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Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Travel / Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 (2290979 Views)
Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 3) / Living In The USA - Life Of An Immigrant Part 1 / Living In The Uk-life Of An Immigrant (part 2) (2) (3) (4)
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Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by rainazoe: 2:00pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
ah ah now. It have not reach like that na SkyWalk12: 1 Like |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by Ifeoma77(f): 2:05pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
SkyWalk12: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Fights will happen for sure, but we will always get back on track. Don't worry, even if you unfollow, whenever a fight finishes, I will mention you ![]() ![]() 9 Likes |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by rainazoe: 2:17pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Onye nsogbu. Ifeoma77: 2 Likes |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by UNITEDBRAND(m): 2:39pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Following Please I've come again. Apprenticeship wahala is looking plenty, very slim prospects of getting an employer to sponsor a somebody. What are the prospects of a career in the security sector (Southern Alberta, Calgary preferably)? We're looking long-term at law enforcement positions with the government, corporate security management etc. Without any prior experience, is it possible to kick-start such a career by starting off as a security guard? Apparently the security guard courses (and exam) are available online and so can be done before landing. Licensing with the province is also straightforward. The real question is are security guard jobs readily available and is there real room for growth? I know say Salford aka Salford1 dey sabi give correct answer to dis kain question. However I'm sure many others will have input. Abeg apart from the regular elders wey dey help with responses, if you get any idea jus chuk mouth for this matter. Because that other time when we dey argue matter for the former thread naim we know say many people hold ground for living in Canada matter just say dem prefer to activate ghost mode. Make una contributions no dey end for those kain sensitive argument, make una dey show dey knack advice join for dose of us wey still be JJC level as per never cross MMIA airport talkless see Canada. Una weldone o!!![/quote] |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by Nobody: 2:45pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Lmao. Thank you baby. Ifeoma77: 1 Like |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by Nobody: 3:05pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Landed Nigerian Canadian Drivers, please did you guys need the FRSC letter, if yes, is there a link to a format? 1 Like 2 Shares |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by Ifeoma77(f): 3:13pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by amdman: 3:19pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Landing Gist December 27 Flight from Lagos on Ethiopia was by 1.40pm, so set out early for the airport with family. Leaving Nigeria left me in an emotional rollercoaster. Using the unaccompanying spouse option because we didn't meet ITA scores otherwise. So would be looking to use the spousal sponsorship route. Uneventful flight all the way to Toronto, except for an occasion when we encountered turbulence and there was a very sharp drop in altitude. Liver fail some people, but sha managed to remain composed. Landed in Toronto 7.23am on the 28th. Quite a long queue of people waiting to clear immigration, lots of them being students. Got to my turn after about 90 minutes. The usual questions were asked: ever been convicted? Family composition? etc. Tried to drop updated passport photographs, but the guy said it wasn't necessary. Asked how much cash I had and I said $500 (thats how much I had in cash. Am not keen carrying cash around. Had the printout of my account just in case, but it wasnt an issue). COPR signed and stamped and from there to get SIN, my luggage and out of the airport I went to my Airbnb. My Airbnb host is absolutely an angel. Very welcoming and helpful. Even had a Christmas gift wrapped and addressed to me. Paying $18 USD daily. I actually dropped off my stuff earlier than the check in time. She gave me a tour around all I need and offered to drive me around to the Bank and so on while waiting for the current guest to check out. Politely declined and headed to the Bank myself. CURRENCY EXCHANGE Currency exchange at the airport is a robbery. Exchange rate at airport was $1 USD - $1.18 CAD. I exchanged $100 USD to be able to pay cab fares and all that. Eventually exchanged more same day at ScotiaBank $1 USD - $1.33 CAD and CIBC $1 USD - $1.32 CAD. To put it in perspective, exchanging $1000 USD at the airport will give you $1,180 CAD while same amount will give you $1,330 at Scotiabank (a significant difference of $150 CAD). BANKING Opened a chequing and savings account with ScotiaBank. Service was quite good and was impressed. Many lessons for the Nigerian Banks. Offered a $3k credit card. Opened another account with CIBC and was offered a $1.5k credit card. The newcomers package for both banks are good, but for ScotiaBank, you start paying charges on your account from day one, while CIBC will give you a year of free transactions. TIP: If you do accept a credit card, ensure to decline the inclusion of credit protection insurance. When you are being offered the credit card product, the bank staff will usually just gloss over that part and recommend that you add it. In reality, it offers very little protection, yet you pay premiums based on your outstanding balance. This was in the news recently - https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/credit-card-balance-protection-hidden-camera-marketplace-1.4892961. If you already have a credit card, you most likely have the feature enabled on your card. TIP: If you do not have or are not likely to get a permanent address very quickly upon landing, give whatever address where you will be staying temporarily to Service Canada when you are getting your SIN. You need proof of address to open a Bank account, and your SIN slip can be that life-saver where all else fails. However, be careful about giving your SIN details to anyone aside Bank and work. To get a library card when you do not have proof of address, the library will send a postcard to your address. You then return the postcard to the Library and you will get your library card. COMMUNICATION Got a Chatr line (SIM only) for $35 - 1GB data and free nationwide plus a few other features. Was tempted by the $50 8GB offer, but heck, I have unlimited internet where I live, so that may just be excessive. Besides, the internet doesn't cut off after getting to 1GB... it just becomes slower... so lets see how that goes. JOBS Jobs in Canada are largely based on networking. In Nigeria, we call it 'long-leg', 'connection,' 'who-know-man.' etc. In Canada, its a given. Referrals are very key, otherwise you may start out lower on the foodchain. Using LinkedIn as a networking tool is therefore very important, and you can take advantage of LinkedIn's one month free premium offer. You can deactivate the premium features within one month if you are not satisfied. I used it and got linked to a team working on a Fintech project and now have an equity offer so long as am ready to pitch in to get my part of the work done. Also got job invites and all that, but my focus is not job... its Business. BUSINESS The support structure for starting a business in Canada is pretty impressive, but reduces as you stay longer in Canada. If your focus is to do business in Canada eventually, you will do well to take advantage of the resources early, while using a side hustle to pay your bills. I just got into a free entrepreneurship programme for starting a business in Canada starting next week. Will share more info as we go along. WEATHER Hmmm... not as cold as I thought, though I checked this morning and it is -8 and feels like -13. Thats the coldest I have experienced so far, and am wondering what it will feel like, cause I have a lot of walking around planned for today (though I already have Presto card and will be carrying it). So in the few days I have been here... thats about it. 222 Likes 53 Shares |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by Tojued: 3:51pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
@aworldcitizen welcome to Canada @amdman welcome and thanks for sharing your story. I'm seriously enjoying that thread you started with that other moniker. This one that you've posted here it means you must have shared new posts there already. Make I stroll reach there I don dey wait new post for like three days now. 2 Likes |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by amdman: 3:54pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Tojued: If you mean Nahinbdis, he is a close pal that we started the process and have moved closely together. Landed together too. 6 Likes |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by Tojued: 3:56pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
amdman: Okay. I did not mention names sha. 1 Like |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by Nobody: 4:06pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
bily:A naija colleague told me of his offer at a new place of work, that changed my whole mindset realizing I could get much better because I had previously settled on the payscale as seen from google search and other job adverts. If he had not informed me I would have still be wallowing in my previous place. I felt bad true, but it helped me sharpen my negotiation skills and propelled me forward 13 Likes 1 Share |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by nahinbdis: 4:16pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by Ramj: 4:30pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Happy New Year everyone. Time to follow this thread Joo2018 has done a good job by populating PAGE 1 Je m'appelle Ramj 3 Likes |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by Ramj: 4:32pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Happy New Year everyone. Time to follow this thread Joo2018 has done a good job with page 1 - https://www.nairaland.com/4933819/living-canada-life-canadian-immigrant/3 Thank you joo2018 Let's make use of this and explore it so the thread is not populated with repeated questions Je m'appelle Ramj 3 Likes |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by salford1: 4:45pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Tojued: Apprenticeship: Getting an apprenticeship position in Calgary has never really been easy since I moved to Canada, so it is expected to be tougher now that there is a glut in crude oil. It is an old boys club; hence, they offer most of the positions to relatives and friends. Some have been able to overcome this challenge by taking a pre-apprenticeship program at SAIT, but this still only gives a 50-50 chance and cost $$$. This is not to say it's impossible to easily get an apprenticeship position in Calgary, its just more difficult. Some employer would prefer that a candidate work for them as a labourer for 3 months or more, hands on skills will be evaluated during this period. Other employers would expect a candidate to have a diploma from SAIT before they enrol a candidate on a structured apprenticeship program. This is common with utilities (gas and power). However, up North, it's a different ball game. In the Grand Prairie area, employers are still willing to hand a candidate an apprenticeship from day 1. Not sure about the Ft Mc and Edmonton area nowadays, but it will still be better off than the calgary area since the North is more blue collar while the South is more white collar. Security: I worked as a security guard not long after I landed in Canada. Law enforcement career path (with the goverment) is huge and well remunerated in Alberta. I would restrict this discussion to Alberta since that is where I am familier with. Commisioned and non commissioned City Police Officers (CPS, LPS, EPS etc): Highest paying. Excluding non-monetary benefits, starting salary is usually over $80k/yr for non-commisioned. It is even higher for commisioned officers. The RCMP: A prestigious federal agency. RCMP stations are everywhere in Canada often outside city limits and have contracts with towns/cities that do not have their own city police force. Alberta Sheriffs: They guard court houses, provincial buildings, transport prisoners, and are very active on Alberta highways handing out tickets to traffic offenders. First Nation Police Officers: Stationed at first nation reserves. They work just like the regular city police. Peace Officers: They have three sections that I am aware of - Transport, Correctional (prison) services and Healthcare services (AHS). When you don't pay a train ticket, or are caught jaywalking, they would hand out fines and tickets. The ones stationed at hospitals in conjuction with private security guards helps to ensure peace and safety, especially in the Mental Health Unit. The police hand over arrested drunk people off the streets or kids causing troubles at remand homes to peace officers/security guards and hospital staffs till they are okay to be let back into the community. Security Guards: Private companies security guard officers. Security guards are found everywhere hospitals, airports, construction sites, oil fields, office buildings, utility sites, loss prevention at stores etc Usually lowest paying but those working in oil fields/refineries, and aiports could earn above $20/hr. There are few others that I do not know much about: Canada Border Officers (Federal agency), Transport Officers (enforce commercial vehicle standards and regulations), City Bylaw officers, and Fish and Wildlife officers. With the exception of the private security guards, most if not all enforcenent will require a degree or diploma in a related field. When I worked as security guard for AHS in Calgary. CPS would usually recruit most of their officers from the peace officer cadre. In previous years, they also hire police officers from the United Kingdom. The Alberta peace officers would also usually recuit people with prior experience as security guards. So alot of the security guards I worked with in AHS had desires to become a City police officer, Peace officers, RCMP officers etc so with respect to your question, you can kickstart your career in law enforcement by first working as a securtity guard and work your way up. Jobs for security guards are easy to comeby. Only few Immigrants are willing to build a career in law enforcement;hence, there is high staff turn-over at the security guard level. You can also be lucky to get a job straight away in law enforcmment without even going through the traditional route of starting from the bottom up. You can google specific law enforcement occupation plud Alis Alberta Occupations to find out more about these careers in law enforcement. E.g google "sherrifs alis occ info" and you would get results. 63 Likes 17 Shares |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by Nobody: 4:45pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Please I need naira for CAD. If you can help with this, please PM me. Thanks |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by Tojued: 5:08pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Salford1 for President. Thanks a lot for the detailed response. I've digested the response. No vex, one question (for now) : 1. You mentioned bypassing the food chain and getting a law enforcement job straight up. Is this possible considering these jobs require security clearance? I heard you need to have lived in Canada for three years to get security clearance. Lemme go an be looking at requirements for the other careers. It's only private security and non commissioned police officer I had looked up before. Thanks again 10 Likes 1 Share |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by joo2018: 5:27pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Check page 1 under "General". SkyWalk12: |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by Nobody: 5:46pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
1 Like |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by salford1: 5:51pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Tojued:Only RCMP and Canada Border Service might be a tough nut to crack as per security clearance. I believe you need to be a citizen or have resided in Canada as a PR for atleast 10 years to qualify for a job with RCMP. The other agencies just require a PR status plus an enhanced security check in addition to criminal check. That is, extra checks to include fingerprinting, professional/educational verification checks, credit/financial checks and background investigations. Bypassing the food chain just meant you may qualify based on past experience and education. There would still be some succesful candidates that would get in without having worked in security services. Might be rare though. The 3 years wait is new information to me. Maybe the process has changed. The UK police officers the CPS recruited some years back had never lived in Canada. It could be that Nationals of some countries are exempt from the 3 year wait. https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.824971 I forgot to mention that someone seeking a career in law enforcement services can also consider private coorperations. Some companies usually have a security and investigation department that manages private security guards contracted to the company. They also manage access control and the likes. Such jobs would require a certificationsl like ASIS Physical Security Professional (PSP). 8 Likes 6 Shares |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by joo2018: 5:56pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Hi @amdman, Keenly interested in the "starting a business" option. Kindly update us in time as promised. 2 Likes |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by lobell: 6:05pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
amdman: Big congrats on successfully landing. And prepare to become my new best friend. My story will follow like yours as I have to enter the pool unaccompanied and then do the spousal thingy afterwards. I am also very much interested in the business aspect of Canada, especially as it pertains to import/export. I still want very much to have business dealings with Naija while settling in Canny. So, don't be pissed when you get PM's from me and many questions. Merci beaucoup. 5 Likes |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by Nobody: 6:06pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Happy New Year everyone. Please is there anyone in Concordia University or living in Montreal, Quebec. I'd be applying for Graduate Diploma programme in Journalism at Concordia for the Summer so I'd like to know my chances and more about the uni and province. Let's chat please. I'd appreciate. God bless!! |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by francoteeboy2626: 7:32pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
please house,I plays talking drum and other instruments, if I can get a Nigerian church that can stand for me that there is no citizens that can play the talking drum for them,hence the need for me,can I get a work permit that way 1 Like |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by Tojued: 7:55pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
salford1: Thanks again. What I said about the three years was a dem say stuff, not like I have evidence. Though the person who told me works in HR. The taste of the pudding will surely be in the eating. |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by MissEmmy: 10:46pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Happy new year to house. Please has anyone ever cancelled a ticket with Ethiopian airline successfully? Can you share your experience please. |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by IamtrulyBlessed: 11:13pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Cancellation of economy flight ticket should cost about $300, while rescheduling is $200. You would have to send email requesting for cancellation and payment of refund into your bank account. You should receive your balance within 5 business days. MissEmmy: 4 Likes 1 Share |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by conyema12(m): 11:25pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
I have a Canadian multiple entry visit visa that wilI be expiring by December this year, same as my passport expiration time. I intend to travel by May to come back by early July. Can I use the passport like that for the trip being that I still over 7months passport validity or renew my passport before traveling. (Although I don't know the rules concerning Nigerian passport renewal before expiration) |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by modath(f): 11:30pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Anyone in need of Canadian Dollars in CANADA, to bank, to pay rent, or for any sundry needs not exceeding $5k (for now) can message me ..TOTALLY LEGIT funds...(Kindly investigate my antecedent on this platform before making contact) I'm active on the E currency thread in the business section...... WhatsApp link on Siggy....... |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by Bracha: 11:42pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
Good evening everyone. Is anyone here in Brandon, Manitoba? I'll be coming over in a few days and want to get accommodation sorted out beforehand. Can anyone help? Thank you. 1 Like |
Re: Living In Canada/Life As A Canadian Immigrant Part 2 by Zutlin: 11:46pm On Jan 02, 2019 |
salford1: My goodness Salford1! You seem to know quite alot about everything. You are so knowledgeable about Canada. Wow! 20 Likes 2 Shares |
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