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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Relocating to Canada



Hi everyone, this is an excellent guest article written by blog reader and contributor J. Vanne. Thanks a lot J for the excellent information. Guys, as everything here this is just more material so as to have greater knowledge. No one is telling you to move, that your country is going to hell or anything like that so please keep it calm in the comment section. As always, I check and authorize each comment and nonsense (and of course spam) gets erased with a simple click.
FerFAL

   Relocating to Canada


Many of you have read all about relocating to places like Belize, Pago-Pago  - or perhaps even the Kerguelen Islands if you really want to get away (extra credit for those who can even find the Kerguelen Islands on a world map without googling it!). There may or may not be some merit a number of relocation  countries, and no doubt some readers here have already done research in that regard. No doubt, there is a wide range of countries with a wide range of advantages and disadvantages.  My goal is not to dissuade you from some place warm and sunny, but rather ensure you have considered the full panoply of possible options – including Canada.

Many of the countries people are examining come with large question marks – such as, for one example,  Costa Rica, which has a large cadre of committed leftists in leadership, even if they are not currently a formally Communist country.  Mexico? Would you really feel safe in an almost-failed country during an economic or grid meltdown?  Will you fit in culturally, and how well have you mastered the language? There is much being written about Argentina at present by certain parties selling “estancias” there, but with a quick flick of the pen, socialist caudilla Christina Kirchner might well simply change the rules. The well regarded, native Argentinian Fernando “Ferfal” Aguirre has a very different take on places like Cafayete than what some of the purveyors of lots there present – see http://ferfal.blogspot.com/search?q=Salta for his analysis. Perhaps these places are indeed good options – and perhaps not. I simply don’t know, for, like most of the readers here, I don’t have the time to investigate, the money to risk, or the ability to do my due diligence before a radical move like this.  Yes, New Zealand, Singapore or  Chile seem like good options – except that in the former case, experts like Joel Skousen think Australia and New Zealand could be taken over, either literally or politically, by China, if war came about.  Even if Skousen is a bit over-dramatic, most of us would still have to get back and forth on a somewhat regular basis from these areas. Not cheap, unless you are Learjet leftist/Hollywood mogul James Cameron, who recently bought a large spread in New Zealand, and has no qualms about adding more of his carbon footprint going between the two countries. On the day of this writing, Expedia showed a return flight for one person of $2,187 dollars Chicago to Auckland. Chile or the oft-written about Uruguay are not much closer.  The point is there are many unknowns in whole relocation game, and some of the “knowns” are significant: language, culture, expenses, time to do due diligence, political change, etc.  My goal is not to persuade you one way or another – simply to provide you with some facts about another country, the Great White North, just across the border. Easy and cheap to get to, you already know the language (except in Quebec), and the culture – while different – is the closest thing you will find to the U.S.  And if you don’t have the time or money to explore (like most of us, you either have the time and no money if you aren’t working,  money and no time if you are working… or, if you are like me, you have neither!), plan on taking an upcoming vacation to a target destination.

Three points to begin with. First, I have nothing to sell. My goal is simply to provide more information to those who are looking for more details about possible options.  Second, I am a dual US/Canadian citizen, and know the Canada very intimately. My personal footprint in Canada extends from having lived on Vancouver Island, as well as in Vancouver, British Columbia,  as well as in Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec;  I also own property in Cape Breton,  Nova Scotia (point of interest: the road signs in Cape Breton are in English and Gaelic!). I have family scattered up and down the main highway between Toronto and Montreal , so that I needn’t drive more than 30 minutes  between the two cities without having a family member to visit. Except for a short stretch between Quebec City and Fredericton, New Brunswick, I have driven from the very end of the dock at Tofino, B.C, the western terminus of the Trans-Canada highway, to Glace Bay in Nova Scotia, the last stop before one hits Ireland. Driving through the US, that is total of 4,200 miles, according to Mapquest.  Staying on the Trans-Canada will, of course, set you back many more driving hours, as it will require some two-lane driving.  The third point? I have never been in Newfoundland, so I will leave that province to others.  Long story short, I have lived half my adult life in various locales in the US, and half at various locations across Canada. I know both countries very well.

Now… let’s get one objection addressed right off. Canada is called “The Great White North” for a good reason.  It’s not Biloxi, Mississippi. On the other hand, people do not snowshoe to work in July, and there are indeed more than two seasons as commonly surmised, winter and Canada Day on July 1st. As a matter of fact, approximately 90% of Canadians live within an hour or two of the US border, and with some exceptions, most of the country where you would probably end up living has relatively moderate winters. Vancouver, Victoria, and much of southern British Columbia have winters no more extreme than Seattle. Yes, Calgary, Edmonton and Winnipeg across the rest of the west are cold, as are Ottawa and Montreal. Toronto has relatively moderate winters – somewhat similar to Chicago, but not as hot in the summer due to the moderating effect of Lake Ontario when there are prevailing southerlies in the summer – and the Maritime provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland do not get extremely cold due to the effect of the gulf stream in most areas. For full meteorological details, see http://www.livingin-canada.com, which will provide more information for you, but here are a few highlights: the average high in Halifax, NS in January is 32F, the average daily high for Toronto, ON. is 33F in January, and the average Vancouver, BC high temperature for the same month is 42 F. What this means is that Vancouver is, according to Wikipedia,  in the  USDA plant hardiness zone of 8, similar to  Seattle, Portland, Amsterdam and London, as well as places such as Atlanta, Georgia and Raleigh, North Carolina, far to the south.  Surprised? Read on.

Let me point out one more thing about the winter weather in Canada: As the Russians say, “There is no poor weather, only poor clothing.” Purchasing good winter clothing goes a long way towards alleviating the complaints about the cold. And one more point: if you get cold, you can always put on more turn up the heat, or put on more clothes. If you are unbearably hot, there are only so many clothes you can take off. And of course, for the confirmed winter-hater, you can always join the “snowbirds” who vacate the country from American Thanksgiving (Canadian Thanksgiving is in October) through March. If you are susceptible to SADS (seasonal affective disorder, caused by lack of light), make sure you have a good lighting system. No place is perfect! (Remember, South America has what my brother – who live there for many years – the “three stepper” snake – meaning after you are bit, you get about three steps before you die!)

The above being said, Canada is not for everyone. However, if you find moderately cold temperatures tolerable, you may wish to explore further! I will start to explain options below, then finish is a follow up article.

However, before we delve into the “wheres” about Canada, let’s explore the “whys.”  Significantly, Canada hit a Greek-style debt wall in the mid-1990s, similar to what New Zealand experienced in the 1980s. Canada, like New Zealand, was too peripheral to bail out, and there was no political will to do so at that juncture in time. In Canada, this meant the “loonie,” (so named after the dollar coin, which has the picture of a loon on the back of it) dropped in value to the low 60 cent range per US dollar.  I am still  kicking myself for not buying a marvelous piece of land in Alberta back then! Importantly, this
“loonie” implosion happened under the Liberal party in the 1990s and early part of the next decade (the Liberal Party is roughly akin to the Democrat Party in the US) under Prime Minister Paul Martin, who had succeeded Liberal leader Jean Chretien. The significance of this is that, as all the cutbacks were forced on Canada by the Liberals, what could the left do? Canadians were stuck swallowing the cutbacks forced on them by their dear Liberals. Subsequently, the Liberal Party support eroded further due to endemic corruption, and in Feb., 2006, Stephen Harper, the Conservative (Tory) leader was elected Prime Minister, and has been in power up to today, recently being elected with a majority government. One other twist to the story: Harper started his political career with the Reform Party, which one might very roughly equate to America’s Tea Party.  In 2003, the Reform Party – which had split from the Conservative (Tory) Party in the 1980s, merged back with the Conservatives. (Full disclosure:  I was a member of the Reform Party, and am currently very active with the Tea Party in the US. I see many similarities).

What does this mean to you, the person considering relocation? Quite a lot, actually. Simply put,  Canada is on relatively firmer financial footing than many western nations, given that it was forced to swallow its own bitter socialist medicine, being a “too small to care about” country. Canada hit the debt wall during the boom times, and due to its being a small country, very few paid any attention, or provided any bailout support.  Long story short, Canada was forced to clean up its financial act – at least relative to the rest of the world.  For a comprehensive rendering of what is going on with Canada’s fiscal world, may I encourage you to review the highly regarded Canadian site www.thepoog.com , where you can conduct thorough due diligence about the financial state of the country. Particularly revealing is the article on Canadian debt from one year ago at http://thepoog.com/?p=51#more-51.  One of the Poog’s graphs, found at http://thepoog.com/?p=222#more-222 , and shown below illustrates the situation graphically:


Regarding external debt, Canada also sits relatively well:  As a percentage of GDP, the EU external debt is 85%, the US is 103%, the UK is 390%, and even Germany 142%. Supposedly financially sober Netherlands is at 344% and even Sweden – which had its own financial wake-up call in 1995 when its kroner melted down – is at 187%, trailed by Norway at 141%. Bulletproof Switzerland? External debt is 229% of GDP. And if you must ask about Luxembourg, it is at 3,443%.  Canada’s external debt, by contrast, is only 64% of GDP.   Being resource rich has helped the country immensely.

As noted, you will get the good, the bad and the ugly regarding Canada – particularly as it relates to America and the EU – at the www.thePoog.com web site.   Similarly, Canada Free Press, at http://www.canadafreepress.com/ , will inform you as to much of what is transpiring in Canada from a strongly pro-freedom, pro-American perspective.  Importantly, if you do consider relocation, note that there is much variation between provincial debt, and by some accounts, Canada’s most important province, Ontario, is in worse shape than California – see http://thepoog.com/?p=3110.  The cost of living is also not cheap, but this can vary depending on location.

As noted above, there is a very strong socialist presence in Canada, and socialized medicine has been the law in Canada for many years.  Stories you hear about socialized Canadian health care are indeed true, and rural areas can be horribly underserved; on the other hand – and no, you did not read this in the leftist press, nor will you ever do so – even the Supreme Court of Canada (for whose staff I have done computer training) ruled in June, 2005 bans on private health insurance are unconstitutional, viz. “The prohibition on obtaining private health insurance…. Is not constitutional where the public system fails to deliver reasonable service.”  Yes, you read that correctly. Socialized medicine is being eroded in Canada at the same time America dives in to the Pelosi-esque nightmare of ObamaCare (which Pelosi conveniently excluded herself from, her Congressional cronies, her district, and all her union chums – nice gig, if you can get it). The ever-funny Steven Crowder, also a dual citizen, has a boots-on-the-ground video of Canadian healthcare at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TryMmn13Xp8  Incidentally, my job is in hospital project management, and I have managed a number of large hospital projects across Canada, so I know whereof I speak. The long and short of the matter is that you will get healthcare, that you can get private care, that Canada is making strides to improve healthcare, and once ObamaCare is implemented, it may be a wash as to quality of care you get on either side of the border, unless you are a buddy of Nancy Pelosi’s.  One other note about socialism to be aware of. In addition to the Tory and Liberal parties, there is one party you need to be forewarned about – the New Democratic Party, aka the NDP. Think of a whole party who would consider Nancy Pelosi is “conservative.” Any location you consider that has the word “NDP” associated with it you should avoid like the plague, unless you disagree with
Frederick Bastiat’s 150 year old dictum that “Socialism (government) is the great fiction, whereby everybody endeavours to live off of everybody else” is a valid economic principle.

In terms of financial freedom, Heritage.org puts Canada at #6 – ahead of the US, which is #10 – see http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking ). Transparency.org ranks Canada ahead of the US in financial transparency (no comment from Obama money bagman Jon Corzine on this), and in the top grouping of countries – see http://www.transparency.org/cpi2010/results . The only countries that are as clean financially as Canada are Switzerland, the Nordic countries and New Zealand.  As many readers are aware, Canada did not experience a banking melt-down in 2008, and the banking system is much, much more stable than in the U.S. In my personal opinion that, in many ways, Canada is less socialist than the U.S. is under Obama, at present, as long as Stephen Harper remains Prime Minster.

This, then, is the financial world you will enter – a critical piece of the equation for any relocation calculus you do.  You can also – unless you live in Key West, FL. – conduct your due diligence on this with a simple car drive across the border.

If you are thinking about relocating to Canada, also consider that, just like the US, there is a very, very wide diversity of attitudes, mores and lifestyles between provinces and regions.  For the “beginner,“ Canada is much more than just English and French Canada. Rather, there are the following distinct regions:

(1)    The West. Everything west of Lake Superior, starting with Manitoba is considered a western province. The western provinces also have significant divisions, but British Columbia (BC), Alberta (AB), Saskatchewan (SK)  and Manitoba (MB) are considered the western provinces.  In contrast to the US, once one leaves Winnipeg., MB. – which is roughly north of Fargo, ND – and drives east, the next large population area of any significance is the London/Toronto region – almost 1,400 miles! Thus, there is a very clear division between the west and the east simply in terms of physical distance – which then translates into subcultural and political distance as well. Further, there are historical grievances from the west, which has harboured resentment of Central Canada  as using them simply hewers of wood and drawers of water (or oil), for the benefit of the easterners. Settlement in the west also historically had a much larger percentage of people like the Ukrainians (Edmonton is often disparagingly called “Edmonchuk” by some due to its Ukrainian population) and even Russian Doukhabors. These provinces will be examined in detail in my next article, as there are some definite targets a person relocating might want to examine. Note that the western provinces are not monolithic – British Columba, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are as different as – if I were to use American cities – Seattle, Boise, Fargo and Minneapolis.
(2)    Central Canada, the province of Ontario. This is also known as “Upper Canada,” in that it was “up” the St. Lawrence River from Montreal. Ontario in many ways is Canada.  With a metro Toronto area of over 6 million, out of a total population of 34 million, Toronto runs the country, and is said by many to be the most multicultural city in the world. This makes for great restaurants, and it is a great business town, but in any type of “meltdown” crisis, it is simply that – another megalopolis.   The major highway through Toronto, the 401 – is twenty-two lanes wide in the heart of the city. However, with the natural resources boom in the west, population – just like the U.S. – continues to shift people west, so Ontario is very gradually losing some of its clout.  Toronto is a megalopolis, and its demographic footprint extends for many, many kilometres out into the surrounding country. This has skewed prices far out into the countrysid, and many consider the Toronto area market very overheated and due for a fall. However, there are a couple other sections of Ontario I will examine in the next article, northern Ontario, as well as eastern Ontario, which may be of a better bet for someone considering relocating. Importantly, as you consider Canada, both Toronto and Vancouver, along with probably Alberta and Saskatchewan, are in housing bubbles.  Don’t believe me? Check out the prices at Crackhouse or Mansion website (focusing on Vancouver prices, possibly the highest in North America) at http://www.crackshackormansion.com/.  The Poog, at http://thepoog.com/?tag=house-price also has published some research on this. Unfortunately, Ontario has been led by Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty for many years, and – though he is stepping down soon – he has left a socialist imprimatur on the province.
(3)    Quebec, or French Canada. Quebec historically was also known as “Lower Canada”. Yes, Montreal has great night life. It is also coming back as a business centre, after driving businesses to Toronto with threats of separatism in the 1980s And yes, the “pure laines” (the old pure blood Quebecois, who generally tended towards separatism) are dying out. Nevertheless, the politics there are very leftist, separatism is not completely dead, and there is much dependence on English Canada bailing out Quebec, simply so they won’t leave confederation. In a financial pinch, this is not a place you would want to be, when the money stops. One other small point: most of the province – which is Canada’s largest – is not inhabited by French, but rather by aboriginal peoples (e.g., Cree or Mohawk, Indians, Inuit, etc.) There is ongoing, low-grade friction between the Indians and the French, and in 1990 this actually became violent, with the army called out (one famous picture from that period is below). At least one person was killed (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oka_Crisis during this crisis, in which even tanks were called out.

).
This being said, the French/English battles – essentially the re-fighting of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, where the British defeated the French 250 years ago – is much more muted from 20 years ago. Quebec ranges from being very bilingual in the far west around Ottawa, to almost only unilingual French speaking in places like Quebec City (the only walled city in North America, and a wonderful place to go on a honeymoon – but for someone relocating due to economic, geo-political, or other risks, not a place I would recommend, even if you are fluent in French). However, if you are dead set on Quebec, the historically English “Eastern Townships,” such as towns like Sherbrooke, might be of consideration, in that they are smaller, and more agriculturally fertile – almost like a Vermont North. Of course, today even those towns are also majority French.  Quebec is Canada’s largest province – but almost all the population is centred around the St. Lawrence or Ottawa rivers.
One other point about Quebec. As the “pure laine” French embraced abortion whole heartedly after their so-called  “Silent Revolution” in the 1960s (where they rejected the authority of the Catholic church over their society, as one aspect of this revolution), these pures laines have dropped as a percentage of the population, which in turn has necessitated much immigration into the province. These immigrants know that, in a sea of almost 400 million in North America (excluding Mexico), French is not the ticket to educational or career success, by and large (outside of getting a job in the Canadian government, where it does indeed help). And besides, Dancing with the Stars, Lady Gaga and all the other media stars do their thing in English.
One other consideration for those of you concerned, as I am, about the genesis of why our society is imploding: ethics.  At one point, Billy Graham called Montreal the least churched city in North America. And there are serious ramifications of this. But let me simply warn you by paraphrasing Fyodor Dostoyevski about cultures like this: “If there is no God, everything is permissible.” Not an environment I personally would like to be in when times get tough. Given the above, for the purposes of this paper, I will ignore examining Quebec further.
(4)    The Maritimes: I admit I am biased here. While most of the rest of Canada has seen a housing boom – which, in my estimation, leaves one at risk of buying too high – the Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland, have not seen a price boom. I will examine each of the Maritime provinces in depth in my next article, but suffice to say I believe there is much opportunity here.  While I have absolutely zero connection with this company, other than having purchased my own property from them, Dignam.com – which has been in business almost 100 years – has a very large offering of rural properties for sale.
(5)    The Far North.  As with Quebec, I will not examine the territories of Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut. With the possible exception of Whitehorse in the Yukon, these are not areas that would be tenable for an off-the-grid lifestyle.
Still interested? Some official sites to get you started are Citizenship and Immigration Canada, at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp , or Immigrate to Canada, at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.asp . There are initiatives for people starting a business in Canada that might be of interest to you, as well.

In the next article, I will examine selected areas of Canada you may want to consider. More to follow!

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would like to thank the author for a good detailed article that really helps a right leaning christian republican determine where to settle. Any relocation tips for an independent, centrist, atheist?

FerFAL said...

Sure, just go to San Francisco, you'll feel at home pretty fast.

Anonymous said...

Great article.

Jose Garcia

Steve said...

I was born in Canada, lived only in various parts of Ontario, which is about half the size of the EU. Lived seven years in Austria and spent years in ASEN countries, and China. Also been to half of Latam, Austrilia and New Zealand. IMHO Northern Socialist European countries have the best solution to human living. Next Austraila and New Zealand, after that its Canada with one foot in Northern Europe and the other in the USA. The big advantage of Canada and Austrialia is small population and huge natural resources. Canada unlike Austrialia is the best country in the world to choose if your worried about climate change. Property outside big cities is ridiculosly cheap.

I just want to point out that 60% of Canadians despise Harper and the vile Reform Party. The only way he got a majority is because Canada has an adiquatied polical system called first past the post. So the three left wing parties cancel out each other.

Anonymous said...

No country is a paradise, but some are moving to be in the neighborhood where Hell is. See North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, and sadly, even Argentina. Be thankful if you are in USA or Canada, since they are not that bad, but remember the price of freedom is eternal vigilance. Including vigilance against incompetent leaders. So vote wisely. I like Libertarian.

Anonymous said...

Fernando, that was a good one. However I said centrist (not leftist).

Given that, I'd take San Francisco out of many spots in the bible belt. At least I'll be able to buy a beer on a Sunday.

Anonymous said...

It seems the whole world is becoming controlled by corrupt leftist dictators who enrich themselves and their cronies while destroying the middle classes and impoverishing the masses. I'll take Canada's "antiquated" political system any day if the Reform Party can win because the idiots in the three left wing nut parties cancel each other's votes out!

Anonymous said...

I spent several weeks in Nfld back in '09. I was looking a little bit with eye to moving there. There is plenty of room. Good people. Seems like it might be possible to live off the land to some extent. The people there supposedly consume a million kilos of moose meat a year. There are about 10 different kinds of edible berries that grow wild. There is good fishing. The land seems fairly cheap. Even the climate is not as bad you would think.

However, there is hardly any work. If you can really live on your own it might be ok. There is not much medical care. I was on the look-out for hospitals and clinics. They are a little thin on the ground.

Anonymous said...

For me a no-brainer, I work for a Canadian company, it's only 2 hours away, and I already speak Canadian, eh?
Eric

LarryM said...

Great article. I am a Canadian from southeastern Ontario...grew up in Oshawa, just outside of Toronto, and have lived most recently in the Kingston area, about 2 hours east of Toronto. I now live in Raleigh NC.

Regarding Ontario, because of the massive debt McGuinty has piled up, and the hostility toward business, jobs are extremely scarce. My son still lives there, and goes to Queen's U, and has been looking for fulltime work doing ANYTHING and can't find it. He is competing with 30, 40 and 50 year olds who have lost manufacturing or other jobs and will take the Walmart/McD jobs.

If the SHTF, Canada will feel the effects almost as bad as the US. Canada does 80% of its trade with the US and the main, if not only, reason it is doing relatively well is because of its massive resources, centred in the west...Petroleum in Alberta, potash in Saskatchewan.

Healthcare is deteriorating quite seriously. You can still get very skilled, professional care, but make no mistake...it is declining. We moved away to NC in 2000 and went back in '09, and we've noticed a significant change in overall quality. My wife works as a nurse...she worked at Kingston General Hosp for a year from 2010 to 2011 and had worked there when she first graduated in '86. Someone asked her if she noticed a big change...she said 'no, they're using the same bedpans, same beds, same IV's, etc'. The difference in overall maintenance and cleanliness from KGH vs those she worked at in the US were like night and day. We were fortunate enough to get the same family doctor (a feat these days, just getting one...100,000s of Cdns can't get one) and tried to make an appointment...first one available was 3 weeks! Rarely in the US would we have to wait more than a day. With regards to private care...yeah, it's becoming more available, such as urgent care centres...but there is essentially no network of providers of private doctors and specialists that allow you to 'jump the queue'...I guess unless you're the extreme political and economic elite. For basic medical care, and beyond you are at the mercy of the system. Bottom line, if you want to get care faster, people go to the US and pay out of pocket...and hope to get reimbursed later by the gov't.

Canada, generally, (the exceptions are probably Alberta, possibly Saskatchewan)is highly secular to the point almost of hostility towards religion. I am Catholic, and I guess you would call me committed/faithful, and the Catholicism practised there is milquetoast. The bishops, and majority of priests are older 'social justice' types. Evangelicals, while they are around, are few and you might say 'ghettoized'. So, if this is your persuasion, I really don't feel like you would have a home there.

One more thing...Canada has a strong anti-gun, anti-self-defense attitude. You can own a handgun, but God help you if you actually use it to defend yourself. You MUST keep it locked up...MUST have ammunition stored in another room, also locked up. Also, pepper spray is illegal, not to mention crossbows. Concealed carry is not even in their lexicon...open carry? Hahahahahaha...uh, yeah right. That's for them wacko Americans.

So, my independent, centrist, atheist friend, you would probably fit right in culturally, especially around Toronto...good luck finding a job though.

And, finally, you will pay at least 20% more for just about everything, PLUS HST of 13% (Ontario...Alberta just gets hit with 5% GST and has I think still no provincial sales tax). PLUS...Steve said property outside of big cities is 'ridiculously cheap'...compared, I guess, to New York or Los Angeles. However, taking Kingston for example, a small city...you're looking at the same home in/around Kingston costing 300,000 you could buy in Raleigh/Triangle area for under 200,000. You have to go WAY out in the boonies to get land cheap. The closer you get to Toronto the worse it gets.

Don Williams said...

Re Anon at Nov 29, 9:56 pm
"It seems the whole world is becoming controlled by corrupt leftist dictators who enrich themselves and their cronies while destroying the middle classes and impoverishing the masses"

The last three Republican Presidents were "leftists"? Gee, somebody let Jane Hamsher know.

I mean, I have my problems with Obama but at least he has not hit the taxpayers for $1 billion to bail out a bank run by one of his own daughters:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Bush#Silverado_Savings_.26_Loan

And yet Republicans turned around, put Neil Bush's BROTHER --George W -- in as President a few years later and then were shocked to discover George W hitting them with yet another costly bailout --$Trillions this time -- in 2008.
ha ha ha

Don Williams said...

1) Because of their long period of peace and cooperation as military allies, most people think there is little likelihood of conflict between the USA and Canada.

2) However, global warming is melting the Arctic icecape and opening up a major shipping lane between Europe and China -- the Northwest Passage. Canada claims the Passage as Canadian territory -- the USA considers it international waters open to all. There has already been some saber rattling on both sides.

Considering that the Passage cuts off 6000? miles from the Europe to China route compared to the Panama canal, the economic stakes are enormous. Plus there's Russia.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Passage#International_waters_dispute

3) Greater hostility between the USA and Canada (triggered, e,g, by Canada trying to play the Russia card) would make things surprisingly complicated for dual citizens.

Don Williams said...

1) Re a suggested Canadian-Russian alliance to oppose US free passage in the Arctic waters, see
Michael Byers' article at
http://globalbrief.ca/blog/2012/02/06/toward-a-canada-russia-axis-in-the-arctic/

2) Meanwhile, back at the US Navy
officers' club a rowdy, liquored up group is singing:

"Oh, we don't want to fight
but by jingo if we doooo
we got the ships!
we got the men!
we got the money toooo"

ha ha ha

CanuckDoomer said...

I live in the Maritimes, specifically rural Nova Scotia. I used to live in Halifax, the largest maritime city which has a population of about 300k. The whole province has less than 1 million people.

The climate is becoming more moderate with global warming. Less snow and extreme cold temps. Here we are in December with double digit temps.

Housing and land in rural areas can range from ridiculously cheap to expensive. How far from the city do you want to live?

Hunting is great, water is good and abundant. There are many areas with great soil and decent growing season.

Economically we are known as a "have not" province. Industry, fishing and farming are not what they were and the province is struggling economically. This is being made worse by NDP leadership. If you are coming with your own money you will do well. Jobs are getting scarce, many of our people are moving out west where the jobs are. Our taxes and gas prices are high, but housing costs, land and property taxes are cheaper so it balances it out somewhat.

People here generally tend to be friendlier than they are the farther west you go... in my opinion. I've traveled across Canada and its been my experience that rural people are friendlier and more helpful than urbanites.

Canada's anti gun climate IS improving. We've recently ditched the long gun registry and there are moves to strengthen self defence laws in favour of the defenders. Legally, you can use force to protect yourself but be prepared to prove it was justified in court.

While our gun laws are restrictive in some ways, it is not as bad as it could be. Contrary to what LarryM says, you do NOT need to have your ammunition locked in a separate room. For handguns and other restricted firearms like AR-15s etc, it can be loaded in a magazine next to the gun as long as the gun resides in a safe. That can mean a biometric safe next to your bed.

If you live in a rural area with predators such as coyotes, you are legally allowed to have a non-restricted firearm such as a shotgun within reaching distance and ammo at the ready. It must be locked up again when you are not present. Please always remember to store your firearms safely when children are near or the possibility of theft or misuse exists. It is also legal to keep a non-restricted firearm in your vehicle, unlocked and uncased but no loaded. Shells in a side saddle is considered unloaded. If you need to use a firearm in self defence, be prepared to defend the action in court. It can go either way at this point in time, depending on the circumstances.

Crossbows are no longer illegal either. Pepper spray can be bought legally as dog and bear deterrent. Don't get caught using it on a human. Which means if you need to use it to protect your life don't stick around for the police reports.

I hope that adds some more info from an east coast doomers perspective.