Canada Day failed me this year again. Never mind. I failed at Canada a few times too when I was a young and naïve newcomer…
Canada Day failed me this year again. Never mind. I failed at Canada a few times too when I was a young and naïve newcomer…
Extravert or introvert, make meeting new people and potential friends one of your priorities—trust former 20-year-old me who felt very lonely as a new Canadian twenty years ago!
Tons of my friends are young mums wondering how to deal with their elderly relatives. Both daycare and long-term care can be discussed in the same conversation.
For a culture where "how are you?" is merely a greeting ritual and not actually a question, people in Ottawa have no filter.
Sometimes, it feels like living in Canada is just too much work... but this is also why there are so many opportunities to seize.
“Hypothetically—asking for a friend, obviously—can a foreign national work in Canada without a proper permit?”
No matter how it’s phrased, this is the gist of the question I get asked once in a while.
It is a standard Canada Day but to me, it feels special and extra-Canadian. Ten years ago, I was taking the Oath of Citizenship.
Quick exercise—make a list of your friends and acquaintances. Now look at it. How many of them would you feel comfortable asking a favour from?
There are plenty of attitudes I can’t stand in North America, but this is the Canada I’m proud of—kind, welcoming, helpful and understanding.
If I out myself as a Canadian, I know I’m about to be quizzed.People have comments about France, but they sure have a lot of questions about Canada.
I made many mistakes over the years, especially when I first came to Canada. Maybe these “lessons learn” can help you?
The couple, a man and a woman, were sidewalk experts. That alone was noteworthy. But then, something strange happened.
What did you learn as a traveller or as an immigrant? What learning experience was the the most useful to you?
“Please, don’t call the police!”
This is the first thing she ever said to me when, one evening, I passed her on the pathway leading up to Madison Park, one of the neighbourhood’s playgrounds.
I’m not selfish, uncharitable or useless. Also, if you call me names, you’re an ass and if you make it to Canada, I hope the hockey team you may end up supporting loses for five seasons in a...
Every day, I receive two of three emails or comments from strangers asking me to map out their destiny.
Leaving, travelling, immigrating to Canada—these were all my choices. Choices I’m proud of because they were mine but also choices that affected those around me, and I have to live with this.