Everyone likes to feel wanted and it seems that Canada is smiling and winking suggestively at us Brits. The Alberta's minister of Employment and Immigration, Hector Goudreau, has made the trip across the Atlantic to encourage Brits to pursue the Canadian dream.
Canada does seem to have a bit of a reputation for being the place where, well, nothing really happens but if you are willing to swap football, bobbies and condensed milk for hockey, mounties and maple syrup, then Canada is ready and waiting.
Canada, and Alberta especially, is suffering a chronic labour shortage that it is struggling to plug and is hoping to attract all kinds of skilled workers especially doctors, teachers and constructions workers.
So why should we consider giving up the high crime rate, cramped cities and summers spent under an umbrella and move to Canada?
The member of staff at the Alberta Immigration Office that i spoke to listed low crime, cheap housing, low unemployment, clean air, rolling planes, snowy mountains, fresh streams, thick forests and sparkling freshwater lakes. Not mentioned was the -30C winters.
British police officers seem to be willing to make the switch with one in 10 of Calgary's police force former members of the British police force.
Immigration to Canada is done by a points system and depends upon your age, qualifications and experience. Then all you need before you jet off to your new life is the minimum £10,000 savings they insist you must have to tide you over on your arrival.
It was at this point in the conversation that i faked a coughing fit and accidentally turned my phone off so unless there is a Canadian reading this and is willing to make me a job offer that comes with a £10,000 advance, i will just have to make do with the Due South repeats on UK Gold. Whatever happened to that cute Paul Gross anyway?
7 comments:
one of my oldest friends resides in edmonton-is from there originally.
she always reminds me that canada is an option, should we decide on bolting altogether one day.
they are fairly finicky about who they allow to immigrate, unlike the usa! (kidding...!)
Not sure how long the Alberta dream is going to last. That province's economy is heavily dependent on the fossil fuel industry, and if things go the way we environmentalists hope they do...
I swear if the U.S. starts a war with Iran I'm outta here. Sorry Canada, but because I'm a-feared of that U.S. stink juice migrating north, you're down the list a bit after the southern hemisphere English-speaking nations and those where German is heard most frequently.
It's true that Canada is dying for labor; every Canadian I talk to says the same. And it's all Albertan tar sands. When you factor heavy oil into reserves, as they should with current prices, Canada has more oil reserves than Saudi Arabia (what peak oil?). Also, FYI, getting the oil out of tar sands produces large amounts of "GHG," so no chance in Hell Canada meets Kyoto goals now.
I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK. If that doesn't work, try Ice road trucking, Bering Sea fishing, or the Oil industry. Hell Lucy, do all three and you can star in your own reality show. Tar sands are economically feasible at $65 and above oil, so make that your exit point. Good luck
If you're going to move to Canada, I would suggest beautiful British Columbia. The cost of living is pretty high, but that bubble is going to burst soon. The scenery is unbeatable.
I was going to give it some thought but the min £10k savings bit put me off, that wasn't mentioned until the very end of the conversation. I also wasn't aware it was tar pit territory. I did like the idea though because apart from the seal hunting, nobody ever seems to have anything bad to say about Canada.
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