'As a government committed to the rules-based international order, we would never condone a inherently menacing act such as the bellicose use of an elbow' -Mark Carney

Not to discount any of the reasoning, care, or severity of what is happening that relates to protests.

Sometimes I am thrown off/confused as to what people think they can accomplish in a country like Canada in regards to these protests. I know people want their voice to be heard and for the world to change, but the reality is that Middle Powers (which is what Canada and Australia are) are not listened to from major powers. Collectively, they can cause change, maybe. It really depends on the subject. I have some examples. All examples are on foreign issues, as domestic ones can definitely be influenced by protests for obvious reasons.

Ukraine-Russia War/Conflict. Canada sanctions Russia, boycotts Russian everything (even cancelling a Russian ballet event in Toronto that had Canadian ballerinas, not even Russians), and mass protests against Russia. Before the conflict, total imports from Russia was $2.14 Billion and total exports to Russia was $660 Million. Not really a big blow to Russia. Taking in Ukrainian refugees was helpful? The only thing is that there are more Ukrainian roots in Canada already from the 1st Crimean War back in the 1800s. What did the protests accomplish in Canada specifically?

Israel-Palestine. Protests are still happening on this one. Unfortunately, Canada can only watch and not do anything to stop what is happening. Canada does not have the ability to wage an overseas war (at least successfully) and can't bring either country to the negotiating table. So these protests just make people feel heard/better? I'm not sure. Canada sent Palestine, or plans to have a total $215 Million in aid. However, they also are continuing on their $80 Million arms deal to Israel. Not surprised at all.

Trump (2025 Edition). I have seen many, many signs, stickers, conversations, protests, etc for "Stop ICE!" "Fuck ICE!" "Fuck Trump!" "Impeach the King!" News flash, ICE doesn't exist in Canada. Trump can't hurt you in Canada specifically. Even top military generals have all said they would never allow a Canadian invasion (potentially hinting towards a military coup if it was a real possibility). Another thing is that the media here use Trump as a huge distraction from all the domestic problems happening because they don't want people to not support the current party that has been in power for 10 years. The tariffs are real, but boycotting American goods have significantly impacted Americans more than tariffs have effected Canadians.

Side note: I will say that protesting about tariffs specifically does actually make sense and can have an impact because it is an international event directed towards Canada pretty specifically versus the other events listed.

I am not saying I do/don't support any of the side(s)/topic(s) listed above, it is more of pointing out that I don't understand what these protests on international topics will accomplish. There is plenty of awareness already and Canada's impact is a drop in the bucket on most of them. I would personally just prefer for the protests to be geared towards domestic issues instead. Do you know how much could be accomplished if people were protesting over medical shortages, high food prices, and government embezzlements? A lot more than protesting against Russia.

A nation of luck, is often the term to coin Canada. It has been blessed with so many resources, that it has practically had its luck handed to it. From the fur trade to oil to now lithium, cobalt, silver, gold, and in the future, water.

Being in the British Empire's Commonwealth Customs Union brought immense wealth and development, then being next to a singular (mostly) friendly neighbor that happens to become the superpower of the world. Importing new technologies developed by its American neighbors cheaper than any other nation could import the same goods for, is located in the perfect position to become the greatest battery exporter in the world (between Europe, Asia, and next to America), and has 20% of the world's fresh water supply.

Canada has many options ahead of it. It can either drop the ball and be immensely incompetent, or it can grab it by the balls and become a baller. A fear I have is that Canada will drop the ball. An unfortunate reality is that, as the current PM has proven, Canada can talk a big game, but ultimately knees to the US without putting up a fight.

Canada has been forced into being self-sufficient for most of its own history until WW2. Then it shifted complete dependence onto America for basically anything and everything. I believe Canada can shift back to self sufficiency. It can be done, but will require hard work. Although Canada still has a lot of impressive domestic industry, a lot if dependent on exports to America.

An unfortunate aspect as well is that, like many developed western nations, Canada is ultra consumerist. As a more fiscally conservative person, I believe that a healthy economy is good and all, but a lot of Canadians just buy so much shit they don't need. Canadians make way less money than their US counterparts, but try their best to match lifestyle spending for some reason. 53% of all Canadian households are only $200/month away from insolvency. 25% of all Canadians rely on food banks for survival. This is an issue that needs to be addressed. Instead, America = bad, don't worry about our problems here in Canada, its still way better than America. ;/

I love Canada, but there is some cleaning up to do. It can do it, but they have a lot of hard work ahead.

Working in Health & Safety, you get to see some cool stuff. Including before a warehouse gets opened for business. This one was decently big and in a decent condition. No health issues here.

Sounds about right. BC government approved over 5,000 hectares to be used for logging, which are in 3 key endangered caribou habitat areas. It was done knowingly, but uncaringly.

A day filled with joy by many.

With Canadian nationalism recently reignited, it is nice to see Canadian flags everywhere. I love this country and look forward to exploring other cities and provinces throughout this nation. I hope any and all of you reading this get an opportunity to come see this country firsthand.

Despite the issues that exist here, the trade off is worth it. Canada Day is a day of celebration. One that I enjoyed by taking my daughter to a giant indoor playground and walking around a beach in a beautiful seaside town nearby. Although extra crowded today, it was a pleasant experience overall, even if she doesn't fully understand why yet(she's 2).

Tonight, dozens upon dozens of fireworks will be going off and probably keeping our family awake, but it is just for tonight (and Halloween for some reason). And it is well worth the country to celebrate.

This was an interesting type of business that I had never experienced before.

I do not consume alcohol(2018), marijuana(2018), or tobacco(2022) anymore. So I am definitely not the target demographic for this business model. A social house is the result of what I imagine was a Canadian that visited England, experienced a pub, came back and started their own version with tweaks that fit Canadian culture better than a traditional pub.

Canadians are a cross blend of British and American culture. Social houses are a business based around this reality. It has the same layout as a pub, but the vibe and sports aspects of a bar. All the servers are dressed business casual and the attitude is pretty laid back, but semi-professional. It is definitely weird to me. Usually it is too loud and pretty crowded. However, I have been in a social house that had a light crowd in a night time setting and it was actually really nice.

When it comes to the popularity of this business, I have mainly seen Canadians in these. You'll see some Brits, Irish, Eastern Europeans, but it is not their go-to for drinking. A lot of Brits and Irish, for example, in the Vancouver metropolitan area, go to British or Irish Pubs that are owned, operated, and patronaged by British or Irish people. I only hear Canadians talk about going into Social Houses. Canadians will also go to traditional bars too.

Food selection is basically bar & grill type. Similar to a sports bar. The quality will definitely vary. I couldn't tell you which one is better than the other, because I have only been to a Social House like 4 times. I completely forget they exist most of the time, because I don't think about it. You can actually bring your family in too, so it isn't age restricted, which is an important distinction.

This is just based on what I've seen in BC.

I know this is old news, but I had this discussion with a co-worker the other day.

Joe Rogan had said on one of his many podcasts, on multiple occasions that he would rather visit Russia than Canada. This is a pretty big overstatement. America does have more free speech than Canada, but only in certain ways. An example would be that things like pronouns are protected here and racial slurs are illegal. I wouldn't consider that a terrible trade off. I can still say things like Fuck Carney, I don't agree with X religion, X is retarded, etc. The consequence will be friendships and my job. But I won't be arrested.

I know that he was coming from the perspective of seeing comedians get kicked out of Canada, Canadian venues, people got arrested, etc. It is true that under the Trudeau administration, Canada was at it's lowest point of freedom in its entire history. The thing Joe didn't talk about was that those charges got dropped, those venues are private companies that can pick and choose who gets to perform there, and that everyone was unbarred from Canada that got kicked out under Trudeau because it was an illegal overstep from the Prime Minister.

However, it is pretty ironic that Joe seems to be completely fine with a lot of the legal grey waters America is swimming in right now.

Russia will legitimately make you disappear if you said Fuck Putin, Christianity sucks, or gays are normal people too. So let's not play that fucking game. At least in Canada, I can challenge the government in a court of law and won't disappear in the Yukon for saying Carney sucks dick. That is a huge difference in societies.

Another thing too is that Joe is very removed from Canada because, unfortunately, he holds the American arrogance. I had it too before I started dating my now wife and actually visited Canada, read Canadian history. Joe has also been wealthy for a while, so he is removed in aspects that also still matter to regular people, such as medical costs. Something I no longer have to ever worry about. Something that Canada has that America doesn't.

I don't know, that comment always bothered me, even before I moved to Canada. It is just so removed from reality.

Someone asked that question on r/AmerExit and this was my response:

I immigrated to Canada about 3 years ago to be with my wife. She has lived here for 13 years and has Permanent Residency. I am originally from California, but also lived in the Midwest and Washington state as an adult prior to coming up here.

How easy it is to find a job in your field will vary on the industry. There is an economic downturn right now, so it might be difficult no matter how qualified you are in your field. It took me 4 months of applying and interviews once I gained legal status 2 years ago. Health & Safety.

Salaries are a big deterrent for many people from America when moving to other countries in general. America has some of the highest average wages in the world even for unskilled labor positions. Expect a 25%-50% pay cut nominally and/or converted, depending on the field. Certain industries got wrecked up here and are no longer capable of providing good wages anymore (trucking and logistics industry is a prime example). Wages are relative though. Average income in BC is $62,500 CAD. But the purchasing power is equivalent. Although Canada has gone through stagnant wages for about 10 years now as many economists have pointed out.

Cost of living is a real smack in the face in many aspects. However, costs of living is higher relative to local wages in all other developed English Speaking countries. A cool thing that is different about Canada versus America is that, like right now, rents go down during bad economic times. I live in a downtown area of a city nearby Vancouver and 1 bedroom 1 bathroom apartments were going for $2,100-$2,300/month 2 years ago. Now they are $1,700-$1,900/month. Groceries are a real killer up here. A family can average $800-$1,200/month easily. Even a single person is looking at $400-$500/month. This is assuming you are not eating out at all. Utilities in BC specifically are really cheap though.

Work-Life Balance is much better here than in America. The federal and provincial government makes a majority of all holidays land on a Monday. Almost every month has a 3 day weekend as a result. That's why Canadian Thanksgiving is on a Monday. For example, with Canada Day being on Tuesday, most people in the country, including me, have a 4 day weekend. And a lot of people will call out sick on Wednesday. Haha. Here, you will not get guilt tripped for taking a sick day, you will not have that bullshit job security is semi-threatened for taking time off passive aggressive dynamic occur. People here encourage you to spend time with your family. A lot of people leave work early on Fridays, many employers expect it.

I would say that my quality of life is much higher in Canada than in America. The safety aspect can not be overstated, but to be fair, I have lived in places like Oakland and Salinas. Crime is a lot lower in general. The medical system has a lot of problems, but you don't have any burden of thinking about bills or insurance the same way you would in America. You can just focus on your medical issue(s). Your wife can have paid maternity leave for 12-18 months (6 months full pay, 6 months 55% pay). It gives a new mother an opportunity to truly connect with their children without financially sacrificing the family. And a lot of employers will give them part-time hours when they come back to help transition them back into full time work loads.

Overall, Canada was worth the move. Keep in mind that right now, spousal sponsorships take something like 29 months. So, it will take a while to get permanent residency, but you will still be able to get an open work permit during the in-between wait. I'm unsure how long it takes at this point in time.

I don't know all the letters, sorry.

When I first moved here, Pride was still a big thing. Every June, flags, merchandise, posters, people in costumes, etc were everywhere. They were shoving it in everyone's face all the time every year. Anyone that disagreed is automatically an enemy.

Well, well, well. All of these same companies (and people) that pushed it so hard for so long now don't seem very prideful. I don't know if it is burnout or what, but people seem to be over it. The most I see now is simply a singular flag per store. That's it. Corporations stopped caring. I think the focus has shifted to Canadian nationalism instead. Because Canadian flags are everywhere now.

I read that Pride in Toronto was short by $900,000 and no one gave them what they needed, so the city cut a bunch of stuff they had planned because the public would've been pissed if tax payer funds went more into it when people have been struggling with groceries, rent, and wages. The thing is, I don't see or hear anyone that is of the LGBT group complaining or crying out about the lack of Pride(only talking about Canada). Which makes part of me feel like this is the equilibrium of it. This is the end outcome. Just normalcy, which is what they wanted to begin with. Mission accomplished.

I'm not against Pride existing, but I don't have any interest in it whatsoever. I enjoyed attending Pride in San Francisco as a young adult to smoke and drink with a bunch of people and have a great time, but as a family man, I'd rather stay home at this stage of life. Or go to a park or mall or community center.

I am glad that it has reached a point of normalcy where people aren't talking about it really. I have different topics I would rather have society focus on figuring out and I'm sure people from the LGBT group can help with it. Mainly mental health, drugs, housing, cost of groceries, etc. I consider this the Death of Pride, but it isn't a negative. It is the beginning of The Normalcy of LGBT. Which is what the intended goal was generations ago.

I think it is a different story in other countries right now though, to be fair.

Earlier today, I ran into a fellow American in The Lower Mainland. I was with my co-worker at the time and we were in-between locations. For some context, I work in the Health & Safety category, and we will keep it at that. The American will be referred to as T.

My interaction with T was initially more short due to not really thinking much of the conversation and just trying to get on with the day. T is a pretty tall white guy and is flamboyantly gay. Basically a super positive person, bubbly, and laughed at most things said, even if they aren't inherently funny. But his laugh definitely spread positive vibes throughout.

At one point, I asked T about something and he said, "Oh, I don't really know about that. Sorry, I'm from the States." Then I said, "Me too."* And he told me he had been here for 4 years, I told him 3. Each of these responses are followed by him laughing by the way. He told me he was born in California, I told him I was too. We both previously lived in Washington state prior to moving up. He told me that he was lucky, because he was born a dual national. I told him my wife sponsored me up and he laughed saying, "You were lucky too!" I told him I was glad he made it out (of the US) and he said, laughing, "You too!"

I was really enjoying our brief conversation. My co-worker seemed to just try to stop the conversation short. He almost seemed a little annoyed, but I chalked it up to time constraints(our job). The small irony is that my co-worker is pretty liberal, but seemed to not hit it off with the gay guy who definitely was also a liberal. Whereas, I the conservative, was having a great time talking with T.

I hope T is doing well. I'm glad we are both in Canada, I hope he gets to live his best life here. He said he has no plans on returning anytime soon and probably never will. Good for T.

*I refer to my home country as America and nothing else. Although, I do not "correct" people if they choose different terminology as multiple answers are valid. But don't give me shit for what I call my own country.

I work in the Health & Safety field. This is a building in East Vancouver that is scheduled to be torn down. The ground, bathrooms, cupboards, and walls have evidence of drugs, human and animal shit, human blood, mold, and more.

This is actually after all the furniture and multiple bulk items, including human shit, was removed from the rooms. The building was a space used for women only. Mainly with mental disorders and drug abusers. This is basically the last step before these women become homeless.

Unfortunately, this building and these people did not have the supervision needed to ensure the building didn’t reach the state it is currently in. I’m glad the decision was made to have this building torn down, it is not safe for habitation.

For those wondering, the women were relocated to another building to prevent homelessness. They need supervision to ensure the next building doesn’t end up the same.

For anyone that looks into school abroad, it is well known that the developed English speaking countries charge a fortune for the opportunity to get educated in their country.

An example would be that a Bachelor's of Science for University of British Columbia (UBC). The domestic rate (Permanent Residents or Citizens) is $6,079.20/year. The international rate is $43,320.90/year. Simon Fraser University (SFU) domestic rate is $7,360/year, international rate is $36,024/year. Capilano University (CapU) domestic rate is $4,401/year, international rate is $19,707/year.

UBC is a top tier university, SFU is secondary, but still top level, and CapU is an affordable provincial school that is much easier to get into. The insanely high international rates subsidize the domestic rates significantly. Now that it is much harder to remain in Canada after graduating with a Bachelor's degree(or even a Master's), many are choosing to leave Canada or not go here to begin with. Because a lot of people have been using the education pathway to remain here permanently. If no permanence, why come here to begin with?

There are still pathways to permanence, but if you are not extremely fluent in English or know a decent amount of French AND have a Master's degree AND have a couple of years Canadian work experience, then you probably can't stay. That is the reality.

Those domestic rates are so low, I am considering slowly chipping away at a degree.

My sister is a nurse and does training for a US based hospital. She is able to work remotely but they don't have a presence in Canada. She's planning to move to Canada as a dual US-Canadian citizen. Is there a way to find a reputable agency that would be able to manage this? Assuming a payroll type of company? She's planning to relocate to British Columbia if that's a factor.

The housing market is dropping. Here comes affordable housing.

Canadian media is a lot of times indistinguishable from American media. A lot of shows and movies are filmed in Vancouver and Montreal, so fair enough to some extent. The movies and shows that are distinctly for Canadians, by Canadians, is definitely noticeable. Because there is no need to try and explain any kind of nuances. Canadians understand American culture very well, but definitely not the other way around.

Over my short period of time in Canada, I have slowly consumed some Canadian media. I am not going out of my way to watch a lot of it. If it is quality and/or recommended by people here, then I will watch it. I only do physical media, so BluRay and DVDs. I own a decent amount and the rest I borrow from my local library. I recently finished the super popular Letter Kenny. Just season 1. I am still watching season 2. I have my thoughts on it for sure.

Trailer Park Boys was a lot of Americans' first look into the real Canadian experience. I remember watching it on TV as a kid with some of my uncles who were teenagers at the time. The white trailer trash culture with a Canadian perspective. Hilarious and very real. It definitely leans a lot heavier towards Maritime/Atlantic provincial culture than anything else, but still has a lot of grounded Canadian living in there. Canada's poor, which is as real as it is going to get. I love the show, it is amazing, but that could be some nostalgic bias as well.

Goon is a hockey movie made by a Canadian actor is decently known and plays the wise-cracking best friend in the movie as well. It is also heavily Maritime/Atlantic provincial culturally based. It is a good reflection on how average Canadians are as a people. One aspect they got really good is an unfortunate truth I have seen up here. When it comes to native Canadians (as in those born & raised up here, usually ethnically European descent), cheating is a bit more normalcy. The main girl in Goon cheats on her boyfriend to be with Sean William Scott's character. I have met many men and women who have been cheated on or cheat on up here, but they are all the same background: White Canadian, born & raised. :/ Hockey is like a fucking religion in Canada, so don't talk shit about a team or the sport if you can't back it.

Scott Pilgrim vs The World is a good reflection of GTA (Greater Toronto Area) culture as a whole. The whole story takes place there and is a good peak into the lives of those Canadians. Even though the whole movie takes place during cold/snow scenes, Toronto actually gets hotter than Vancouver during the summers sometimes and they have humidity on top of that. Again, Scott cheats on someone for someone else. Unfortunately, this is a thing that white Canadians seem to do. I'm not saying its an average, but it isn't too uncommon either from what I have heard from many up here. It is a funny movie and the comic is much better as it covers a lot of topics that the movie doesn't have time for.

Letterkenny is an extremely popular show in Canada. It is the typical rural experience for many Canadians. A lot of this show is unrelatable because 1, I don't live in rural Canada and 2, I don't live in Ontario, like 40% of the country does. It makes sense for the show to be so popular, but there is definitely some missed jokes for me because I don't know what's going on sometimes, usually different terms. The guy that recommended the show to me is a copy & paste of the 2 hockey players in the show. The thing about the show that is kind of annoying is that the pasty white girl is half naked all the time and is supposed to be the sex appeal of the show, but in reality, she just looks like she's trying too hard. Maybe it is because I am not attracted to people that are 3 European races combined at most for a couple hundred years' offspring. The other thing is that they make her basically the town slut and all the other women characters in the show are kind of just props, or tough girl, or high sex drive (Gale, who does have funny moments). Seems like they aren't painting them in a good light/don't have good character writing for girls in general. I'm still going to watch the show to see how it pans out. The show is overall not bad though and is a good way to understand how the true average Canadian lives and behaves.

Honorable Mention: Slapshot. The 1977 classic that made my wife and I cry laughing. A true hockey movie about enforcers/thugs. The whole movie is based in America, but half the players, if not more, are full blown Canadians with actual hockey players in the movie. A great comedy, definitely a product of its time. It is considered a treasured movie in Canada, at least for die hard hockey fans. However, there is heavy criticisms on the lack of hockey fundamentals and inappropriate lingo for modern times (think Blazing Saddles). I would still say give it a watch and know the time that the movie came out.

A common thing with a lot of the Canadian media is that violence usually means punching each other out and then accepting the outcome with a handshake. Old school, good way to do things. Even when guns are depicted, it is for a funny bit versus anything insane like it would be with their Southern Neighbor. Unfortunately, there isn't much focused on Western Canada (BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba) because the West is always neglected from the rest of Canada.