Canadians to go to the United States? Sister please. Hey, I love the United States, too. I was born and raised there. I lived there for 51 years. And who’s to say I won’t live there again? But to make that your only destination when considering leaving Canada? I’d seriously consider other options.
- News Headline: Toronto City Staff Propose 10.5% Property Tax Hike as Part of 2024 Budget. Spoiler alert: it’s actually going to be 16.5%, due to their smoke-and-mirrors tactics. It’s just another reason why people are leaving Canada—and why an entire generation has given up on ever owning a home. People don’t feel represented at all. One year the mayor bumps property taxes 5.5%, the next it’s 10.5%—but it’s really going to be 16.5% once you read the fine print. And they can just do it. What’s the ceiling? Young people have questions. Gone are the days of the baby boomers, uncritically handing over the reins to politicians and trusting that they’re going to be responsible with their money.
- News headline: Driver clocked 99 km/hr over speed limit handed multiple tickets close to $2,000. Let’s be honest, folks. 199 km/hr is not really that fast. That’s 123 miles per hour. Yeah, sure, it’s probably too fast—except maybe for road tripping on a wide-open stretch of road—but hardly newsworthy. I’m from the United States, and the only time I recall seeing speeds of 123mph on the news is if that’s how high the speeds reached during a chase. But for the speed itself to be the news story? Please. How is this news? Well up here this sort of thing makes the news all the time. It’s silly, really. People who designed major civil engineering boondoggles like the Don Valley Parkway and the 401, setting the speed limits? Please.
- News Headline: British Columbia Plans to Give “Safer Supply” of Fentanyl to Minors and Parents Won’t Have a Say. Now, I’m not going to weigh in on this article, as I’m not a huge fan of the outlet where it’s posted, and I don’t want to get into politics (I feel I don’t really fit anywhere on the false left-right paradigm). But this article is a great example of what you might expect if you move up here with kids. I’m just saying, if you have kids, and you’re thinking of moving to Canada, there are lots of drugs up here. And I’m not talking about cannabis.
Forward this to a friend!