# Emigrating from Australia to Canada



## Julesinkingston (Aug 9, 2017)

Hi All, 

I am new on this Forum and was just wondering whether someone could provide me with some basic insight into life in Canada. 

I currently work in an operational assurance role involving auditing, security and investigations and wonder whether I would be able to get a good job in Canada with that background. In the past, I was also a safety manager. Would you know whether this would be a successful background for the Express Entry? I do have a Masters degree and several Australian diplomas. 

I am also interested in life in Canada in general. Are rent and costs of living very high? Is it difficult to find a job when first moving over? Would it generally be better to find a job before moving and is that at all possible over the distance?

What would be the best job boards? And what is work/life balance like in Canada. I have read that Canadians only have two weeks holidays per year. Is that right?

Sorry, there are a lot of questions but I would just be interested in as much information as possible. I would likely move alone, i.e. without my husband or any other family, so I want to make sure I would be able to support myself ongoingly. 

Thanks so much in advance!
Jules


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## citizen_of_the_world (Jul 28, 2017)

Julesinkingston said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I am new on this Forum and was just wondering whether someone could provide me with some basic insight into life in Canada.
> 
> ...


 Hey mate!

Best of luck in your immigration experience ... I'm in the same boat and decided to create a thread here and document everything I bump into.... It may seem disorganised but I'm doing my best... 

You can reach my thread here: http://www.expatforum.com/expats/ca...s-living-canada/1311650-my-ee-experience.html

Cheers,


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## Julesinkingston (Aug 9, 2017)

Hello hello, 

thanks so much, I will definitely check your thread out!


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

Julesinkingston said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I am new on this Forum and was just wondering whether someone could provide me with some basic insight into life in Canada.
> 
> ...


Firstly go to CIC website to determine if you qualify for immigration to Canada. 
Immigration and citizenship

You don't say what industry you work in. 
Is your education Australian? You need to get your education canadianized through WES. 
COL in Canada is reckoned to be on a par with the U.K. 
No doubt it's better if you have a job to come to. Difficult to achieve from overseas. 
The two weeks vacation thing is a fallacy. Depending on where one is working it can start out at two weeks but many companies have a progressive vacation policy, e.g. I had almost 8 weeks eventually. 
Work/Life balance is what you make it. There are lots of recreational activities available yo everyone. 
Good Luck.


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## thegh0sts (Nov 3, 2013)

Last time I was working in Canada you could not accumulate your leave like you can in Australia. My application has already been submitted to the CIC so fingers crossed that it gets approved. 

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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

You should know that Canada's work ethic probably leans to that in the USA and which made America the industrial giant it still is today.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

Julesinkingston said:


> Hi All,
> 
> I am new on this Forum and was just wondering whether someone could provide me with some basic insight into life in Canada.
> 
> ...




You can't talk about Canada in general as it is the second largest country in the world so everything varies widely from one region to the next. What is true int he GTA will not be true in Halifax or Winnipeg. If you can narrow down the areas you are interested in it will be a lot easier to provide answers.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

thegh0sts said:


> Last time I was working in Canada you could not accumulate your leave like you can in Australia.



That would be a company policy. Many companies do allow this.


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## thegh0sts (Nov 3, 2013)

colchar said:


> That would be a company policy. Many companies do allow this.


Oh ok, good. The company that I got my 1 year experience was a privately owned company. 

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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

If you get a unionised job, the annual leave allotment can be quite generous (by Canadian standards)... my last job in Canada was a trade union job that offered 18 work days leave per year to start i.e. they counted days that I worked as opposed to calendar days... if I had had a 3 day work week, those 18 days equated to 6 calendar weeks; a 5 day work week equated to just under a month off but, if my dates worked, I could schedule my leave around Bank/Public holidays and not have it affect my allotment.


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## thegh0sts (Nov 3, 2013)

WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> If you get a unionised job, the annual leave allotment can be quite generous (by Canadian standards)... my last job in Canada was a trade union job that offered 18 work days leave per year to start i.e. they counted days that I worked as opposed to calendar days... if I had had a 3 day work week, those 18 days equated to 6 calendar weeks; a 5 day work week equated to just under a month off but, if my dates worked, I could schedule my leave around Bank/Public holidays and not have it affect my allotment.


I don't think many tech jobs are unionised as I mainly do web and graphic design (but generally digital design).

I received an IMM5794_1-XXXXXXXXX doc saying that my application was received (AOR?) and I have no idea what the deal is with sending my passport to the CIC.

:fingerscrossed::fingerscrossed:


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