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Home » Featured, Housing, Jobs, & Money

Need a job? Come to Canada

Submitted by on July 19, 2010 – 10:35 am3 Comments

Canada has been getting a lot of love from the U.S. media lately. As the U.S. economy continues to flounder, the American press is saying, “Go North!”

Stubbornly high unemployment rates got you down? Not sold on the economic recovery? Look no further than America’s polite neighbor to the north, where jobs numbers are surging and home prices have been rising steadily for nearly a year.

That’s what the Huffington Post wrote recently in Need A Job? Try Canada, Where Hiring Is Booming And Home Prices Are Rising.

The Huff Post article also noted that “last month, Canada, a nation with roughly one tenth of our population, created about 10,000 more new jobs than America.”

Similarly, in “Canada’s economy can teach the U.S. a thing or two,” the Los Angeles Times contends that  “…on healthcare, as well as on such critical issues as the deficit, unemployment, immigration and prospering in the global economy, Canada seems to be outperforming the United States. And in doing so, it is offering examples of successful strategies that Americans might consider.”

The LA Times article goes on to suggest that

…as Americans continue their grueling battle over immigration, Canadians have united behind a policy that emphasizes opening the door to tens of thousands of skilled professionals, entrepreneurs and other productive workers who have played an important role in strengthening the Canadian economy.

So perhaps it’s not surprising that older, well-educated immigrants are increasing choosing to come to Canada, rather than the U.S.

In fact, a recent Ipsos Reid/Historica-Dominion Institute poll, which surveyed nearly 18,000 people in 24 countries, found that “a majority (53%)…say they’d live in Canada if they had an opportunity to move.”

And that same poll reported that almost one-third (30%) of Americans would choose to relocate to Canada, if they could.

Among the factors that survey respondents cited about the benefits of life in Canada include:

  • Nearly 80 percent agreed that Canadians enjoy one of the best qualities of life anywhere in the world.
  • Most respondents (72%) believe that Canada is welcoming to immigrants.
  • Eight in ten respondents describe Canada as being tolerant of people from different racial and cultural backgrounds.

What do you think? Have you relocated to Canada for work? Are you thinking about moving to Canada for economic reasons? Leave a comment and let us know.

Canadian fans photo ©Carolyn B. Heller

3 Comments »

  • roberta says:

    I am a 28 year old girl from Italy with a Master Degree in Translation (from Italian to English and viceversa) and I would like to move to Canada (Vancouver or Calgary)looking for a job in Translation field.
    I don’t know how to look for a job. Can anybody help me?
    Thanks,
    Roberta.

  • Carolyn B. Heller says:

    Hi, Allan,
    If you do want to look for library career opportunities in Canada, check out the Canadian Library Association site (www.cla.ca), especially the Job Search page and the page about recognizing Foreign Credentials.

    Another immigration option you might want to investigate is the “provincial nominee” program available in most provinces. If you qualify as a “skilled worker,” it can be a faster route to permanent residence than the standard federal permanent residence application process. If you’re interested in Nova Scotia, you can read about their provincial nominee program here: http://www.novascotiaimmigration.com/nova-scotia-nominee-program

    For more about Nova Scotia, you might want to check out our post, “Nova Scotia Jobs and Where to Find Them”: http://www.livingabroadincanada.com/2010/03/30/nova-scotia-jobs-and-where-to-find-them/

    Your idea about buying a vacation home — or just coming to Canada for six months — is another reasonable approach. If you’re an American citizen, you can come to Canada as a visitor for up to six months a year. That way, you can decide if you like it before making a more permanent commitment. It would also be easier to make local contacts and network for job possibilities if you’re physically located in the area where you’d like to live.

    Good luck and let us know how you’re doing!

  • Allan In Da Bronx says:

    Yes, I am thinking about it quite seriously. But so far the Immigration Canada website gives me the strong feeling that I don’t qualify: My current profession isn’t in a “hot” skill (I was a librarian/archivist; I lost my job in the bad economy…), and I have absolutely no ties to Canada otherwise.

    I’ve also travelled to and lived in Europe, so I’m also applying to go there.

    Meanwhile, Canada has always been in the back of my mind for about a decade, but I had a nice job here in New York City for most of this time. But now I would really like to come to Nova Scotia (putting me at least an hour closer to Europe!); I’m considering coming through the back door, as it were, by buying a vacation home so that I can stay for at least six months to figure out what to do. I thought that I should go back to school in NS and learn something completely different altogether in a higher demand field (like culinary arts…)

    I’d be grateful for any suggestions!