Top 10 Reasons to Move to Canada in 2024 from an Expat

If you’re looking for reasons to move to Canada, you’ve come to the right place. Here are ten reasons why it’s great up north!

I was born and raised in Canada, so what do I know about moving to Canada? – A lot, actually.

Not only have I left and moved back to Canada, but I’m also an expat expert. I’ve lived in numerous countries and countless cities throughout the last decade, including multiple cities and provinces across Canada!

This has helped me get really good at navigating the immigration process and know exactly what to expect when moving somewhere new.

Plus, my experiences abroad have helped me appreciate my home country more – especially the fact that Canada treats its immigrants well compared to some other nations.

In this post, I’m sharing the best reasons to move to Canada for expats, nomads, and immigrants!

1. Canada is Multicultural

One of the reasons Canada is so great for expats is that it is a multicultural country.

There are over 200 languages spoken here, and over 60% of Canadians are immigrants or descendants of immigrants. This makes for an incredibly diverse and tolerant society.

If you’re looking to move to a country that celebrates diversity, Canada should be at the top of your moving abroad list!

Every city you go to will have multicultural elements. From Toronto to Ottawa, Vancouver, and Halifax, I’ve experienced cultural festivals and diversity just by wandering through different neighborhoods.

Although racism exists everywhere, I’ve found Canada to be one of the most tolerant countries. There are still a few rotten eggs you might run into, but overall, most people are incredibly supportive of our diversity as a country.

Unlike the United States, which is known as a global melting pot, Canada doesn’t force immigrants to assimilate. We want diversity, so we encourage individuals to celebrate the parts of their heritage they love.

As a descendant of Eastern European immigrants, I feel seen in Canada. I’ve celebrated my culture at Serbian dance halls, Russian churches, and even Eastern European street festivals (which always have the best perogies!).

As a white woman, I realize that my skin color brings privilege, but my friends who are not white-passing have expressed similar feelings of acceptance in Canada.

2. Free Healthcare for Citizens and Permanent Residents

Another reason I appreciate Canada is our healthcare system.

It’s often considered one of the best in the world, and it’s free for citizens and permanent residents. This means you don’t have to stress about medical bills when you’re sick or injured!

As someone who gets sick A LOT (I’ve basically memorized the travel insurance coverage charts from Safety Wing because of all the claims I’ve made over the years), I know the value of good medical care.

Living in the UK, I expected the NHS to be just as strong as the Canadian healthcare system. After all, they’re both free for citizens and are first-world countries with excellent medical schools.

But I was wrong.

In the UK, it took eons to be seen or treated for any illness. They hesitated to give out referrals to specialists and often pushed people to pay for additional services or upgrade to their paid system.

Similarly, in New Zealand, free healthcare had issues. For starters, it wasn’t entirely free. You had to pay to enroll with a doctor, and then you couldn’t see anyone else without paying another enrollment fee.

Canada doesn’t have these issues.

Our free healthcare system is available for all.

It does mean longer wait times in emergency rooms or for specialist scans, but it also means equality of treatment, no money-hungry doctors, and you won’t go into crushing debt for medical care.

3. Equal Opportunities for All Races, Religions, and Genders

Canada is known for being one of the most inclusive countries in the world.

You may have heard about Canada’s acceptance of same-sex marriage, but that’s just one small element in a much larger picture.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms protects Canadians against discrimination based on reasons like religion, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, mental or physical disability, etc.

What does this mean?

It means that you can’t get denied housing because of your skin color, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc. And you don’t have to worry about being restricted by discriminatory practices at work!

After traveling to places like Morocco, where religion and gender are often discriminated against, I have a greater appreciation for Canada’s freedoms.

The freedoms we offer all citizens have helped make us one of the most peaceful nations in the world.

Living in Canada is a welcome change for immigrants who come from war-torn countries with discriminatory practices, hate crimes, and persecution.

Ultimately, I’m really grateful that I moved back to Canada, both for myself as a woman and for the people around me. I just prefer to live somewhere where everyone can feel free to be themselves.

4. Quality Education Available to All

In Canada, education is free from Kindergarten through grade 12 (ages 5 to 18, roughly).

Canada has three tiers of education for primary and secondary school children: public schools, catholic schools, and private schools.

All three offer strong educational starts in life for students. In fact, many people prefer free public schools to private schools, as they find the education quality is better and more well-rounded.

Children and adults can take courses at local colleges or universities. These are either relatively inexpensive or completely free. I also know that many students get government grants and scholarships to help fund their university education.

The plethora of world-renowned universities in Canada means that students don’t need to go abroad to learn. In fact, they may not even need to leave home to get the best education!

Our schools are also much cheaper than the United States’ post-secondary education. My undergrad tuition was $16,000 per year, but with my academic scholarship, I never had to pay more than $8,000 per year.

We also have a lot of student support services in place for international students who come from abroad.

Unlike other countries (I’m looking at you, England and Scotland!), where bursaries and scholarships are only open to residents, Canadian schools offer financial help to international students, too.

We also have student centers devoted to international students, clubs for different ethnicities to help with homesickness, and English-support centers for those who come from non-English speaking countries.

5. It’s Safe for All

Canada is one of the safest nations in the world to move to.

The crime rate here is much lower than most other industrialized countries.

Guns and automatic weapons are not allowed in Canada, leading to very few incidences of gun violence.

Of course, there are certain neighborhoods you should avoid in every city, and minor crimes such as pickpocketing can happen. But overall, Canada is a very safe place to live.

Our incidences of hate crimes are also far lower than in other countries, too. I assume this is due to Canada’s tolerance, diversity, and multiculturalism. We do not persecute LGBTQ+ individuals, people of different religions, or people of other races.

As a woman, I feel very safe in Canada. I’ve lived across the country, in many different cities, and never had an incident where I felt truly unsafe because I’m a woman.

But I will say I’ve never lived in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg has the most crime in Canada, and it’s hard to know why. We joke that it’s sort of like the Bermuda Triangle for Canada’s crime rates.

6. High Quality of Life

Quality of life is very high in Canada, which is another appealing reason to move to Canada.

Canada has one of the highest standards of living for any country in the world, and we’re quite well-known for it.

Our social support nets are extremely strong here. Things like universal healthcare and free education up to age 18 ensure everyone gets a decent start in life.

We also have a solid social safety net, which means that if you lose your job, get sick, or can’t work for any other reason, you can still live a comfortable life.

With the help of unemployment benefits, employment insurance, and more, you can get the support you need to get back on your feet.

Admittedly, our taxes are higher than those of the US to accommodate these supports. But it feels very worth it when you consider all the opportunities and equal access we provide to our citizens.

It’s one of the reasons we’re sometimes seen as socialist (although we’re not a socialist country).

Our winters are long and cold, but we make the most of them! Canadians are known for being friendly and welcoming people – we’re America’s “nicer” neighbors and have a strong politeness culture.

‘Sorry’ might as well have started in Canadian grammar!

People here are happy, optimistic, and friendly – no matter who you are or where you come from!

7. Large Job Market and a Booming Economy

Our economy is doing very well right now, with low unemployment rates and many opportunities, so it’s a great place to move to find a job.

The job market is diverse, and there are many opportunities in both the public and private sectors.

The Canadian government has also prioritized investing in new businesses and entrepreneurs, so there are opportunities for those who want to start their own businesses.

Admittedly, the cost of living in Canada is high, but so are the salaries. Many jobs offer good benefits and a comfortable standard of living.

Canada also offers more opportunities to expats and immigrants than many other nations.

Living in the UK, I got a lot of xenophobia from employers. They only wanted to hire British employees (typically white British employees) who had been born in the country.

It didn’t matter that I studied in the UK or had better qualifications than other applicants because, in the end, I wasn’t British.

In Canada, you’ll experience far less of this xenophobia.

In fact, many job programs exist specifically to help immigrants and expats find high-quality careers in Canada.

The United Way is a fabulous charity that specifically helps female immigrants find work. If you don’t have the necessary training for your dream job or Canadian standards, they’ll help you get it!

8. Natural Beauty Around Every Corner

Many people think of Canada as a snowy wasteland, but there are so many beautiful places here. (And it’s not always snowy!)

From the high tides of the Bay of Fundy to the crystal blue lakes of Muskoka and the dramatic glacier lakes in the Rocky Mountains, you’ll never run out of places to explore in Canada.

In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a landscape we don’t have. We have the Great Lakes, glaciers, rainforests, sand dunes, badlands, and dense forests!

This makes it one of the main reasons to move to Canada if you love the outdoors. You’ll immediately have an epic Canadian bucket list to get through!

It also helps that our work-life balance is WAY better than the UK and the US, so you’ll have more time on your hands and feel free to explore the country.

9. Canadian Passports Open Doors

Yet another reason to move to Canada is that we have a super strong passport that lets you visit Europe, Australia, and New Zealand without a visa.

Canada is also part of CETA (the “Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement“), which means you don’t need a visa to visit the European Union either!

I’ve traveled to 29+ countries and only applied for one visa (other than my working holiday visa and my work/study visa). It was a visa for Turkey, but nowadays, you don’t even need a visa to visit Turkey as a Canadian.

Thanks to Canada’s passport, immigrants can travel freely and work in other nations.

Canadian passport holders have an easier time living as expats, working around the world on holiday/work visas, and moving to the US.

10. Easier for Immigrants to Move to Canada Than Other Countries

Many immigrants consider moving to Canada for the benefits, but a more subtle reason is that it’s pretty easy to get into.

Unlike the US Southern Border, arriving at the immigration office isn’t a scary experience. It’s also easy to bring your family with you when you immigrate, and you can also get permanent residency much faster than in most countries.

Typically, it takes an immigrant 3 years to become a citizen of Canada.

We also have many social systems in place specifically to help immigrants acclimatize and thrive in Canada.

Some options for moving to Canada include the following.

• Getting a student visa, then using your time in Canada to apply for permanent residency.
• Atlantic Immigration Pilot, which allows students who graduated with a degree in the Atlantic Provinces to become immigrants of Canada
• The Express Entry Program, where skilled laborers can get approved faster
• Quebec-Selected Skilled Workers, which is essentially the federal program but location-specific
• Family sponsorship, where a current immigrant can sponsor others to come to Canada
• Caregivers can apply for immigration status if they are primary caregivers for an elderly person, child, or work as live-in caregivers. Many caregiving agencies help immigrants through their immigration process and offer employment once they arrive in Canada.
• Provincial Nominee, where your province nominates you for citizenship
• Start-Up Visa, for immigrants to start companies in Canada
• Self-employed immigrants can get a visa if they work in cultural fields.
• Rural and Nothern Immigration Pilot fast-tracks your immigration status to help support small northern communities by stimulating their economy with immigration. These areas also pay more for skilled workers annually.
• Agri-Food Pilot program helps farm workers and food industry workers immigrate to Canada. This is not the same as the seasonal worker’s program.
• Refugee programs assist people fleeing their countries.

Why I Moved to Canada

I was born in Toronto, Canada, but my passion for travel led me to leave the city to move to Italy alone when I was 16.

From there, I moved to Halifax (Nova Scotia), Glasgow (Scotland), Auckland (New Zealand), and Oxford (UK), and more.

While I planned to live abroad for most of my life, if not forever, I was drawn back to Canada when travel was put on pause back in 2020. 

My moving back may not have been intentional, but it was one of the best happy accidents of my life. It allowed me to re-experience my home country as an adult with a wealth of immigration experience.

I chose to come back to Canada for a few reasons.

1. My family lives here, and they all felt safer with me nearby (as did I)
2. Free healthcare in a system I understand
3. My British work/study visa was set to expire in 2020.
4. It is easier to find a job in Canada than in the UK as a foreigner.
5. I felt stifled by the UK’s societal issues, especially with Brexit and the Prime Minister at the time.

Ultimately, I stayed in Canada, even when it was technically safe enough to return to the UK or head to another country.

While there, I explored close to home, and it helped me fall in love with Canada again.

I saw the natural beauty, experienced the kindness of Canadians on my road trips, and found a supportive community of friends and coworkers.

After moving back to Canada, I can say it’s one of the best countries in the world to live in.

Although New Zealand is still my favorite place in the world, Canada has claimed the title of the best place for expats, nomads, and immigrants to move to.

Why Should You Move To Canada?

Some main advantages of moving to Canada are free healthcare, a strong economy, and a welcoming attitude toward immigrants. 

The vast majority of Canadians have been here from somewhere else at some point in their lives, so we know how hard it can be.

However, you still need to determine the correct immigration process, as there are many paths to becoming a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.

Canadian winters can suck, and it might be harder to get a job without speaking English, but there are pros and cons of living abroad in any country.

As you can see, there are so many reasons to live in Canada, and I think the pros outweigh the cons!

So, Is It Worth Moving to Canada?

Canada is one of the best countries to live in and one of the most welcoming for immigrants.

While I think there are plenty of great reasons to immigrate to Canada, you shouldn’t feel pressured by anyone else’s reasons. Every person has a different perspective on moving to Canada. What holds a lot of weight to me might not apply to you.

However, I do hope this guide on the reasons to move to Canada helps make the decision easier.

We have excellent healthcare, a high quality of life, and some of the most beautiful natural scenery on the planet!

Also, if you’re an older individual, Canada is an excellent place for retirement. There’s such a wide variety of places to retire in Canada, depending on your lifestyle!

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Considering moving to Canada? Check out these guides!

• 10 Pros and Cons of Living in Canada
• 20 Pros And Cons Of Living In Vancouver, BC Canada
• 25 Pros and Cons of Living in Ottawa, Ontario
• 22 Pros and Cons of Living in Halifax: Should You Move to Nova Scotia
• 28 Pros and Cons of Living Abroad: Why You Should Move to Another Country
• 30 Pros and Cons of Living in Toronto: Beyond the CN Tower
• Moving and Living Abroad Guide

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