Why I Moved To Toronto After 10 Years in Montreal. Immigration Story

#canada #toronto #montreal
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I moved to Toronto, Ontario after living in Montreal, Quebec for almost 10 years. As an immigrant family, we settled in Quebec via provincial program similar to express entry, but I later realized Toronto was a lot more appealing to me. In this video I share how career, opportunity, climate and money affected my decision to move to Toronto. It might not make sense for everyone but if you are in tech industry and work as product manager, product designer, software engineer, or in data science, Toronto is a good place to be.
00:00 Intro
00:36 Why I moved to Toronto
01:16 Why we chose Montreal
03:24 Career Opportunities
05:12 French Language
06:54 Culture & Vibe
08:39 Money & Finance
10:07 Climate & Weather
11:09 Starting Over
12:28 Outro
===Llinks to sources===
Why Montreal is better than Toronto www.timeout.com/montreal/news...
Detour Montreal construction from lesbeautesdemontreal.com/2010...
Photos by Jeffrey Grospe, Nick Reynolds, Unsplash & Pexels
Quebec Selection Skilled Worker Program - www.quebec.ca/en/immigration/...
Cost of living in Toronto www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living...
===Things on Amazon we use===
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Our vlog gear: www.amazon.ca/shop/artemova._...
===== Watch Next====
My immigration experience - • How My Life Changed Af...
Moving to Canada alone - • 6 Hot Tips To Pass a P...
New habits developed after moving to Canada - • My Newcomer Habits In ... ​​
Big vs Small Cities in Canada - • Big City vs Small Town...
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This channel is curated by Anna and Anastasia, expats from Russia living in Toronto, Canada. We started this channel to share our experience of adapting to a life in a new country after immigration. We talk about personal growth, career and life with a mission to inspire and motivate more people make that change.
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[@bakaeva]

What a great unpacking of Montreal's lifestyle - I have been many times and love the city, but I am on your side on the statement of pace, work culture, etc. Definitely would recommend this video to friends that are deciding between Toronto and Montreal! Thanks for amazing content

[@MakeThatChange]

Thank you Natalia! We appreciate you 🙏

[@Denis50832]

Thank you for sharing with us your personal experience and reasons for moving from Montreal to Toronto !

[@MakeThatChange]

Thank you for watching Alex! 🙏

[@mbovb006]

This was good to hear as I am someone else in Tech and I have worked enough, haha. The industry will work you to death one day and you'll realize your ambition doesn't need to be intense, uncompromising work on repeat. I am currently trying to decide where to settle down in Canada. I've achieved the technical prowess and skills I want and titles or company stature no longer interest me. I want to get paid. I want to live my life. I lived in Montreal for a year for a job and then took another job in BC years ago. I'm considering MTL again because I am looking to get my life back. Thanks for the video!

[@katedouza8425]

I needed to hear that. Thank you.

[@MakeThatChange]

Thank you for watching 😊

[@jmc506cr]

Very appreciative video. I had the chance to live from a short time in Ontario and saw myself from the very first moment living in Montréal since I felt in love of the city and cannot imagine myself anywhere else, however, English is easier for me than French and I acknowledge that for career grow probably Toronto is better. Both cities are lovely and both cities have great things to offer but a very personal view from your own experience is a big help to better understand with respect why based in priorities is better. Spasiva!

[@ctalcantara1700]

Thank you for sharing your experience. Wishing you success!!

[@MakeThatChange]

Thank you! You too!

[@titoronoh6966]

Good video.Getting a feel of both Montreal and Toronto..I am coming to Ottawa hopefully. I would appreciate if you do a video about Ottawa

[@szuhanchou6307]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I work in tech too. This is a video that is super helpful for me.

[@MakeThatChange]

Glad you liked it Szu! What do you do?

[@szuhanchou6307]

​@@MakeThatChange Hi Anastasia and Anna, I'm a software engineer who works remotely in New Zealand. I'm interested in moving to Canada. I knew Toronto has more startups and the funding from the VCs, but I didn't know what are the differences between living in Toronto and other cities in Canada. The financial breakdown and the introduction of the tech environment in the video are really great. Thanks for that!

[@coolheeling]

Very nice 👍 and informative video Love to watch the videos of this channel Keep up the good work ladies and gentlewomen 😁🤟

[@MakeThatChange]

Thank you Chetan! Glad to have your around 🙂

[@toinging]

Thanks for the content. It's spot on! Would you mind sharing with us some of your experience in dealing with the administrative of moving from Montreal to Toronto, in terms of the timeline in cancelling (the QC's health care card), and registering for a health care card in Ontario, as well as the Ontario public drug program.

[@bibonehang3550]

God bless you. Please make more videos. I am concerning to move to Toronto but I am afraid of cost of living there. I am living in Montreal for almost 8 years but being anglophone makes impossible to live lately. Thanks a lot and have a great day

[@user-iw4jl6bc8h]

Canada has 2 official languages , french and english ......be respectful learn french or move to a lower quality of life in Toronto in a ghetto.

[@sirjohneh]

Great video thank you! It really gets tiring when people use the "x-city is better than y-city" and get all huffy over one or the other. I love both Montreal AND Toronto - and your points about each city are spot on. It doesn't make either city "bad" if they have less of one thing or the other; just that it is what it is and yeah Montreal's vibe, lifestyle and opportunities are unique in North America, and Toronto's vibe, lifestyle and opportunities are also unique in North America. In many ways both complement each other very much. You just need to pick the one that fits your jam. PS: I even know people that chose to live in Kingston because they didn't want to choose exactly, so they decided to live in between - plus Kingston's a great small city.

[@Iceman219]

The culture and vibe is exactly what I'm looking for. I don't care to "achieve", I just want to live a good balanced life with more focus on arts and culture. Montreal sounds perfect!

[@debuthunter5389]

Haha everything you see as a reason to move from Montreal to Toronto, is exactly a reason why I would be wanting to live in Montreal. Thank you for selling me on it!

[@MakeThatChange]

hahah totally get it! there's a phase for everything in life - you're very welcome!

[@Monsieur-Alex]

8:39 I believe on average people would still have a higher purchasing power in Montreal than in Toronto, considering salaries are only 30% higher in Toronto while rent is 60% higher than in Montreal. Also, the 2% difference in provincial tax is insignificant when many products are more expensive in Toronto (e.g. Starbucks is 5% more expensive in TO). Also, you can live in a massive condo in Montreal DT for the same amount that would get you a tiny shoebox in Toronto DT.

[@MrApplehair]

I think because of her work, salary makes up the difference. Otherwise I agree with you, Montreal in this case is actually better IF the job you have pays the same in Toronto and Montreal

[@username8771]

Yeah Toronto has long been a city for millionaires, not for poor losers like the Quebecois. 😂

[@neilr7935]

You can't compare percentages that way. 60% higher rent may sound like a lot but it only represents a portion of someone's total income. If someone is paying 30% of their salary on rent, then a 60% increase would mean they are paying only an additional 18% of their income on rent.

[@aaroncross7521]

Thank you for your perspective. I wish your comparison focused on human perspective not only career/finances. Money, money, money....

[@MakeThatChange]

It will one day - this video covered what was important for me at the time, but time changes

[@dmarti47]

Thanks for sharing your experience and insight. My native language is Spanish but I learned English as a second language from the age of about 4, so I consider myself an anglophone in your terms. Coming from Latin America, to me Montréal has a charm and familiarity that Toronto at first doesn't spew. I did visit Toronto once and thought of it as a clean and friendly version of NYC - I liked it! However, the big city vibes that Toronto has, as you explained, are attractive and luring to me; and the whole language aspect is definitely something to consider. Finally, I work as a project manager in IT-financial services, so I am guessing that there would be better career opportunities for me in Toronto. Again, thanks for sharing!

[@jeanbolduc5818]

Montreal has more similarities with NYC ( architecture , arts , food , festivals , walkable ) than Toronto (car culture , bad food , no parks, boring night life , everything is far away , no identity and CN Tower is the only landmark of Toronto ) people in Toronto come to Montreal for fun , night life , food , culture , history and fashion

[@MakeThatChange]

Great observation Jean!

[@user-iw4jl6bc8h]

Toronto is not New York since NYC is a cultural, historical city . Toronto has no soul , not cultural and not historical . MOnttreal is 400 years of architecture, the canadian capital of culture and history .... people speak many languages in Montreal including both officilal languages of CAnada ( french and english) . Montreal is world # 1 in artificial intelligence, the only quantum computer in Canada , 3 rd largest aerospace center in the world, 7 universities ( top in Canada ), leader in engineering , medecine, pharmaceutical , arts , high tech ( Moment factory) , hollywood movies and FX effects compagnies .... Montreal is safer , world class , best food, best night life and the only city alive in CAnada .... Toronto has no soul, no identity, horrible public transport , crimes and asian ..

[@dylanjohnson3346]

Girl you made me consider lookinh into both cities

[@MakeThatChange]

Mission accomplished x 2 🙃

[@johnstakos1875]

Sincere respect for your achievements and your ability to keep yourself constantly motivated. If i were younger i would obviously have been moved to Montréal instead of starting over in Toronto. Lack of means, resources and income prevented of learning French. An intermidiate knowledge in English and Spanish showed me the way to Ontario.. Although, like you nicely pointed out the whole dilemma in terms of choosing a starting place to settle down in Canada depends on personal characteristics, strategy and our ability to play given cards on the new life's table.. One way or another, either way i am taking the oath of Canadian citizenship today, though a video conference ceremony and the certificate which follows after it confirms a path of efforts and suffering every each of us has been through :) Keep doing a good job!

[@MakeThatChange]

Congrats on your ceremony! It’s a huge milestone, things certainly feel a little different when you have that blue passport 🙂

[@johnstakos1875]

Thank you! If you want me to to give some insight info i could say that the video conference taking the oath citizenship ceremony is boring but pretty decent and most importantly it lasts just one and a half hour instead of the official expected time. One last thing and please don't get me wrong. For my understanding you are not running this fantastic channel in order to get a decent income for the quality work you are offering. It seems you are doing financially pretty good.. I was wondering if you could be able to suggest me a person who has basic knowledge of video editing and relevant skills in order to make an advertisement start up company as a fully commercial youtu.be channel in Toronto.. Best regards

[@DanielleBallou]

I moved from rural Oregon (lived there 5 yrs) to Denver. However, when I arrived at the “Link at Cherry Creek”, it was nothing like the website or conversations I’d had with people at the complex. The apartment was so smelly it made me sick & there were roaches all over, just chillin, not scared of us. 🤢 So I turned the truck & trailer around, packed up the kid and cat, and hit the road! We’re in Washington state for now.. 🙂 Thank you for all of your informative videos!!

[@jeanbolduc5818]

I have observed Toronto's rapid descent into Americana as it has absorbed US values: sprawling, car-driven, bland urban development; rapid growth of crime rates; glorification and proliferation of gun culture and gun violence; hustle culture and profiteering at the expense of others as the new norm; disintegration of the social fabric; various ethnic groups barely interacting with each other on anything apart from financial and economic matters; replacement of human connection with networking 24/7; rampant mental health issues. GTA has the top 10 most dangerous cities in Canada : Brampton, Hamilton, Oshawa, London, Ste-Catherines e

[@joanninha6917]

Wow. Thanks so much for sharing your experience! Exactly what I needed. how about the Francophones. Is there any? And which area would have the most Francophones in Toronto? 😍

[@MakeThatChange]

You are very welcome! I haven’t met many Francophones in Toronto, but there certainly are plenty folks from Montreal and other cities. I don’t think there’s an area where many Francophones live, but some areas to the west and north from Toronto downtown are more European than others.

[@jeanbolduc5818]

Doug Ford cut services for francophones .... The only bilingual city is Montreal ... Toronto is totally english , Chinese and India

[@PP-nw4ti]

Toronto is way better. Born and raised in Montreal and moved to Toronto for work in my 30s. Toronto housing is much higher but the rest is quite similar. However, income tax is lower in Ontario and it can be material.

[@MakeThatChange]

Sales tax is also a tiny bit lower!

[@DanL57]

I have never been to Torento Canada, but I have seen pictures of it in a book.

[@thachanh1991]

Great experiences :) Well, about my experiences I used to live in Toronto and now I live in Montreal. The reason is that the cost of living in Toronto is so much higher than in Montreal, it's too expensive. I mean everything is more expensive in Toronto. I had a great job offer with a higher wage in Toronto but after calculating all I gotta spend a month, the fact is you spend more money to live in Toronto than Montreal, even in Montreal you earn less. I agree with you that in Quebec in general we pay more taxes and get lower wages but in return, we got better welfare in Qc. I have a millionaire friend who used to live in Toronto and now he lives in Montreal and he said he chose that because he could get better welfare for his family even he gotta pay more taxes. And he said he could save so much more money while living in Montreal. Anyway, it's just my story :) just live where you feel the most happiness

[@9grand]

Hope by respect you learn french !

[@ritik5251]

good thinks sister 🔥🔥

[@MakeThatChange]

Thank you for watching 😊

[@rain0344]

what are neighborhood equivalents of Verdun, St-Henri, Monkland (NDG), lower Westmount?

[@jeanbolduc5818]

None , Toronto is more about cars and highways and shoebox condos

[@deltonlifeisgood]

Good to see you. .. miss the other set of blue eyes as well. i hope she is fine!

[@MakeThatChange]

She’s doing great! Actively working on the next video. she says hi 😉

[@rhythmandacoustics]

The income tax and sales tax is one of the understated , least discussed, factor which can make a huge difference over the long term. In Quebec you will play almost half of your gross income until you retire. You will also spend an additional 15% tax on all daily purchases except a few grocery items. Meanwhile if you are in Toronto, once you pay that house , it is done. The opportunity cost is never discussed. Even if you rent, your disposable income is still way higher in which you can spend that into investments which compounds greatly. The perks I see is not due to Toronto but Ontario in general.

[@MakeThatChange]

Agreed! Well said

[@anasfrh]

Would you ever consider moving to the U.S then? To San Francisco, Austin or NYC? Do you feel like you might hit a ceiling in Toronto the same way you did in Montreal?

[@MakeThatChange]

That's a great question, Anas! I don't have an answer to it yet. Each time I travel to the US, I like it less and less, so I cannot imagine myself living and working in the US yet. I think I am more likely to try living in Europe and travel around, while being permanently stationed in Canada. I like Vancouver for its climate and ocean/mountain proximity, so I think the most likely scenario for me is to consider moving to west coast Canada.

[@anasfrh]

@@MakeThatChange I see. That makes a lot of sense :) I hear from a lot of folks the U.S isn’t what’s it’s all made out to be even though opportunities abound there (at least in tech). The idea of living in Europe is indeed very interesting. A lot to explore and visit there. I envy people in Europe as they can hope in a train or cheap flight and be in a completely different country and culture. Vancouver sounds like a lot of fun too. A bit far from everything but nature over there is definitely unbeatable.

[@realityovermentality6542]

Wow your success is impressive

[@MakeThatChange]

Thank you , there’s still a long journey ahead tho!

[@realityovermentality6542]

@@MakeThatChange i admire your mentality listening i though wow she is at the top of the I.T tech world

[@MakeThatChange]

@@realityovermentality6542 Thank you

[@countroshculla]

Personally I might lean towards Montreal more but loved your story.

[@MakeThatChange]

💯 I lean towards Montreal sometimes too, to be honest. It all depends on what’s important to you and phase in life

[@Denis50832]

@@MakeThatChange after 10 years living away from Montreal in Toronto and Vancouver , i missed Montreal and went there twice during the summer just to find out that the city is no longer what it used to be, was very disappointed and would not move there again. After 2010 it started changing a lot and clearly not for the best.

[@user-iw4jl6bc8h]

Montreal is better than ever , the only civilized people in CAnada ... # 1 in the world for sustainability, largest urban parks in Canada , # 4 in the world for biking infrastructure qith 1,000 km of bike lanes, # 3 in the world for aerospace center ; best food, multilingue, best night life, the safest in CAnada , best public transport @@Denis50832

[@TataConet]

would love to learn about your product journey!

[@MakeThatChange]

Coming soon!

[@arshS27]

Exactly the info I was seeking for - how's the finance capital markets in Montreal . Personally I think for a new comer it's easier to get a job in Montreal due to lower influx of immigrants there though the French being the barrier . So if one learns basic French , I think one should opt for Montreal over French . Also the real estate costs , car insurance are much lower in French . What do you think ? Can you help me how to learn intermediate French ?

[@MakeThatChange]

You’re right - general costs of living a a lot cheaper in Montreal. If you can learn French and find a job where your French is sufficient , you’ll do very well for yourself. Depending on your profession, you might be better off! What do you do? As for learning French, check out the links to French courses I added in the description!

[@Mahmoud-mf8hn]

You are absolutely right. KZbin might be a good start to learn french.

[@phamducmau]

I went to English-speaking McGill University in Montreal 1965-1970 . I had learnt some French language in Viet-Nam , but couldn't use it easily in Montreal . Because the French language used in Quebec province had been kept the same as in the 16th century !

[@jeanbolduc5818]

@@phamducmau your comments show your level of ignorance and lack of respect .

[@Heyu7her3]

​@@phamducmau yep it's still the same dynamic (went last month)

[@realityovermentality6542]

I really wished i had chosen tech... tech is so universal and diverse

[@MakeThatChange]

It’s never too late to go into it! It’s versatile, so a lot of skills you already have are transferable 😌 consider it!

[@realityovermentality6542]

@@MakeThatChange i am an accountant now where would u reccommend i start should i want to??? Seriously asking ive been considering a change

[@DeFraans]

@@realityovermentality6542 I have done that myself. I only have a high school diploma but got a 1 year certificate in Java development, now I've been working for 3 years and going :) just look up trainings in something like that. Some companies even offer training on the job.

[@MakeThatChange]

Find something you like doing. You can start your journey as an accountant in a tech company. Or you can join a fintech company that needs subject matter experts in accounting.

[@Renbits]

it's so funny how most of the reasons you list to move to toronto from montreal are like my reasons to want to move to montreal from toronto after 5 years here hahaha, especially since now i can take my remote toronto job with me to montreal

[@MakeThatChange]

Hahaha that’s interesting! So you think you have more job opportunities in your field in Montreal? Curious to learn more!

[@victorcretu7741]

This story surely rings a bell. The Quebec Provincial Program was the fastest vehicle at the time. It took me 1 year, 1 month, and 1 week to land in Canada from the moment I mailed my application for immigration (first step). For comparison, the federal program was taking almost 3 years. Outrageous! But for me, Toronto was the undisputable choice. If you work in software development there's just no other comparable option. Picture this, I got 3 interviews, in the same building (30-40 floors), on the same day (that was my choice) for pretty much the same technologies. You go to an interview, then underground for a coffee, then you "climb" back to another floor, for another interview. And you even get to meet afternoon in the elevator, the very same people that interviewed you in the morning. Awkward! But it works to your advantage.

[@jeanbolduc5818]

Montreal is a world leader in artificial intelligence and has the biggest software engineering jobs in Canada with the best engeneering schools. aerospace ( 40,000 jobs), Airbus, Bombardier, 7 universities ( english and french) . Montreal has been named one of the most intelligent communities in the world by the Intelligent Community Forum.

[@erikaweber_]

@@jeanbolduc5818all of that might be true, but your obsession with language policing is making you fall behind year after year. Vancouver is already passing Montreal in some industries. Are you guys gonna wait on Calgary to change something?

[@jeanbolduc5818]

@@erikaweber_ Quebec has one of the the strongest economy in North America.... we have world wide organizations and major industries based in Quebec .... we have offices all over the world and even the university of Tokyo is teaching Quebec culture .... Quebec is way ahead of any provinces in Canada since we speak both Official languages of Canada french and english ... the world knows about the Quebec culture of creativity , resilience , multiculturalism , high teck , best universities , the safest province , best quality of life , open minded people , 3 rd largest aerospace center in the world , leader in AI , medecine , pharmaceutical, engineering, finance , arts , food ( culinary school) , public transport , 400 years of culture, architecture and history ... if english Canada does not know Quebec , the world knows .....

[@user-iw4jl6bc8h]

the only people talking about languages are english speakers outside Quebec since the speak only english . We are connected to the world since we speak french , english and many other languages . you are ignorant@@erikaweber_

[@andrelaverdiere9181]

I live in Québec city. I have tried Toronto and Montreal and moved back to my city. First, I like outdoors sports (summer/winter) and Québec city got plenty of facilities nearby as opposed to TO or MT. Living in Toronto, you have to drive a long way to find a place to ski, for instance. Also, having a professionnal job, I make enough for all my leisures in Québec city. For the diversity issue, yes Québec city is more monoethnic but remind this : The greatest diversity in a democracy is diversity of thoughts.

[@MakeThatChange]

Couldn’t agree more in regards to the outdoor activities André! Glad you’re enjoying Quebec city - I’m a big fan of it!

[@Denis50832]

You have to be a real Quebecois or a French the least to fully integrate to Quebecois culture and Quebec city in particular

[@andrelaverdiere9181]

@@Denis50832 Or perhaps, just make an effort to integrate and you'll have good times

[@garyjeffrey992]

Hello I am Mauritian From Mauritius island i speak both English and French and i want to move to Québec any help guys?

[@Denis50832]

@@garyjeffrey992 why would you want to move to Canada now ? Super cold weather and harsh up to 6 month winters ! Ultra expensive everything from housing to education. Some of the highest taxes in the world . Ultra comparative Job market Lot of crimes , homelessness , mental illnesses and drug addictions. Think really carefully before investing your money , time and energy in Canada

[@Viva-Persia]

I'm not sure about being able to make more money outside of Quebec due our career differences but having lived in montreal for almost five years, I almost entirely concur and believe you even presented yer arguements quite reservedly out of abundance of caution to stay objective and not elicit reactionary comments down below. ..sad but true.. not so welcoming unless you are a non-immigrant quebecois(e).

[@Monsieur-Alex]

10:08 100% agree on Montreal unreasonable ongoing nonstop construction but the province (QC) truly offers some spectacular beautiful nature (outside Montreal).

[@jeanbolduc5818]

Montreal is a leader in sustainable development, with over 500 green roofs and the largest urban park in Canada.

[@FrankHuynh]

nice i recently moved to toronto and stumbled on this - great video!

[@MakeThatChange]

Awesome Frank! How's Toronto been for you so far?

[@FrankHuynh]

@@MakeThatChange its sick! hope u like it out here too

[@arshS27]

Also if one has received PR cards sitting in home country , can he or she directly move to Montreal ? any restrictions from Quebec government ?

[@MakeThatChange]

Province of Quebec has it's own immigration program for people who want to settle down there. You can land in Quebec as a Federal Skilled Worker (Express Entry), but when you're asked for your address to send you your PR card you should provide address outside of Quebec, meaning you only landed in Quebec and are travelling further to your address of residence. Otherwise an officer at the point of entry might think you want to reside in Quebec and deny you your PR status. More information here settlement.org/ontario/immigration-citizenship/landing-and-leaving/landing-in-canada/do-i-have-to-go-to-the-city-of-destination-stated-on-my-copr/

[@arshS27]

Make That Change no I mean I have already done soft landing in Toronto and came back to my home country and now I want to leave for Canada after span of 2 years and thinking to settle in Montreal and I have the PR cards with me so I can land now , am I right ?

[@MakeThatChange]

Yes

[@tahamzd2297]

Big up sister. I have a question please do you have any idea on websites for workers

[@MakeThatChange]

hey brother! What kind of worker are you interested in?

[@tahamzd2297]

@@MakeThatChange Certificate in computer numerical control Something in this area

[@MakeThatChange]

@@tahamzd2297 check out Vanhack for software jobs!

[@Dis_is_fine]

I watched this because I’m looking to move from a small Canadian city to either Montreal or Toronto. Which one would you say has more things to do? Because the main reason I want to move is out of boredom lol

[@MakeThatChange]

Both cities have a lot to offer. If you come from a smaller city, you will probably find a lot of fun in both. Montreal has a bit more of an artsy, chill and hang out vibe. Toronto has more of a work hard party hard kind of mentality. It’s different vibes - depends on what you vibes with you more?

[@himanshuparihar133]

Hello mam, You are a product manager, what is your duties and responsibilities as a product manager and what software you are using?

[@MakeThatChange]

Hey! Check this article www.atlassian.com/agile/product-management/product-manager

[@guy-lucviens1111]

Québécois Montrealer here. Thank you for your interesting and honest testimony. I have the feeling that - from the start - maybe you were not really interested in embracing our french culture. I believe that many newcomers arrive in Montreal not knowing that Québec is completely different from the rest of Canada. It has only one official language and Québec’s government is pushing hard to protect it, because in today’s world many newcomers, and their kids, are more inclined to speak english. You might ask : what’s wrong with speaking english, after all this is Canada… Well, I don’t know about your attachment to your mother tongue, russian, but we Québécois are stongly attached to the french language and are determined to reverse it’s actual decline in Québec. It is possible that some newcomers, if they do not wish to study in french, work in french, socialize in french... might feel like outsiders in this context. We are sorry for that, but still determined to defend our language.

[@MakeThatChange]

Thank you for sharing your point of view. I have an immense appreciation for preservation of Quebec culture and language - after all, that's what makes Montreal and Quebec so unique. I wouldn't want it to be compromised in any way. When my parents brought me to Montreal - Quebec was my first impression of Canada, I did not know any other Canada other than what I saw in Montreal for the first 5 years. I truly love your culture and always speak French-first each time I come back, because I enjoy it. There's always attachment to our roots, no matter where we come from and it's important we preserve them. I do think there's an inspirational and motivational way to enforce the language and culture - do it in a way that makes people want to learn more. Prohibitive, exclusive and restrictive policies create more harm than good in the long term.

[@tomheinrichs7058]

Another excellent video. However. lol. Maybe I am imagining it. However, do I hear a concentrated effort to say To-Ron-Toe. Instead of Taranta. Maybe not lol.

[@MakeThatChange]

Hahahahaa Tom, the former sounds nicer to me 🙈

[@dannyh7171]

I want like to move from usa to cansda but I have no tech experience

[@alaminfury2533]

Love from Bangladesh 😍😍🇧🇩

[@MakeThatChange]

Sending love back from Canada ❤️

[@tudormiller887]

Ottawa looks a pretty nice city to move to from the UK. Apparently Ottawa is a bilingual city, French & English are the two main languages.

[@user-iw4jl6bc8h]

Ottawa is only 35 % bilingual and a horrible boring city with no culture . Montreal is the only real Canadian bilingual and multilingual city in Canada and the only one alive with a soul

[@sacphilip]

Do they still teach French to new immigrants?

[@MakeThatChange]

Yes the do! there’s even online classes now.

[@lorenzomabalos9851]

You're also legally required to send your children to French schools.

[@hex131]

What about Vancouver?

[@MakeThatChange]

Vancouver is a great city, we didn’t initially consider it because of the weather. However, id personally really like to live in Vancouver for a few years / I’m very compelled by the nature around it!

[@Cubanbearnyc]

Valid point, specially if they represent your experience, but the claim that Toronto is warmer than Montreal enough to push you to mov there, sounds absurd.... how much warmer ? I"m in the NYC area, and I always check the temperature up there, the difference is minimal.... I had a difficult time processing that rationale

[@Jay-vr9ir]

The snowfall , is way too much in Quebec , not only the temp .

[@jeanbolduc5818]

I used to live in Toronto . Ontario lake makes it colder than Montreal in the winter ... The humidity level goes through your body

[@Rafin889]

​@@jeanbolduc5818 you have not lived in Toronto lol. It is quite a bit warmer. At least 4 to 5 degrees.

[@windhoek_stallion8455]

Very good analysis. I think honestly a lot of it will come down to culture. Montreal is more for families and also has a big Mediterranean vibe. social contacts tend to be more important as well, as demonstrated by 2X rate of Covid transmission Quebec had over the rest of Canada. You're right in saying that the big corporate jobs are in Toronto, after Quebec's failed run for independence, Quebec became an economy where small enterprises are over-represented. I live in Montreal and have met a lot of very successful people, all of them had become successful through starting their own business, rarely do I see exceptional success through corporate jobs, unless you work as a top bureaucrat or for a state company like the SAQ or Hydro Quebec and even then, those jobs are usually exclusively reserved for french Canadians... Montreal is not a bad place to start a business. There's a good creative spirit and people are open minded. Quebec is also so paranoid at the idea of being left behind that it pours money into companies and entrepreneurship. The people you met who seemed to always be the same to start and sell businesses are likely the ones who knew how to take advantage of the system because of all the available programs. I lived in Toronto and came back to Montreal for family reasons, I also found people colder and found it harder to make friendships. All the people I've met who came back to Montreal from Toronto was always for family reasons. The people I know who stayed in Toronto enjoyed much better careers in the end. In the long run, the one big difference remains family, the children of those who moved to Toronto live their independent lives and everybody minds their own business while in Montreal families are very nuclear and tight knit and generations later they still stick around and form mini clans. It's hard to start over a new life if you're in Montreal and have family, it's expected that you have to see each other and everyone gets in your business. I know families in Toronto that barely see each other.

[@MusicShortsGlobal]

There's a good terrorist community, wich is not that bad after all...

[@jessiejay947]

Very informative

[@Rafin889]

​@@jeanbolduc5818 and UofT is better than anything Montrral has

[@windhoek_stallion8455]

@@jeanbolduc5818 Quebec created 75K jobs last year. Ontario created 350K. As someone who lives in and loves Quebec, but who also works with economic development agencies, we see how much more powerful the Ontario has become. The recent announcement from Wolkswagen shows how powerful the Ontario economy is. I had someone in charge of attracting foreign capital into Quebec tell me in confidentiality that we cannot catch up to Ontario and all the politics around language really hurt us. This is not some guy on Reddit, this was a senior executive who has spent all his life making the case for investing here.

[@jeanbolduc5818]

@@windhoek_stallion8455 People in Toronto are the same as in the USA , rude , thinking they are the best but in reality they are the worst

[@philippedufresne5732]

To the point, it's a question of life choice. Two very different cities, Toronto is a large competitive American city, and Montréal is a more laid-back Canadian one (and perhaps the only one of the type). I like your post. Toronto is ideal for work and Montréal better for life.

[@MakeThatChange]

That’s a great summary!

[@username8771]

Toronto is also way better for “life”. We have people from all over the world here in Toronto whereas Montreal is not very diverse. Also, Toronto has way more $$$$$$$.

[@vincentlefebvre9255]

@@username8771 More diverse ? Comment incoherent ! Montréal has the two most international languages.

[@username8771]

@@vincentlefebvre9255 Here in Toronto, we have people from China, Korea, Latino countries, Europe, Africa, Arab countries, & everywhere else.

[@vincentlefebvre9255]

@@username8771 Sorry but all these communities are present in Montréal . In which galaxy do you live ?

[@Christian_Martel]

*** Bias Warning *** Je suis Montréalais. 😉 I’m sure it wasn’t easy since these are two great cities with their own qualities. I’m really sorry you felt this discomfort among the francophone community. While we thrive to preserve this culture, we have some blind spots like the ones you described. Thank you for your constructive criticism. Bonne continuation à Toronto.

[@MakeThatChange]

Merci Christian pour ton soutien! 🙏🙏 Still have big ties to Montreal, and very happy to have them - I’ve met the most amazing people there who I have the pleasure calling friends ☺️

[@Denis50832]

I am sure she is not along who felt this way while living in Montreal. I also felt Montreal due to a lack of professional opportunities in Montreal as non Qubecua. Best positions in Montreal are taken over by the Quebecua francophones block

[@lorenzomabalos9851]

What really hits hard is because of the separatist government stomping out the last of big businesses that have relocated to Toronto.

[@jeanbolduc5818]

@@Denis50832 if you know the history of QUebec and the quiet revolution of the 1960 S . It was the opposite , anglophones had the best jobs and treating french canadians as secon class citizens. each time i am in Toronto , i feel like being in the USA , same culture, same food, Toronto does not offer the quality of life of Montreal , even the subway in Toronto has no internet access in 2023 . Violence is like in the USA with stabbing in the subway but nobody can call 911 since there is no service ..M ontreal has been named one of the most intelligent communities in the world by the Intelligent Community Forum and is a UNESCO creative city . Nothing is creative in Toronto with a fake Times Square and fake underground city .

[@erikaweber_]

Wow, a Quebecer that can take constructive criticism without taking it personally!!! Congratulations 👏🏻 if QC has more people like you things might change for the better one day

[@leihejun844]

I don't understand why should I come to Canada if it can't help me find a wife. What other reason I need to relocate to a new country. I left my country 16 years ago and I'm still single, nobody explains to me that I won't be alone in Canada too. Just talking about weather and healthcare...

[@jeycalc6877]

Ya Montreal is not small at all, 2 million is quite big for a developed country. It also has a metro population of 4.2 million. You can't compare it to undeveloped countries like Russia. Also Canada is full, Canada is not a big country livability wise, think of it like a long stick east to west. All the major cities are full, expensive, Canadians can't afford rent, last thing we need is more people

[@MakeThatChange]

Thank you for sharing your opinion

[@jeycalc6877]

@@MakeThatChange no problem

[@nbwizzy8298]

How can I get canada 😢

[@vanessaperez794]

Que video tan sincero. Congrats for being so direct and honest. Francophone discrimination exists for sure.

[@MakeThatChange]

Thank you Vanessa, I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt that.

[@YDGxQC]

Try going to Toronto and not speaking English... I'm pretty sure you will face some kind of "discrimination" and it will be harder to find a job if you don't speak the language.

[@LaPoutineQc]

@@YDGxQC Exact

[@vincentlefebvre9255]

Yes it does exist against.....against francophones across Canada.....since centuries. It's unbelievable as to how immigrants who know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about how francophones have been treated like shit in canadian history often criticize francophones who try to survive in their language. Outside of Québec it is a vanishing specy. Whithin 50 years no one will speak french ouside of Québec and nobody will cry for that.

[@Rafin889]

​@@YDGxQC no you won't. We speak over 200 languages in this city and if you can't speak it, we help you out. Many people in this city go years without speaking English.

[@Reddylion]

Nice .

[@MakeThatChange]

Thank you!

[@TomHuston43]

From Russia to Montreal to Toronto. Where will you go from Toronto in 10 years? NYC?

[@MakeThatChange]

Time will tell. Could be anywhere in the world with how uncertain things are. I like California, Costa Rica and Portugal. 🙃

[@act_sion]

In Rome do as Romans do this is respect. It is not by favouring english in a french speaking society that you will not encounter some salty moments .

[@donone1493]

She wants more money that's the difference, other people bare looking for a more calmed life

[@MakeThatChange]

That’s right, to each their own!

[@Seboire]

I would refer to Montréal as a city of linguistic diversity, not linguistic limitation.

[@user-iw4jl6bc8h]

Montreal is the canadian capital of culture , architecture, history, civilized , best food , best night life , clean , best public transport and multilingual

[@Mp-re1wj]

The food in Toronto is probably one thousand times better Montreal sells it’s good scene as steamed hot dogs

[@gregb5149]

Wow! Nice to hear some usually unspoken truth about the french-english issues in Montreal.

[@MakeThatChange]

🙈

[@jeanbolduc5818]

Canada has 2 official languages... if you prefer a closed minded and boring life in english an surrounded by Indians and Chineses move to Toronto .. the no identity city

[@tandoori_chimkin7613]

@@jeanbolduc5818 What do you mean closed minded Toronto is one of the best and I don't get why living with Chinese and Indians is supposed to be a problem .Most people in Montreal just want to hate immigrations can't you see most of the celebs and big companies are established in Toronto because of the loving , open-minded people

[@jeanbolduc5818]

@@tandoori_chimkin7613 People are living in ghettos is Toronto . Toornto has the top 10 most high crimes cities in CAnada . Brampton, Londo, Oshawa,, Ste Catherines. Toronto is becoming India ... Brampton and Surrey and on the top most dangerous cities in Canada and indian communities. Please stay in your ghettos

[@guillaumegoyette6028]

If you think Mtl is laid back go live in Vancouver for a while then we’ll talk about it

[@MakeThatChange]

You're right! We will talk about it when we do a video about comparison of Montreal and Vancouver😊

[@BlackWaterted]

Is laval any good lol

[@MakeThatChange]

Depends on for what?

[@wonderror9546]

No, it isn't. I don't even know why it exists. Terrible urban planning, spread out like you wouldn't believe, and basically just an ugly mess of highways, huge boulevards and boring, soulless single-family housing and condos. Terrible public transit as well. If you're looking into Montréal suburbs that are actually worth it, I'd recommend the south shore. More affordable than on-island living (at least for now), more attractive, and much closer to downtown than Laval. Brossard (where the new REM light rail's being built), some parts of Longueuil, Boucherville and La Prairie are all good options.

[@jandron94]

@@wonderror9546 une petite ville sympa, très tranquille, à 1h15 de TGV de Paris.

[@wonderror9546]

@@jandron94 Si seulement.

[@yushi911]

Toronto is great for career people without kids and Montreal is better for family. I live in Montreal and every time i speak to my Ontario’s co-worker I freaked out how financially is hard..at 3:30pm, most of my Toronto co-worker are on toad to pickup their kids from schools. Even my director! They always took their calls and conference call from their car…and I was curious do I ask them why? My coworker who is a software engineer say that he has 3 kids at the elementary school say that he has to paiy 50$/day/kid for the day care after school. He assures it’s a public school and nothing fancy. Honestly, i wasn’t trusting him…coz this is crazy expensive. My kid go to public elementary school in Montreal and the daycare fees are 8.75$/day/kid. Yes, our taxes are like 15-20% more than Ontario but if you have a family, overall you will pay less. This why more woman inQuebec can afford to go working and not be stay at home mom, and those women will grow the working class and support our social system with the income taxes…

[@MakeThatChange]

Totally agree with you. Toronto costs of having a family are way too high.

[@dmarti47]

Quite interesting information and useful you have shared here. Thanks!

[@jeanbolduc5818]

Dental care are also covered by Quebec for kids ... Learning the 2 official languages of Canada and more is a big asset ... Montreal is a leader in sustainable development, with over 500 green roofs and the largest urban park in Canada and this is the future .

[@rashmis9123]

Montreal is too cold compared to Toronto ?

[@MakeThatChange]

Yes Montreal is colder and more snow

[@rashmis9123]

@@MakeThatChange merci beaucoup

[@jeanbolduc5818]

false , same weather but more snow .. But the city still fonction with snow. When it snows in Toronto everything stops

[@jeanbolduc5818]

@@MakeThatChange Montreal is dryer in winter . Toronto is colder in winter because of the humidity level ... Montreal is hot in the summer

[@lamclarence6081]

Same thing happen to me lol

[@MakeThatChange]

👍

[@jeancharland3858]

Vous avez pris la bonne decision. Toronto c,est fait pour vous. More diverse, more open more, more, more. Montreal is not bilingual, period.

[@MakeThatChange]

Merci. There’s a phase for everything in life, for Montreal and Toronto too.

[@AA-zs7jw]

If you make 6 figures in toronto, you should be fine, otherwise, it's not worth it.

[@MakeThatChange]

💯

[@austinsworld8936]

Toronto to me is a rat race but it looks like you will do fine opening a business. Smart Girl. Also too much traffic and too cold.

[@MakeThatChange]

Totally agreed. Just like everything else in life, Toronto is just a phase

[@Orionwayz]

Meh, its basicly quality of life vs salerie. Toronto just makes me miserable, if you like being locked in your whole life i guess Toronto is a good choice.

[@MakeThatChange]

Toronto is a good phase of life, not necessarily an entire life

[@enzodellacorte1909]

Of coarse theres language limitation in toronto, if you dont speak english, you wont achieve your career goals, yes absolutely its your personal opinion, too bad it didn’t work out for you, bottom line, toronto will never reach Montreal’s greatness! You will find out after 5 years in toronto, see you back in montreal👍

[@MakeThatChange]

haha! see you soon indeed ;)

[@me-nah3343]

Toronto is just a bigger city. Montreal is lovely. If you like food though, and you have money to spend on eating out, Toronto is up there in world class dinning.

[@MakeThatChange]

Totally! Although I know some who would argue Montreal has many more unique food gems than Toronto

[@SA-sf2cq]

Lol Anthony Bourdain is rolling in his grave. Money doesn’t equate to great cuisine. No comparison, Mtl is a gastronomic powerhouse.

[@Jay-vr9ir]

@@SA-sf2cq Montreal does not have good Indian food .

[@youtubedeletedmyaccountlma2263]

@@SA-sf2cq montreal japanese food is bad and so bad and I'm not even sure whether to call them "japanese" food lmaooo. The only good cuisine are the French Cuisine and Cantonese Cuisine. Even the Middle Eastern Cuisine sucks so bad

[@SA-sf2cq]

@@youtubedeletedmyaccountlma2263 just by saying middle eastern food is not good in MTL completely delegitimizes your Claims. Have you had Arab/North African food in Toronto? Doesn’t even come close to MTL. Stop.

[@adambachir1782]

Without Arabs and without comment

[@MakeThatChange]

What do you mean?

[@johnsmith67931]

Montreal is not a good city anyways. Toronto is better and welcoming to tourists and people than in Montreal

[@jeancharland3858]

Why don,t go back in Russia ?

[@MakeThatChange]

Not cool enough

[@sergeych92]

Montreal is poor and cold, but people like to party more

[@MakeThatChange]

And they’re happy! I guess it’s all that matters 🥧

[@torink8229]

@@MakeThatChange Very artistic city which Toronto need to learn from

[@MakeThatChange]

We may be looking at different metrics to qualify as “poor”. We look at GDP, average income, value of homes. Montreal is a student city, which skews the income graph a little lower

[@9grand]

Too materialistic mindset !

[@MakeThatChange]

We all have our own values to follow!

[@harmankarrer7544]

I love Montréal but they’re some things i hate about it like I’m an anglophone but i was born in india and emsb(English Montréal school board) consider it as a reason for not taking me in English school i don’t wanna say it but it looks like racism to me..

[@jeanbolduc5818]

RAcism ... India is #1 racist country in the world ...just learn french or move to India city meaning Toornto Brampton

[@tandoori_chimkin7613]

I used to live in Montreal tried to learn their language but what did I get in return discrimination .My neighbor harassed me he even invited 3 of his friends made fun of my French accent and told me i am not supposed to live there Toronto is much better and accepting than Montreal in my opinion I think bad people are everywhere but Montreal has too much of them.

[@lorenzomabalos9851]

I only came to Montréal for cheap education with no intention of staying, because I don't see myself working in Montréal with a job because of ONE language that has no relevance to my life and being constantly harassed by egocentric Québécois de souche. I can't wait for the day to graduate from McGill and drive down Highway 401/Autoroute-20 ouest to settle in Markham, ON.

[@MakeThatChange]

Hopefully you'll be able to find a job and settle down in Markham😊

[@lorenzomabalos9851]

Thanks, I plan to be a financial security advisor within the GTA helping people save money, get insurance and build my wealth.

[@penelop96]

You’re welcome 😉

[@9grand]

This is called respect. In Rome do as Romans do. Are you one of these person who used the racist card while being rude and disrepectful to the natives

[@penelop96]

Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

[@user-iw4jl6bc8h]

Montreal is the most advanced city , with the only Quantum computer in Canada , #1 world leader in Artificila intelligece, MILA AI ecosystème with more than 1,000 researcherss specializing in machine learning dedicated to scientific excellence and innovation. Montreal is the 3 rd largest aerospace in the world after Toulouse ans Seattle . 7 universities in both ovfficlail languages of Canada connected to the best universities in the world for medecine, engineering, pharmaceuticals , sustainablility . MOntreal is # 1 in the world for sustainability , largest urban parks in Canada , Rooftops Urban farms using AI , safest big city in Canada UNESCO city of design , unique in North america, # 4 in the world for biking infrastructure , creative and innovative with the best subway system with mobile technology ( automated ) . I guess you had not the skills ( personality , knowledge ) in your field to get a better job in the best high tech city Montreal

[@MakeThatChange]

🙌🙌🙌

[@savoirancien4093]

Comme qu'on dit, si t'aime pas le français, bon débarras!

[@MakeThatChange]

The same can be said about everything in life.

[@jeanbolduc5818]

You are so pretentious ... Montreal is a world leader in AI, high tech , aerospace , pharma, medecine world UNESCO city of design and creativity , best software engineering schools .... your reason to move is personal not professional ...

[@MakeThatChange]

You got it!

[@janclod3114]

This just doesn’t make any sense, unless you have a job offer at least x2 from what you were making in Montreal, which I doubt. Toronto not only unreasonably expensive, it’s also an unliveable city, just a pile of suburbs and 100500 storey high scyscrapers

[@MakeThatChange]

Sorry it didn’t make sense for you.

[@gauravsahu1738]

What would you recommend for a new commer, better opportunities I.e toronto or easy PR I.e. nova scotia/winnipeg/saskatchewan. Noc 1111

[@MakeThatChange]

Depends on what you do! I recommend to go whether you can easily find a job. If social life is important to you ( sports, concerts, bars, etc) you also want to do a big city. If nature is important to you, Maritime provinces or smaller cities is great. What are your thoughts?

[@gauravsahu1738]

@@MakeThatChange I am an introvert, so by that means small city suits me but then i won`t be able to find a job. your suggestions ?