|  A
Note for New Subscribers
Welcome to our new subscribers who have recently asked to receive
the "Live in Canada!" email newsletter. You will receive
your newsletter every two weeks in your email box. One thing
I want to point out - when you sign up, you will immediately
be sent the last issue. So for those subscribers who signed
up today or in the past few days and are receiving yet another
edition of "Live in Canada!", don't worry, you won't
be hearing from us as regularly as it may appear!
Canada Rocks!
When considering immigrating to a new country or going to work
in another country, it makes sense to consider how the economy
of that country is performing. Right now the Canadian economy
is in great shape and is performing strongly.
The Canadian Dollar has come very close to the 85c mark as
measured against the US Dollar in the past few days. Some economists
are suggesting that the Canadian Dollar may even reach the C$1.00
is equal to US$1.00 mark in the not-so-distant future. There
are even some who of the opnion that the time will come when
the value of the Canadian Dollar will actually exceed that of
the American Dollar.
These are all signs of the strong economy in Canada. Activity
in the Real Estate market is also often indicative of the performance
of a country's economy. Real Estate markets in Canada have been
very active over the past few years with many sellers reporting
multliple offers and bidding wars to purchase their homes. The
performance of the Toronto, British Columbia and Edmonton markets
for the past nine months as measured against the performance
of the past 12 years show both best volumes and best prices.
Although prices are at an all time high, interest rates are
at historic lows. The institutions are flush with money and
the need to lend it out. Loans to buy homes are available on
very good terms with very little money down in some instances.
The effect has been that many people have found that it is no
less affordable to purchase their own home than to rent. Although
home sellers are getting high prices for their homes, the market
is now much more accessible to buyers than it has been in previous
years. Residential sales to first time home owners is at record
highs. And this has been a win-win situation for renters as
well who are now finding that because there are large numbers
of people buying their own homes, rental homes and apartments
are available on better terms and at more reasonable rentals.
Here in the province of British Columbia where I live, economic
growth numbers released by the government recently, have exceeded
expectations. Consumer confidence rather than receding is showing
signs of getting stronger. More people in British Columbia thought
that October was a good time to buy something valuable than
thought so in September. This boosted the province's consumer
confidence rating for the fifth month in a row, according to
the Conference Board of Canada. In fact, 62% of British Columbians
thought that now would be a good time to make a major purchase.
There are many considerations that need to be taken into account
when making the decision to call another country "home".
Some of these things need planning and are within our control.
Others we can plan for, as best we can, but ultimately they
lie outside of our control. Right now the Canadian economy is
looking good! Add to that a true democracy, people with unique
values, and a "live and let live" attitude; and it
is not surprising that so many people are planning to make Canada
home.
Each day the Canadian Government's immigration web site gets
approximately 20 000 hits from around the world on average.
The day after the US election, the site received about 115 600
hits from the United States alone. Makes you think, doesn't
it?
All my very best to you in your relocation plans. Canada is
a country that welcomes immigrants and foreign workers with
open arms. That's not surprising. Canada is a country made up
of immigrants. And Canada wants and needs your contribution
to build the greatest democracy in the world.
Here's to your success
PS: In the next issue of "Live in Canada!" I will
be telling you how the "points system" works for people
who want to immigrate to Canada as "Skilled Workers"
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