'I’m tired all the time now': Canada is so expensive that some Ukrainian immigrants are leaving

[shlomo]

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/im-tired-all-the-time-now-canada-is-so-expensive-that-some-ukrainian-immigrants-are-leaving

Not long after Russia began bombing Ukraine, Oleksii Martynenko packed his bags and fled Kremenchuk, a once-tranquil but now war-torn city roughly 190 miles from Kyiv. He moved to Stockholm and took a job as a line cook. One year later, as his work visa approached expiry, he relocated to Canada’s largest city.

The continental change of scenery proved challenging for the Ukrainian immigrant. It took Martynenko about two months to find a comparable job in Toronto’s bustling downtown, about an hour’s commute from his apartment in the city’s suburbs. It wasn’t enough to pay the bills, so he soon took a second job, also as a line cook, and now works seven days a week in fast-paced kitchens.

The strenuous work and high cost of living has taken its toll. Martynenko, 44, is now planning a return to Sweden. His monthly expenses in Toronto include roughly $100 for a phone plan , $150 for public transit, $400 for groceries, and $1,000 for a room in a rooming house, where the kitchen and bathroom are shared among four tenants. Any money left over is sent back to family still in Ukraine. At least in Stockholm he earned enough to have savings, he said.

 

“I’m tired all the time now,” Martynenko said in an interview. “I want to go back to Europe because it’s such a difficult life in Canada.”

Canada has long been a choice destination for newcomers seeking a better life in a prosperous nation. Nearly a quarter of all Canadians are immigrants and the country has welcomed nearly 200,000 Ukrainians since the war’s outset. But the daily grind of life in Canada’s busiest metropolises — not just Toronto but also Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary — along with soaring costs is making it increasingly hard to get by.

 

Social service organizations have warned that the country’s most vulnerable citizens — often newcomers — are affected most by higher prices, especially in housing. Andrei Zavialov, a settlement worker with Ukrainian Canadian Social Services Toronto, said he knows of at least 15 Ukrainians who have returned to their home country from the Greater Toronto Area since the war broke out. There isn’t one predominant reason for leaving, he said, but expenses are among the most cited factors.

“An individual becomes

“An individual becomes unable to find money, but they need to pay for very high rent, groceries,” said Zavialov. “And such expenses hit an immigrant’s pocket strongly. No job, no money, they return to Ukraine where everything is familiar.”

Anecdotal stories like these are supported by new research suggesting that more newcomers have chosen to leave Canada in recent years as worsening housing affordability, a strained health-care system, and underemployment spark disillusionment with the opportunities the country offers.

An acceleration of that trend would undermine Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ambitious plans to stave off economic backsliding through relaxed immigration policies. Like many developed countries, Canada’s birthrate is declining and the population would shrink were it not for new arrivals. Real gross domestic product per capita has stagnated over the past decade, while soaring home prices have far outpaced disposable income.

 

The Trudeau government’s solution is a target of roughly half a million new permanent residents a year, on top of a recent boom in arrivals that pushed Canada’s annual population growth rate to 2.7 per cent in 2022, the fastest pace among advanced economies.

 

The challenge now is retaining them. Newcomers have to navigate a web of problems, starting with housing costs. Even smaller Canadian cities are facing tight rental supply as higher interest rates have discouraged would-be buyers, creating fierce competition for rental units. The average cost of rent in Canada hit a record $2,149 in September, up more than 11 per cent from a year prior, according to research firm Urbanation. In Toronto, it was $2,614, which represents almost the entire pretax income of a person working full-time for minimum wage.

 

Other costs are also rising. While inflation is decelerating, it’s still running at 3.8 per cent, “much too high for comfort,” according Benjamin Reitzes, a rates and macro strategist at the Bank of Montreal. Grocery costs increased 5.8 per cent annually in September, while gas prices jumped 7.5 per cent.

To be sure, many newcomers are keen to stay in the country. Zavialov said most Ukrainian newcomers he’s interacted with have expressed strong admiration for Canada — its diverse population, socialized health care system and fraying but still-strong social net. The decision whether to return to Ukraine or stay in Canada is also inspired by factors beyond expenses — proximity to war, safety, or a sense of patriotic duty.

 

A combination of those considerations prompted Anna-Maria Lyakhovetska to plan a return to Ukraine as soon as it’s safe. The 17-year-old moved to Germany after her father died in the war, and then relocated to Canada, arriving in Toronto just seven months ago. Now she wants to go back, in part to escape the hurdles of life in a new country and in part to aid the war effort. Russia’s invasion, she said, encouraged her to pursue a career in political organizing.

 

“It’s expensive living here,” she said. “But I also want to go back to help my country.”

 

The bulk of Canada’s Ukrainian immigrant intake is clustered in Ontario, the country’s most populous province, according social services group Operation Ukrainian Safe Haven. Based on financial assistance data, 40 per cent of recent Ukrainian immigrants have settled in Ontario while 21.4 per cent landed in Alberta and 10.3 per cent went to Manitoba.

[Maghull Mike]

Just a wage-slave........once its over (soon) return & it will be hard for awhile but at lest your be building something for yourselfs

[MARTINX9]

I was just curious how Oleksii was able to flee Ukraine as an apparent 44 year old single male - just after the war started - when all men aged 18-60 were banned from leaving the country. Only women and children and the elderly/disabled could legally flee without explicit approval of the government (under strict rules) - and should have been accepted as refugees?

How also was he able to emigrate to Canada - when he was perfectly safe in Stockholm - to work as a cook?  Not a brain surgeon or highly skilled engineer - but a cook?

I am sure he works hard - but how did he manage to leave and end up in Canada as a 44 year old bloke? He probably wouldn't have been much use on the front line - but all those Ukrainian troops presumably need to eat - so he could have done his bit supporting the war effort as a cook.

The war is terrible - but I would hope we would all stay and fight/support the war effort to protect women in our family/children/grandparents/parents if this happened here - not flee at the first sign of trouble abroad?

We have lots of these single Ukrainian males all over Europe in refugee accommodation etc (many in Ireland living off welfare/in free housing) and in Canada it seems - why as part of our aid effort aren't they all being shipped home?

I think we used to have a word for it - starts with cow and ends in ard!

Edited December 16, 2023 by MARTINX9

[MarkG]

Canada is completely broken, particularly Ontario. Not only do many Canadians want to leave, but many immigrants like this guy are realizing they were sold a crock of shit and want to go back to where they came from.

[nightowl]

It's telling when going to Sweden to live is seen as the cheap(er) place! 

[Quiet Guy]

 

[MarkG]

It's a real shame because the country was still doing OK before Trudeau. I don't know if the Conservatives would have been different, but he's absolutely wrecked the place.

Obviously house prices were still high in the more popular areas, but they've about doubled again since then.

Edited December 20, 2023 by MarkG

[MarkG]

Apparently a record number of Canadians emigrated last year.

No sane person wants communism in the snow.

[reddog]

I've seen quite a few YouTube videos on this topic.  Seems to be a real trend in Canada.

 

All the problems generally come back to a lack of affordable houses, relative to the jobs on offer.  Which seems insane in Canada with all the free space and natural resources.

 

 

[Big Orange]

On 19/01/2024 at 18:58, reddog said:

All the problems generally come back to a lack of affordable houses, relative to the jobs on offer.  Which seems insane in Canada with all the free space and natural resources.

 

 

"Advanced" Western countries are supposed to be having proto-Star Trek living standards and megaprojects by now, but no, the Capitalist system underpinning countries like Canada is far too outdated, extractive, and mismanaged now, it's all been regressing and stagnating into a crumbling, brittle techno feudal system since the 2000s...

Edited January 23 by Big Orange

[staintunerider]

9 hours ago, Big Orange said:

"Advanced" Western countries are supposed to be having proto-Star Trek living standards and megaprojects by now, but no, the Capitalist system underpinning countries like Canada is far too outdated, extractive, and mismanaged now, it's all been regressing and stagnating into a crumbling, brittle techno feudal system since the 2000s...

There was some dialogue in Star Trek First Contact when they went back in time...Picard was explaining folk don't work for gain but to improve themselves and society....

The reality is the overlords won't create a society where you have your basic needs met they will throw you on the scrap heap...they are more Dickensian than Star Trek no matter how they kid themselves and others....

They really are more like Scrooge before the epiphany, rotten to the core and souless....

[LandOfConfusion]

On 17/12/2023 at 03:23, MarkG said:

Canada is completely broken, particularly Ontario. Not only do many Canadians want to leave, but many immigrants like this guy are realizing they were sold a crock of shit and want to go back to where they came from.

I occasionally watch some YT output from a Canadian defense lawyer and, legal chat aside I can fully understand why people who have the option are leaving.

My bother also used to work with a guy who had Canadian residence; he left after 2 years and never went back. And then there's a guy at work who hold Canadian citizenship though his father. He isn't going anywhere.

[MarkG]

7 hours ago, LandOfConfusion said:

I occasionally watch some YT output from a Canadian defense lawyer and, legal chat aside I can fully understand why people who have the option are leaving.

I've had to start thinking about it myself, but out here in the West I can always go and live in the woods and watch the idiots burn everything down.

On the bright side, election predictions are showing a complete wipeout for the Liberals, possibly even ending up in third place. But I'm far from convinced that Canada will even make it to the next election.

[Big Orange]

13 hours ago, MarkG said:

I've had to start thinking about it myself, but out here in the West I can always go and live in the woods and watch the idiots burn everything down.

On the bright side, election predictions are showing a complete wipeout for the Liberals, possibly even ending up in third place. But I'm far from convinced that Canada will even make it to the next election.

Not so soon, but it's grimly ironic that Ukrainians (and many Russians and Belarus for that matter) are fleeing to Canada for a better life, only to see Western elites making a litany of all too familiar mistakes that may lead to a near total collapse that was seen in ex-Soviet states in the 90s and early 00s (and arrogant, greedy elites should know that you can only skin sheep once).

But I short term pessimist, long term optimist:

 

[MancTom]

On 16/12/2023 at 16:29, MARTINX9 said:

I was just curious how Oleksii was able to flee Ukraine as an apparent 44 year old single male - just after the war started - when all men aged 18-60 were banned from leaving the country. Only women and children and the elderly/disabled could legally flee without explicit approval of the government (under strict rules) - and should have been accepted as refugees?

How also was he able to emigrate to Canada - when he was perfectly safe in Stockholm - to work as a cook?  Not a brain surgeon or highly skilled engineer - but a cook?

I am sure he works hard - but how did he manage to leave and end up in Canada as a 44 year old bloke? He probably wouldn't have been much use on the front line

actually they do send people this age to the front line. Their logic is this will save younger men who they will need for work and to produce children after the war. But its an issue because often they are too weak/can't run fast enough and slow others down etc.