Characteristics of Canadians

Character 
Canadians are very hospitable, welcoming people - particularly in provincial and rural Canada. 

The majority of Canadians are very tolerant and follow a live and let live philosophy. There is often a stronger sense of community and duty in Canadian towns than can be found in other countries. 

Visitors to Canada may find it difficult to tell the difference between its English speaking provinces and the USA. 

There is no danger of mistaking French-speaking Quebec for the USA. A degree of hostility to Canadian English speakers can be encountered at times in Quebec. Getting a job or running a business in Quebec requires fluency in French. 

Most of Canada has a semi-continental or a continental climate. 

Depending on the exact location, summers are warm or hot and winters are cold or very cold (or brutally cold). The exception is Canada's Pacific coast, where summers and winters are mild. 

Sunshine is abundant in most provinces, particularly the prairie provinces in the middle of Canada. 

Toronto and Vancouver are Canada's most multicultural and cosmopolitan cites. They are rich in cultural and artistic activities and their restaurants offer many of the world's cuisines.

Housing 
Canada has traditionally offered its residents some of the cheapest housing in the developed world. In recent times, house prices in a number of cities have risen sharply and can no longer be considered cheap. 

The country has huge forests and timber is readily available as a building material. 

Houses in Canada are typically timber-framed and, because of climate extremes, the housing stock is usually high quality and well insulated. 

Canadian Cities Compared

Canada's Cities Compared

City	Toronto	Montreal	Vancouver	Calgary	Edmonton	Ottawa	Winnipeg	Halifax
Population (metropolitan)	5.1 million	3.6 million	2.1 million	1.1 million	1.0 million	1.1 million	0.7 million	0.37 million
Born Overseas	49 %	21 %	38 %	22 %	19 %	18 %	17 %	7 %
Visible Minorities	43 %	16 %	37 %	19 %	23 %	14 %	13 %	7 %
Average House Price Late 2010	$427 K	$303 K	$679 K	$401 K	$325 K	$325 K	$223 K	$240 K
Average Full Time  Income (2006 Census)	$45,400	$39,419	$43,200	$46,200	$44,515	$50,300	$38,800	$40,200
Median Income  Per Household (2008)	$68,120	$65,660	$68,670	$91,570	$88,190	$90,990	$70,510	$74,040
Unemployment Rate Late 2010	9.4 %	9.5 %	7.5 %	6.8 %	6.2 %	7.1 %	6.1 %	6.8 %

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Why Canada - Why Only Canada For Study?

Why Canada?

For several years now, Canada has been accepting about quarter of a million new Permanent Residents each year. 

For people with skills, work experience and a good standard of English or French, qualifying for residence is not a huge barrier. 

Once accepted, you can take pleasure from the fact that you will be free to live permanently in a country consistently rated by the UN as the world's best country to live in. 

Furthermore, Canada is the world's second biggest country, rich in natural resources including oil reserves second only to Saudi Arabia. 

Despite the abundance of natural wealth, real estate in many Canadian locations is cheap compared with other developed countries - although a combination of a rising currency and rapidly rising prices in some cites means this is no longer the case in a number of locations. 

If you are bringing children to Canada, it's likely their education will be important to you. The OECD compared the performance of school students in 65 countries in mathematics, reading and science. Canadian students performed better than students from any other English speaking country.

Canada's health care is publicly (tax-payer) funded: payment is generally not required for medical treatment, although depending on the province you live in it's probable you'll pay for pharmaceuticals and dental care. 

Canada's 34 million residents enjoy virtually unlimited recreational opportunities and you might be forgiven for thinking you have found paradise. 

Unfortunately, for many migrants, Canada has been less than paradise. The Canadian government is aware that many migrants have struggled economically in Canada and it is now striving to improve migrant-outcomes. 

So, although Canada is a fantastic choice for most people, it's not for everyone. 

We do try reflect this fairly by presenting the cons as well as the pros.

Living in Canada

Location 
Canada lies to the North of the USA and, behind Russia, is the world's second largest country. The vast majority of Canada's population lives near the southern border with the USA. 

Employment 
In recent years, Canada's agricultural and mineral exports have performed well in world markets. Economic conditions are relatively good for most of the country. 

A few years ago, you would not have been advised to come to Canada to improve your salary. 

Canadians enjoyed, and still enjoy, a very high quality of life but, compared with salaries available in the USA, UK and Northern Europe, Canadians were not highly paid. 

Now rising wages and a strengthening currency have pushed Canada's average wage higher than the USA's, the UK's, and most of Europe's. 

A major advantage of living in Canada is that, in most locations, it's possible to buy a comfortable, large, detached house on a normal income. 

Jobs tend to be most plentiful in Toronto / Southern Ontario, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. 

Canada has not been immune to the general economic downturn, however, unemployment rates in Toronto and Vancouver hover (early 2011) at about 8 percent while Calgary's and Edmonton's are about 6 to 7 percent. 

Getting work can be difficult for migrants when they first arrive in Canada. Ideally you should arrange a job before you go to Canada. 

Before seriously considering moving to Canada, it is absolutely vital you check that Canadian employers will accept your qualifications and experience. 

If you have specialist, in-demand skills you are less likely to encounter difficulties but that is no guarantee of finding a suitable job. 

When they have a position to fill, Canadian employers tend to look first for a local employee - someone they can get the low-down on from trusted industry contacts. If they can't find a suitable local employee, employers will consider taking on a migrant. 

Given the potential difficulties in finding suitable work, migrants are strongly advised to bring plenty of money to live on while job-hunting. 

If your English language skills are not excellent, you may find it almost impossible to get a job appropriate to your skills. 

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Top 10 colleges in Canada

Every year almost 150,000 international students come to Canada to pursue one or another higher study program. They come from nations all over the globe to pursue an education at Canadian high-schools, colleges and universities. Canadian place great importance on learning, and have developed a first-rate education system with very high standards.

Canada offers number of advantages to the international students. Canada has an excellent reputation around the world. It provides safe and healthy environment to students. The country offers multicultural environment to study. Canadian educational institutions internationally acclaimed for their quality education, and Canadian certifications are recognized all over the world. While studying in Canadian institutions students need to spend comparatively low tuition fee which makes education an excellent value. International students also come for the experience of a country with incredible diverse natural and cultural environment.

Students came in this country from all over the world to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate courses. Some of the famous courses in Canada are language, fine arts, agriculture, mass communication, design, multimedia, journalism, engineering, business studies and management. If you are planning to study in Canada's top 10 colleges and universities, the below list will help you to select from among the best Canadian universities. These world-class institutions offer a wide range of programs to match student's academic and professional goals and interests.

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Top 10 colleges in Canada:

Rank      University Name              Score

1              Mc Gill University             89.3

2              University of Toronto     84.3

3              University of British Columbia    77.4

4              University of Alberta      69.4

5              Queen's University         58.2

6              Université de Montréal       56.9

7              University of Waterloo  54.8

8              McMaster University     51.9

9              University of Western Ontario   51.8

10           University of Calgary      51.8

1.            Algonquin College

2.            Bow Valley College

3.            Cambrian College of Applied Arts & Technology

4.            Camosun College

5.            Centennial College of Applied Arts & Technology

6.            College of New Caledonia

7.            College of the Rockies

8.            Columbia College

9.            Conestoga College

10.          Confederation College of Applied Arts & Technology

11.          Douglas College

12.          Durham College

13.          Fanshawe College of Applied Arts & Technology

14.          George Brown College

15.          Georgian College of Arts & Technology

16.          Grant MacEwan University

17.          Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning

18.          Kwantlen Polytechnic University

19.          Lambton College of Applied Arts & Technology

20.          Loyalist College of Applied Arts & Technology

21.          Marine Institute of Memorial University

22.          Medicine Hat College

23.          Mohawk College of Applied Arts & Technology

24.          New Brunswick Community College

25.          Niagara College

26.          North Island College

27.          Northern Alberta Institute of Technology

28.          Northern College

29.          Northern Lights

30.          Okanagan College

31.          Red River College of Applied Arts, Science & Technology

32.          Selkirk College

33.          Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology

34.          Sheridan College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning

35.          St-Clair College of Applied Arts & Technology

36.          St. Lawrence College

37.          University of the Fraser Valley

38.          Vancouver Island University

39.          Vancouver Community College

40.          New Brunswick College of Craft and Design

41.          Fleming College

42.          Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology (SIAST)

43.          Parkland College

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Accounting & Finance Careers in Canada

Students planning on a career in finance or accounting often graduate from commerce or business program. Finance and accounting professionals work in auditing or accounting firms, government, banks or other financial institutions, investment companies or securities-related businesses such as stock brokerages or any corporate environment.

According to Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) work prospects in these areas are fair to good. The most recent survey published by HRDC showed lower than average unemployment rates and higher than average earnings for people in these occupations.

HRDC advises that more than 90 percent of graduates from commerce and business programs were satisfied with their work, and more than 70 percent said they would make the same educational choice again. About 30 percent of graduates felt they were overqualified for their work, which is about average for all graduates, but almost 60 percent, slightly higher than average, thought their training directly matched the work they were doing.

Statistics showed that graduates in the area of auditing, accounting and investing did not change jobs frequently.

According to Canada's Best Career Guide, the number of accounting graduates is declining, which it suggests means there will be less competition for jobs. It also suggests, however, that large auditing/accounting firms are merging, which will result in the reduction of full-time employees. This said, the author Frank Feather -- reported to be Canada's leading business futurist -- still lists accountant/ auditor in the top 30 careers for 2000-2010, noting reasonably low (2 out of 5) stress levels and relatively high income (3 out of 5).

In the areas of banking and brokerage, Canada's Best Career Guide suggests that the old standard jobs, such as bank tellers and stock brokers, are disappearing. Automated services are eliminating jobs in those areas, which are being replaced by either broader skilled employees or more specialized positions.

Human Resources Development Canada seems to agree. HRDC noted that financial institutions are increasingly seeking professionals with a broad range of financial sector skills and that computerization increasingly affects these occupations: "With the re-engineering of the workplace, administrators with specialized skills in data or communications should be more successful in the labour market."

HRDC predicted that most of the increase in labour requirements in finance and accounting will occur in professional services, insurance and real estate and business service sectors.

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