Hey joeysupertramp, thanks a lot for your answer!Okay so my situation was very similar to yours and I ended up asking very similar questions to what you did above and here is how I went about it.
First off, you will need a Gift Deed form, stating the total amount and that it is in fact a non-transferable gift. It has to be signed by the gift giver (your mum) and it couldn't hurt to have a couple of unrelated witnesses sign it also. You do not need to get it transferred to CAD, you can show it in your home bank account in your home currency however it needs to be easily accessible, therefore you will require the debit card linked to the account in order to show that it is withdrawable at any time. I did this as the funds gifted to me were in GBP and the exchange rate is complete garbage so we would end up losing a fair amount of money by transferring it. Also, over a certain amount of money, to have it sent here you'd have to declare it and I believe you end up paying taxes on it. So it's best to leave it in your home bank account, show statements that it is there and have the gift deed signed and dated around about the same time as the transfer. As for the bank accounts you have here, most banks don't provide the letter that CIC ask for anymore so in lieu of this, you can get 6 months worth of bank statements stamped at your local branch and then upload them as part of your application. I have been in Canada for over a year and have been employed that entire time, the fact that I can show that I have had enough money to support myself thus far as well as the emergency fund that was gifted to me should be enough proof of funds. With the money being in seperate accounts, all you'll have to do is explain your situation in your Letter of Explanation and you should be golden! Hope this helps!
So the gift deed for sure. I was planning on having it notarized too, since that is what's usually done here. Do i need an affidavit from my aunt saying that she is repaying the loan to my mom who has gifted it to me, since she is the one who will transfer me the funds in canada?
Ok, thats great then that I don't have to transfer the funds there, because the bank was gonna kill me with the fees and the exchange rate (from my currency to USD and then to CAD). I'm planning to take some cash next week when i fly to canada to open the account there for the transfer of the gifted funds, but still most of them would be in my banks here. Since my account will be just opened, I won't have a six month bank statement history in canada. i guess the last bank statement from the canadian bank would be enough then?
Thanks a lot for your help!