Settling in as a Newcomer to Canada

"If  you think life in Canada would be glamorous from the very beginning, you would be making tons of money and buying multiple properties within three to five years as you see on YouTube, then that's not the reality for [the] majority of the immigrants."

"From an economic standpoint it's very difficult for a newcomer who is trying to set foot in this new country."

"One should not be making this decision considering Canada as a fantasy land."

Nishant Kalia, Calgary YouTuber, recent immigrant to Canada

"We blindly followed the consultants. They portray a different image. Like, everybody is wearing branded clothes and driving the latest cars or getting good jobs immediately."

"I think it is important, if somebody is spending their life-savings to come to Canada and they have high hopes, that they need to make an informed decision."

"I don't say 'Don't come to Canada', I say, 'Know these things before you come to Canada'."

Rishabh Dutta, Life of Rishab channel

"It's like picking a university, there are objective factors, but there is also just what people are saying."

"If Canada has a reputation as a place where you are not going to succeed, then that's going to impact the number of people who are going to decide to come."

Daniel Bernhard, chief executive, Institute for Canadian Citizenship

"From what I have seen, at least within certain express entry classes, many newcomers are doing quite well."

"But at the same time, there are people who are coming in different fields who are struggling. The cautionary tone just serves to help everyone to be more mindful of what to expect."

"A lot of learning is taking place."

Stein Monteiro, senior research associate, Toronto Metropolitan University

New Canadians wave the national flag during a citizenship ceremony in Toronto. Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star/Getty Images

Nishant Kalia, a recent immigrant to Canada, operates the In The North-Canada channel where he posts videos discussing various issues, such as the possibility of a recession, rising rent costs and employment layoffs. He does this as a social public service to immigrants like himself, and to those people overseas who might be considering immigrating to Canada. As a way of expressing his impressions and the results of his own personal experiences as a recent immigrant. 

His wife has her own cautions and recommendations to add; be prepared, she says to prospective newcomers, to work two jobs since reliance on different "income streams" may be necessary for survival in Canada (economically). People, she says, should 'reconsider' their decision to emigrate should they currently be earning a good living where they are and not spending 'too much' on rent in their places of residence.

There are five popular social media channels in Canada which regularly post videos linked primarily to immigration; their followers are voluminous, in the hundred-thousands subscribers or followers. All claim to be involved in showing the realities inherent in moving to Canada; none are interested in warning people not to consider emigrating, however.

Kalia, who arrived in Canada in 2019 explains it is not his intention to inform potential newcomers that living in Canada is "unaffordable and dangerous". Rather, he spends most of his energies producing videos on how newcomers can find jobs and the different legal avenues that can be pursued to enter the country. He has modified his content in the past few years to reflect rising prices and rents, to provide his viewers with a "realistic expectation" preparing them to face a "more intense" environment due to inflation, in comparison to when he himself arrived.

Traditionally, Canada has relied on newcomers to fill job sector gaps in the need to drive its economy forward. Record population growth took place in 2022, with the addition of over a million permanent and temporary residents and foreign students studying in Canada. That is an intake substantially in excess of any other Western, advanced-economy-nation. Yet the federal government plans to increase immigration targets to bring in 500,000 permanent residents annually by 2025.

 

A process that is severely exacerbating an acute housing shortage in the country, and placing a serious strain on Canada's already-overstretched universal health care system. A system where millions of Canadians cannot find health services through a general practitioner able to serve as their family doctor. Hospitals in Canada have stretched their resources as far as they can for the past several years, but their mission to provide timely service in surgeries has faltered and continues to.

The motivation for increasing immigration levels is the improvement of a shrinking worker-to-retiree ratio as the number of working people required to pay income taxes in support of social services continues to rise.Five million Canadians are expected to retire by 2030, according to Statistics Canada. There are insufficient working-age job candidates for all manner of employment in Canada, yet bringing in millions of new people to further degrade housing and medical care is injurious in and of itself, both to current residents, and to those arriving.

Within two years, according to a report published by Toronto-Dominion Bank, the housing shortage could deepen by an additional half-million units,taking into account current immigration levels. Rishabh Dutta feels an obligation to his 123,000 subscribers, that it's crucial he "shares the reality" with his viewers, mostly from India which gives Canada its highest number of newcomers. Close to one-in-five immigrants are from India. Many are indebted to untrustworthy immigration consultants.

Recently, it was discovered that about 700 Indian students had entered the country illegally with fake admission letters, thanks to such consultants, and as a result they are now facing deportation. Mr. Dutta through his videos covers topics ranging from affordability and real estate to scams and rising rents, to ensure newcomers don't face a "culture shock" similar to the one he was forced to cope with. 

"I am not against coming here. I just tell them this is not the La-la-land they have seen", explains Vashistha Sevak, whose Instagram page viratintoronto has close to 140,000 followers. He plans to continue posting videos providing potential newcomers with a closer idea of what to expect on arrival.