Top 10 Reasons to Move to Canada

Visit any major city in Canada – Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver – and you’ll feel like you’re taking a tour of more than just one country. Neighborhoods like Chinatown and Little Italy - and even a Koreatown in Toronto - can be found in those major cities and provide an immersive cultural experience for tourists and natives alike, but every nationality and background imaginable is spread out throughout the cities too. Nothing is absolute, but when it comes down to it, most Canadians aren’t afraid of diversity. In fact, in 2015-16 Canada, under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, welcomed 25,000 Syrian refugees into the country. Speaking of the PM, Trudeau’s cabinet proved to be the most diverse ever seen in Canadian politics, having an equal number of men and women, some minorities, and even former refugees.

Did you know that without its freshwater lakes, Canada would actually be smaller than the United States? Or that Canada holds 7% of the world’s renewable water supply, the third highest next to Brazil and Russia? That’s because the country is known for its beautiful scenery, with too many lakes, streams, rivers, and wetlands to count. Not to mention the fact that the northern territories are mostly snow and ice. In addition, Canada has no shortage of gold, nickel, diamonds, lead, and crude oil, which means other countries look to Canada for exports of natural resources, thus helping Canada’s economy to thrive.

Non-Canadian citizens asked to name places in Canada will come up with well-known cities like Toronto and Montreal, but often know next to nothing about the rest of the country. What might make this difficult is that out of the 36 million or so people residing in the country, only about 2.5 million make up the population of Nunavut, the Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. To put that in perspective, there are 13 million people living just in the province of Ontario. The cities may be crowded, but when you think of Canada as a whole, there’s still plenty of unused space, especially in the lesser-populated areas further north.

Here’s one stereotype that isn’t so exaggerated after all. Canadians love their hockey. Contrary to the stereotype, not everyone actually plays the sport. But when there’s a game on TV, you know what many Canadians will be doing. From the Vancouver Canucks to the Montreal Canadiens, some follow the NHL almost religiously. Canada may be known as a nice and quiet country, but nothing can prepare you to see them after a hockey game has aired. When a Canadian team loses? Riots. When a Canadian team wins? ...More riots. Needless to say, Canadians take their hockey very seriously.

Movies and TV shows have a habit of misrepresenting – or at least grossly exaggerated – Canadian stereotypes. And while it’s unlikely that you’ll see Canadians actually slather maple syrup on everything or end every sentence with "eh," they’re hardly going to hold a grudge over these stereotypes, cause, y’know, that’s their deal. In fact, Canadians typically find rumors that they live in igloos or ride polar bears very amusing, since most have never seen a wild polar bear in their life - and probably never will.

No one is naïve enough to believe that Canada, however friendly, is without violence and crime. There are all too often incidents of theft, homicide, and abductions across the country, but Canada looks like Disneyland compared to crime rates in other countries. For instance, in 2010 there were 554 cases of murder in Canada, compared to a whopping 12,000 or so in the U.S., about 25,000 in Mexico, and at the top of the list, Brazil with approximately 40,000. Canada may not be perfect when it comes to violent crime, but what country is? There may be some bad eggs living among them, but for the most part, Canada has no room for hate in its heart.

Americans often threaten to move to Canada when politics at home aren’t going their way, because they think Canadians have it better than they do. They don’t know the half of it. For starters, living in Canada could add years to your life since the life expectancy is among the highest in the world, landing somewhere between the top 10-15 at approximately 81 years old depending on the source. And their Rocky Mountain, Fresh Atlantic, Warm Pacific, and cool Arctic airs might be contributing factors. Need to take time off after having a baby? No problem! In Canada, you can take almost a year off – though if there are two parents involved, this time would have to be shared – but you’d still be paid over 50% of your salary. Also, Canada is a secular country, giving citizens the freedom to follow their own beliefs and lifestyle choices – case in point, gay marriage has been legal since 2005, a full decade before the United States.

As of 2014, Canada was the 7th most popular destination for international students. Why? Because young people from all over the world travel to Canada specifically to study there. McGill University, located in the city of Montreal, is not only one of the top universities in the country; it’s also typically ranked within the top 30 universities in the world. Otherwise, institutions like the University of Toronto and of British Columbia are also praised for their excellence. International students mostly spend just as much on tuition as where they came from, but for Canadian citizens, tuition costs are insanely low.

Canadians are pretty laid back, so they’d much rather do their own thing than pick fights with other countries. What is there to fight aboot anyhow? Canadians are generally a happy lot and you’d be hard pressed to find a country with a major beef against the nation. Don’t get us wrong – the Canadian military is certainly considered world class, but Canadians grow up in a country where people of different colors, cultures, religions, and sexualities make up much of the population. If they have to fight, they will. But peace, kindness, and acceptance are for the most part ingrained in them from birth, and Canada tends to focus their energy more on peace keeping missions than all-out war.

Before we reveal our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

- Ketchup and All Dressed Chips
- Milk Bags
- Use of the Metric System

Okay, so the term is rather misleading, since health care in Canada isn’t ‘free’ per se. What it means is that, since Canadians all pitch in towards health care through taxes, the cost of health care becomes significantly cheaper. The specifics of coverage vary between provinces, but as a rule of thumb they get free clinics, which – sure – inevitably lead to long waiting times. But at least those wait-times show that people are taking advantage of the system; in some other countries, waiting rooms are empty because medical attention is too expensive. There’s also limited coverage for vision and dental care. But what it really boils down to is that, in Canada, the country’s health is in the hands of its citizens, who are therefore able to get the care they deserve for next to nothing.

Do you agree with our list? What’s your favorite thing about Canada? For more informative top 10s published every day visit WatchMojo.com.