Canada has been a country of immigrants for centuries. For the past 70 years, while Ontario has received the highest number of immigrants of any province or territory, Toronto has been the hot spot for these newcomers. Canada’s commitment to being a great place for immigrants was even further solidified in 1982, when protections towards multiculturalism were legislated into Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
As Toronto is one of the most multicultural cities in Canada, it is a prime example of how successful Canada has become as a cultural mosaic that embraces diversity. It has some of the largest immigrant communities in Canada and this fact alone draws even more people to immigrate to Toronto. While relocating your entire life, and in most cases your family, to a new country is extremely challenging; Toronto is a city that offers amazing opportunities for those that live here. Whether you are coming to live in Canada to create a better life for your family, or fleeing war and persecution in your homeland, Toronto prides itself as being a great place for a fresh start.
Moreover, Toronto has a low crime rate, huge residential neighbourhoods that are located in the heart of the city near public transport and services, great public schools, public healthcare, and plenty of public services geared towards immigrants. These things all serve to make the adjustment to a new life easier.
No matter your reason for relocating, here are some of the things new immigrants to Toronto can expect about life here:
Housing
Wouldn’t it be amazing to have this view?
While Torontonians love to complain about how expensive real estate is in Toronto, and it is, there are also good prices for newcomers to Canada. Especially when it comes to renting. Other than immigrants with deep pockets, the renting market holds a lot of promise for immigrants wanting to just get established in the city where they are close to everything, while also having a limited budget. If downtown prices are just too much, only a couple subway stops North to midtown Toronto exists an exploding rental market. Toronto’s rental market also offers a lot of different types of rentals beyond your typical apartment, Toronto is filled with basement apartments, condos, and houses for rent so people can find exactly what works for them.
Families also benefit from neighbourhoods such as midtown that have a variety of 2 and 3 bedrooms units that are near schools. An example of a 2 bedroom apartment located in the midtown neighbourhood of Toronto can be found by clicking here. It’s important for newly arrived immigrants to live in a neighbourhood where they have access to services that will aid their transition and establishment in Toronto.
Want tips on how to find the perfect Toronto apartment? Check out our post about making apartment hunting a breeze!
Community
With a large population of diverse citizens, there’s a huge sense of community in Toronto. While immigrants feel welcome in general in Toronto, having a local community that you share some cultural similarities with goes a long way in getting set up in a new country life. So one of the deciding factors for new immigrants moving to Toronto can be finding a community where there are other people from their home country and region.
Toronto has it all, Little Jamaica, Little Italy, Greek Town, Little Portugal, China Town, and the list goes on. This does not mean that Toronto is segregated by any means, or that new immigrants wont be exposed to Canadian life and culture if they live in one of these neighbourhoods. It just means they will have a higher chance of finding services geared towards immigrants in their native tongue and it could help with the transition of coming to a new country to live somewhere that shares similarities with home. This is one of the best features of Toronto! It allows everyone else to go to these places to get a taste for the cultural of the home country, and helps new immigrants feel less alone and have a sense of community. One of Toronto’s best and strongest qualities is it’s multiculturalism and all that offers every Torontonian.
Services
Universal healthcare is the cornerstone of Canadian values.
Being a city of immigrants means that Toronto has quite the wide safety net in place for them and a lot of services to help aid immigrants settle into their live home and lives. Besides the basic services that Toronto provides to all of its residents like free public school education, free libraries, garbage clean up, and a great transit system there are a lot more just for immigrants. The Canadian government and by extension the city of Toronto offers healthcare to all new comers regardless of whether they have their OHIP card or not. There are free English language education classes, and with how multicultural Toronto is it’s not hard to find one being taught in an immigrants native tongue!
There are also city resources to help immigrants in the search for a job as well as finding pathways to education. The city even has a mentorship program where newcomers to Canada are set up with someone from their field who guides them in finding work in their occupation. Private businesses also reach to immigrants, banks all accounts that are tailored to meet an immigrants financial needs when they first arrive here. Basically, if you are looking for help there are resources in the city that exist for almost every newcomer need.
With great housing, communities, and services; it’s really no surprise that Toronto is such a destination for new immigrants.
Related Articles