In the How long in Calgary thread, I saw that some people were immigrants to Canada. As an immigrant myself, I love hearing knowing about new and old immigrants.
So:
when did you move to Canada and from where
UK, my parents moved when I was around 5/6.
Do you miss or feel a connection to your "Old Country"
Nope not at all
Do you feel Canadian
100%
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
I have a question that I'd like some immigrants to weigh in on:
This summer I went to a wedding in Smithers BC and while I was there we went out to a restaurant and our server was this Nigerian man.
He immigrated from Nigeria directly to Smithers. Now Smithers is in the middle of nowhere and, quite frankly, is pretty tough to get to and there isnt a whole lot there. Why did he choose there? And he was far from the only immigrant in that area.
I just found it odd that people would immigrate directly to some small rural town in northern BC.
Is there something in the process that places them?
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I just found it odd that people would immigrate directly to some small rural town in northern BC.
Is there something in the process that places them?
AFAIK, if he wasn't a refugee, he can pretty much pick and choose where to land in Canada. If I hazard a guess, he went to Smithers (no idea where that is) for a job and just stayed there permanently afterwards. Nowadays, when I drove through BC, the rural towns Timmis are all serviced by immigrants. I bet overtime, some of them will just settle there and people will be bewildered why someone will go from the Philippines to Sicamous, BC, directly.
Last edited by darklord700; 01-08-2016 at 03:20 PM.
Locke, often times you may not have a choice, especially if you are a refugee. For example, my family was placed in Fort McMurray. We didn't have a say in the matter...just to accept or not.
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AFAIK, if he wasn't a refugee, he can pretty much pick and choose where to land in Canada. If I hazard a guess, he went to Smithers (no idea where that is) for a job and just stayed there permanently afterwards. Nowadays, when I drove through BC, the rural towns Timmis are all serviced by immigrants. I bet overtime, some of them will just settle there and people will be bewildered why someone will go from the Philippines to Sicamous, BC, directly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Table 5
Locke, often times you may not have a choice, especially if you are a refugee. For example, my family was placed in Fort McMurray. We didn't have a say in the matter...just to accept or not.
Interesting. I never really considered that he might be a refugee and I didnt realize that refugees dont get to choose. You'd just figure that they'd go to a more urban centre with more resources and easier access.
Getting to Smithers is a bitch.
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2010 from El Salvador, wife and 2 Kids (now 3 Kids)
Do you miss or feel a connection to your "Old Country"
Nope. Zero. Nothing.
Do you feel Canadian
Yes. Proud and Humbled
Re, Locke's question.
We applied through the FSW program (Federal Skilled Worker). The program allows you to settle anywhere. We have no family in Canada, but I had previous O&G experience so AB was a no-brainer, although Edm was not an option (even when I was back in El Salvador I knew E=NG).
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I'm a dual citizen, so I don;t really classify as an immigrant, but I was born elsewhere and moved here so..
when did you move to Canada and from where
1994 - 5 years old from the US (Spokane, Washington)
Do you miss or feel a connection to your "Old Country"
No. Actually kind of embarrassed to come from that place. I've considered renouncing citizenship, but I'm going into a career where I may want to/need to head down there, so best to keep it as is.
1994 (with my parents and 2 brothers) and from The Philippines ( I was in my early teens). Calgary has been home since!
Do you miss or feel a connection to your "Old Country"
At times especially Christmas and New Years. Its different there. Lots of food and family good times! I do get home sick once in a while, miss authentic Filipino food, the beautiful white beaches, and mostly the general simple way of living. My last set of grandparents has passed away so no more real connection aside from cousins, aunts and uncles. My whole family is here and Calgary is now home for me.
Do you feel Canadian
ABSOLUTELY but I am still proud to be from the Philippines. Canada has been good to me and my family.I let my kids know where I am from originally time to time and make them appreciate how good we have things here in Canada.
Last edited by DylanScores; 01-08-2016 at 04:22 PM.
Location: Oklahoma - Where they call a puck a ball...
Exp:
when did you move to Canada and from where
The US ( Oklahoma) and in 2013 (I was 31)
Do you miss or feel a connection to your "Old Country"
Of course. I miss my family and my hockey playing friends down there. It's not better there, it's just different.
Do you feel Canadian
No. I never will. I'm not Canadian but I don't feel like that's a bad thing at all. It's never bad to forget where you came from. I love it here in Calgary though. While I do miss a lot of things from Oklahoma, I feel I would miss a ton of stuff from here if I moved back.
2005 (though I'd visited a few times since 2001), Ireland
Do you miss or feel a connection to your "Old Country"
Feel a connection? Of course. It is who I am. Miss it? Sometimes. It's probably just the Christmas period, but I've been feeling pretty homesick lately. As much as Irish people don't like to admit it, Irish culture and British culture are intrinsically linked, and so much of what I miss actually tends to be British.
Do you feel Canadian
No. Though I do sing the national anthem and occasionally feel emotional while doing so.
Hong Kong, Mom, brother and I came here in June/July of 1998, Dad arrived in late September. I was 9
Do you miss or feel a connection to your "Old Country"
Absolutely. All of my relatives are still there. I hold dual citizenship, and I don't think I will ever get tired of going back to HK. That's not to say I don't enjoy living in Canada, but rather to say that it is still considered a home having grown up there for the first 9 and some years of my life
Do you feel Canadian
Probably about 75%, but that's the beauty of Canada
Do you miss or feel a connection to your "Old Country"
Not really. I miss the food sometimes, especially the street food. Indian restaurants here over the years have become good, so that's filled a void. I moved to Edmonton with my mother and brother after my parents separated, went to university there and worked there for many years, and started getting into hockey. That's where my Oilers connection comes from . Moved to Calgary 4 years ago, really enjoy the city, can't give up my loyalty to the home team though.
Do you feel Canadian
Without question. I had tears in my eyes at the citizenship ceremony. Canada has provided me, and my family, opportunities we could not have dreamed of back home. I have worked hard to get where I am professionally and personally, but this country has been good to me!
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When did you move to Canada and from where
Moved from England in 1984. My parents were originally refugees who escaped Uganda to England in 1972 when Idi Amin kicked all the Indians out. I was born in 1979 and we moved to Canada in 1984. My dad told me that they picked Canada because they had Canadian teachers in middle school to teach them English and they always really liked them. The Canadians would always tell them about Canada. My dad would actually visit Canada in 1977 with his brothers and they were blown away by the natural beauty. Someone should have told them about the winters hahaha.
Do you miss or feel a connection to your "Old Country"
Not really. My mom's side still lives in England so I have gone back a few times. I like it there but I feel more of a connection to my relatives rather than the country. I definitely don't feel "British" even though I have dual citizenship.
Do you miss or feel a connection to your "Old Country"
Yes, and yes. Renewing my Latvian citizenship right now actually (more so to move/work in different European countries if nothing happens when work contract runs up). When I came back after 17 years, 2 years ago back to the same house, same room (we lived with grandparents so they never changed anything in our rooms since we left) it was a emotional experience. Imagine seeing an toy airplane you put up as a kid on your roof fan still hanging there, with my toys as a kid in another corner 17 years later... was like walking back in time. Still love it, and going back this spring for my grand paps 80th.
Do you feel Canadian
Sure I do, couldn't even tell I was born elsewhere if you met me in real life as I have zero accent. Canada has been great, lots of opportunity that I may have not gotten if we never came here.
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Sweet thread. Inspired me to call up my mom and get the full story as I haven't heard it in ages.
when did you move to Canada and from where
1992 (I was 2 and a half). Moved from Germany where my parents lived for 4 or 5 years after fleeing Poland as refugees. Once the wall came down they were court ordered to leave Germany and return to Poland or go elsewhere. Apparently The US, Canada and Australia were accepting those displaced (wonder if there was all that commotion accepting migrants from Germany in the 90s ). Half of my parents friends moved to the US right away, my parents and their remaining friends got lawyers and dragged out the process as long as possible until they decided to move to Canada. Picked Calgary because that's where the first of their group decided to go. They loved skiing so she thinks if they were picking from scratch they would've probably picked Calgary anyways.
</cool story bro>
Do you miss or feel a connection to your "Old Country"
Huge connection to Poland as, outside of my Aunt and her husband who moved here in 2005, my entire extended family lives there still. I've been there 5 out of the last 6 years and spent 4 summers there in grade school. Fun to visit but I could never live there.
Outside of cheap partying cause of the exchange rate, everything about it is significantly worse than Canada. Even outside of economic reasons (Poland is actually one of the strongest economies in europe).
My view is skewed because the vast majority of the time I've spent there has been in the small town that my family is from but theft, violence, racism and homophobia are the norm. By that I mean that you will see otherwise great, kind, normal people that are truly racist and homophobic simply because they don't know any better. It's the world they're surrounded by and grew up in. Even their standard elementary textbooks have a story about a little black kid from Africa named "Bambo" that climbs trees to hide from his parents and fears taking baths because he might turn white.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murzynek_Bambo)
The theft and violence isn't as in your face and I've personally never been in a fight there, even when I've acted like a drunken idiot but you hear stories all of the time. When my cousin was here and saw that people simply leave patio furniture and BBQ's in their backyards and on their first floor decks she was shocked. Do that in Poland and it's guaranteed to be gone.
Moving there would be a tough adjustment
Do you feel Canadian
Through and through. Polish-Canadian. My family in Poland always gives me #### when they ask me which country I'd represent in sports and I say Canada but I've lived here my whole life. Obviously I feel a stronger connection to here, even though the blood in my veins is Polish.
Last edited by polak; 01-08-2016 at 05:27 PM.
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I was in the womb when my parents and 3 sisters came over from Bosnia, so I was the first one in my family born here.
I don't feel 100% Canadian though. Most of my family still lives in Europe, 2 of my sisters moved back and both of my parents are dead. I don't have a lot of roots here really. My family came over as refugees and were placed in a rural northern community and I grew up feeling separate. The town was about 50% native and 50% white. The natives didn't like us because we were white and the white people were mostly old stock that thought we were taking their jerbs. We were definitely treated differently by the locals, so I grew up feeling different.
As an adult, I moved to a larger centre and feel more integrated now though, but still not fully Canadian.
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Last edited by FlamesAddiction; 01-09-2016 at 09:18 AM.
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1976 from Moscow, Russia (nee USSR). We were Russian Jewish refugees. I was three years old. We left Russia in 1975 but stayed in Rome for 1 year while we were waiting for refugee status in Canada. Then it was straight to Calgary since both of my parents were engineers.
Do you miss or feel a connection to your "Old Country"
I do feel a slight connection since I grew up around other Russian Jewish immigrants. However, since I've been an adult and made my own way in the world that connection has gotten much weaker. I went back to Moscow for the first time in 2006 and mostly felt like a tourist. While there I did feel a sense of pride for the history and culture of the country. But now, I mostly feel a slight sense of shame for the actions of the country and the attitudes of many of the people still living there.
Do you feel Canadian
I feel 90% Canadian if that makes sense. My parents often tease me about how Canadian I am and my wife bugs me occasionally about how Russian I am.
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Immigrant Thread.
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