Sure. My experience as someone who did his masters from one of the top schools in Canada and lived there for 2+ years. If I talk about jobs, then keep in mind, that I am talking about software (backend) with the focus on ML and data, unless specified otherwise.
- There are not that many jobs in Canada. I got more interviews when I was applying to EU (and I need a sponsorship) vs. when I was applying to Canada. I had about 2-3 YOE working at a top Russian tech. company and EU took that in consideration; Canada just throw it out of the window and told me that I need to start a junior/lower-mid. The interview process is significantly harder in Canada. Get ready for Leetcode, system design, conceptual questions, super specific questions about some frameworks. Because there are not that many companies, startups act like FAANG because, well, they can. Too many people (see immigration numbers), not enough jobs. My close friend at Zynga told me that they received about 2K applications for a position; after all the filters, they had to make the interview super difficult to hire just 1-2 engineers.
- Pushing LGBTQ propaganda. I am ok with every type of people. However, when companies openly state that they will hire A. mainly because he/she is non-binary, trans, gay, etc. I start having problems with that. There is a freedom of speech in Canada; however, God forbid you say anything about not understanding their lifestyle. Even if it's just a comment about how this lifestyle is unusual for you. In most cases, this is an instant write-up or termination. Happened to my former lab mate who was from Saudi Arabia. Had to change the lab and pretty much redo his masters
- Rent and house prices. Do I need to explain myself?
- Loneliness. This is big for me. Amount of times I was looking at old photos I took in Moscow... It's hard to find friends if you don't have a large diaspora here. Canadians are very nice as people but it doesn't mean that it will go somewhere in terms of friendships. If you are a single guy or girl, you will hard time finding a partner from Canadians. Thus, you are on your own 24/7. No, meetups/gyms/hobbies don't help or work. I tried everything. Good thing is that having no friends helped me to publish 3-4 articles in top journals
- Everything is just so expensive. You will have a decent life but it will be borderline impossible to move to another level. Everyone else has that another level and for me, another level might be different than for someone else.
- Medical care: in 2017, a wait time was 3-4 months. I don't even want to know what is happening right now. Oh yeah. Dental is not covered by free healthcare. You are so screwed if you have a bad tooth. So, a piece of advice. Go back to your home country every year and fix your teeth there. OR buy a private dental here
- Everything is legacy. I got so used to just renting a car in Moscow (per hour rent) that when I got to Canada and realized that I cannot do it here, I was shocked. You have to do it old-school way; Hertz or smth. else. Oh, and it's not per hour. It's per day. Like it or not, you will need a car sooner or later
- There is no job security. You can get fired just because. This makes you feel like you are always on the edge.
- Infrastructure for public transportation sucks. Why is there still no train going from Waterloo to Toronto on weekends? "We are building new routes". Yup. Been like for 3 years. Still nothing
- There are 2 seasons in Canada: construction and winter. The problem is that you get such a low quality from construction workers that I am consistently surprised why people immigrate as engineers, software, etc. Just learn trades and you will make so much money. I hired a guy to fix a fridge. A guy came, took 400 CAD to tell me that PCB is broken, took another 320 (for parts) + 140 (for labor) to fix the fridge. The fridge broke again in 1 week because... PCB was not a root cause but it was giving false alarm due to other faulty part. How I know? Well, another tech. came and fixed it; another 300 CAD. Why didn't I call 1st guy? Because he would come for extra price. So what that it's his fault for not diagnosing it correctly? You still pay for his mistakes.
- Speaking about mistakes. The general level of service you get in Canada is super low quality. Everywhere. Just because you paid for it doesn't mean that you will get good service. It takes a long time to find someone who knows what they are doing; barber, plumber, electrician. Once you find him/her, take his/her phone number and follow him/her everywhere. In Moscow, I would just go to a barber that is closest to my home. LOL. Did that in Canada. Ended up shaving my head.
That's it so far. If I remember something else, I will add it.
1. True. In addition Canadian companies do not know how to write a job description. You will read a JD and they want everything in one person.
2. Calling something a "propaganda" you don't understand is ignorant. Also, your colleague would not have been fired just stating he didn't understand it. Either you are missing facts or you are hiding those to prove your point. In any case, difficult to agree.
3. True. But that would be true for many major cities around the world.
4. True to some extent. Making friends as adults is anyways difficult. It is not unique to Canada. I have heard / read similar stories from many major cities around the world.
5. True
6. True but unique to Canada anyways. Heard much worse stories from my friends in UK, Germany and Australia. As far as I know dental is not covered in Australia as well. Most employers provide insurance which will cover dental and vision so no need to buy private insurance unless you intent to work as a contractor.
7. Not true. Have you heard about Zipcar?
8. Firing in US is much more easy in US not so much in Canada. I would say job security in Canada is greater than in US. Reference - I have done firings in both countries so I know.
9. Yep really bad.
10. Partially true. GTA is not all winters for sure. And yes trades folks make much more money. And again this is true for many other countries where there is labor shortage. Most people here have basic trades knowledge and it is tough for folks like I (and you) who do not. I have colleagues who are able to rip out an old bathroom and install everything from scratch. I can't so I have to pay a lot. But true for countries like Australia and US as well.
11. Again true for almost all countries I have lived in. I mean your neighborhood barber in Moscow was good but doesn't mean all the ones in Russia were.
