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18 July 2014

Which Province In Canada To Live and Settle?

There were questions in my email inbox that I need to address.  Many were asking about it and this is the perfect time to answer those queries.

I took one question from my Me Moving To Canada (MM2C) email subscriber.

"...as to which province you choose and the pros and cons, we will definitely appreciate to receive your inputs." - Faith

First of all,  I will be concentrating on the pros here, which I have some data to provide, because the disadvantages are relative depending on one's perspective.  

In considering the perfect place to settle down, we need to see the following criteria:
  • Adaptability
  • Employment opportunities
  • Education of our children or future clans
  • Health 
These criteria depend on our priorities in life so we need to weigh each factor.  We can have many on the list, but we need to take down the important ones.  Let's discuss it one by one.

Adaptability
At our first application, Canada gives points for our spouse's IELTS, having relatives in Canada, and work experience in Canada.  Let us focus more on relatives in Canada since for me, it is more important.

If we have a relative in Canada, we have a 99% chance to survive in that country.  Once we arrive at the airport, we can consider ourselves blind from the country's culture and environment because we were only relying on Google and advice from acquaintances.

This is where relatives plays an important role for our success in Canada.  They are our eyes, a reliable one, that had seen the beauty and the ugly side of Canada.  

Our relatives can orient us even before we arrive there, advice us what to bring or not, where to find a job and etc...

I have relatives in Canada, specifically in Toronto, such as my sister, cousins, aunt and uncle.  I thank God that I have them as my guide and support.  That is why I chose Toronto, Ontario as the place of destination.

This is the reason why Canada gives points for the Eligibility Factor - Adaptability.  

Employment Opportunity
Job opportunities are everywhere, it depends on your current status and your preferences.  This is one of the difficult topic to discuss because everyone has his own idealism.

Once we land in Canada, keep our Ego to the lowest level because we are only noobs (newbies or newcomer). 

Yes, I'm an Engineer in Philippines and also an Engineer working in Singapore, but I will always  remind myself to wake up, this is Canada.  It's a different country with a new set of rules.

As advised by my relatives, there are a lot of jobs waiting for me, BUT I should not choose first.  The industries there needs a Canadian Experience.  

How to get it? Apply as a newbie employee, such as survival jobs, and eventually look for a job that really fits you.

Maintain your cash flow first to sustain your monthly expenses while waiting for the right job.  If your lucky to get the perfect job once you arrive, please buy me a coffee. :D

To make sure of our employment, lets look at the statistics.

The data table for this graph is located below

Based on the data above, unemployment decreased from 2012 to 2014.  This is a good indication that me and my wife can land a job, 90% chance, in Ontario.

If you want to find the employment statistics at your place of destination, please choose from this link:



Education of Our Children or Future Clan
As we all know, Canada has one of the world's best education system.  

At a 2013 poll survey done by the New Jersey Minority Educational Development (NJMED), Canada ranked the 7th in the world.

There is no doubt that the future of our children will be brighter when they are studying in any province of Canada compared to other countries ranked 8th and above.

Looking at the provincial view inside Canada, which is the best place to have your children educated?

Let's take a look at the ratio of educators to students in each province compared in an 8-year gap (2000/2001 and 2008/2009).  This indicates how our children will be given the most attention in school.

Chart 4: Student-educator ratio, by province and territory, 2000/2001 and 2008/2009

Given with this data, Ontario is still considerable.

From the rankings, one of the Top 20 of World University Rankings 2013-2014 is in Ontario, the University of Toronto.

Health of Our Family
Health is one of the most important status in our family.  That is why we need to see which province is the best health care in terms of value-for-money.
Relative health-care value-for-money, according to the Fraser Institute (zero to 10, 10 being the best)
Quebec — 10
Ontario — 7.43
New Brunswick — 5.87
Nova Scotia — 4.73
B.C. — 4.12
Manitoba — 3.66
Alberta — 3.35
Saskatchewan — 1.17
P.E.I. — 0.48
Newfoundland and Labrador — 0
Source: National Post
Ontario is ranked the second for the best value-for-money in terms of healthcare in Canada.

The above reasons are just supplemental data for me to decide on Toronto as my place of destination.  

The most important factor for me is staying near with my relatives and family, given that being inside Canada itself is already the best place to live in, always at one of the Top of the World's Best.

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3 comments:

chacha (charter change) said...

HI Ben,
In the form they ask what province and city you intend to stay, does it mean you are only restricted to live and work in that location?

Thanks for your wonderful site, i am able to do bits of preparation each day for the FSW application.

Ben Alagnam said...

You are not restricted, you can put anywhere you like but not in Quebec. If you have relatives/friends on a specific place, better indicate that in your application, or otherwise put anywhere you want to stay. Once your visa is approved...you can land anywhere, except Quebec.

The application that is restricted is the Provincial Nominee Program, which is not the case we are applying right now, which is the Federal Skilled Worker Program. Hope this helps.

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Ben Alagnam - MeMovingToCanada