One of the World’s Best Places to Live
Canada, the great western democracy that dominates half the North American continent is consistently ranked by the United Nations as one of the best places in the world to live. With a population of over 34 million people, Canada has a high standard of living, a tolerant society, a vibrant economy and a vast beauty stretching from the Pacific to the Atlantic to the Arctic Oceans. A country founded by immigrants, immigration has always been pivotal to Canada’s economic success. In fact, Canada has the highest per capita rate of immigration in the world. Two million immigrants have been welcomed into Canada in the last decade alone.
The Best Place in the World to Do Business
With the United States next door – the world’s largest economy and Canada’s largest trading partner – we believe Canada is the best place in the world to do business. Since the signing of the US-Canada free trade agreement, the world’s largest trading relationship has seen its trade figures triple. With the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which included Mexico, we became a member of the world’s largest trading block.
Tax Advantages
Canada has always been a country strong on business. There are no wealth taxes or inheritance taxes and our government is committed to reducing corporate and income taxes. There are also many government programs in place that provide expert and financial help to the business community.
Pro-business Attitude
Canada has a large, educated workforce and a pro-business government. The country is rich in natural resources, abundant sources of energy, and sophisticated communications and transportation networks. Immigrant entrepreneurs looking to put their skills and talents to work will find themselves surrounded by opportunity. With less red tape and regulation than many countries in the world, business in Canada is freer to be innovative and entrepreneurial than in many other places. According to a World Bank study, business start-up times and procedures here are the quickest and easiest of any country in the G7. In addition to the Immigrant Investor Programs, our governments have enacted many laws that promote business and encourage foreign investment.
World-Ranked Economy
A member of the G7, Canada has a robust, highly diversified, mixed economy that has made it one of the world’s wealthiest nations. The second largest country on Earth in terms of landmass, Canada is rich in natural resources. As a result, primary industries play a major role in our economy.
Resource Rich
In British Columbia, forestry industries are very important. In fact, Canada is the world’s leading exporter of wood, pulp, and paper products. In Alberta, the oil and gas industry is fueling an economic boom, attracting entrepreneurs from all over. Mining adds substantially to the prosperity of Ontario, which exports a wide variety of chemicals and minerals.
Abundant Fresh Water
Quebec, Canada’s biggest province, is home to Hydro-Quebec, the world’s largest hydroelectricity generating company which powers the Quebec economy, and beyond, with its vast reservoirs of clean, renewable energy.
Driving Manufacturing
Our manufacturing industries are often in the business of transforming the products of near-by natural resources. They are responsible for most of our exports and help drive our regional economies. Cars, trucks, vehicle parts, and other transportation equipment, make up the largest part of our manufacturing sector. And while we trade a great deal of manufactured goods with other nations, especially the United States, trade between provinces is very strong.
Fertile Opportunities for Agriculture
A major agricultural producer and exporter, Canada also has a thriving food processing industry, producing billions of dollars of grocery products for domestic and international markets.
Strong Service Sector
As with most modern economies however, the service sector is Canada’s most important. It is responsible for fully two-thirds of our Gross Domestic Product and employs three-quarters of our labour force. Most service sector businesses are concentrated in and around our cities. We have a strong financial sector, multi-billion dollar professional services sector and a thriving information economy.
World’s Soundest Banking System
The World Economic Forum has ranked Canada’s banking system as the soundest in the world and Moody’s Investor Service named Canada first in the world for financial strength. With the greatest growth in GDP in the G7, a low inflation rate and strong currency, the country continues to have one of the most vital economies among the industrialized nations. Always a very attractive destination for the immigrant investor, Canada is likely to become even more so.
World’s Most Dynamic Cities
Vancouver – Gateway to the Pacific Rim: Canada’s busy gateway to the Pacific Rim and the vast markets of Asia, Vancouver is one of the world’s most beautiful and livable cities. Home to Canada’s largest and most diversified ports and the terminus of our transcontinental highway and rail routes, it trades with over 90 different countries. It is the economic hub of British Columbia and one of the nation’s largest industrial centers, generating more than half British Columbia’s GDP. The spectacular drama of its setting has made tourism a $15 billion-plus industry and spawned a large film industry, earning Vancouver the designation of Hollywood North.
Calgary – Opportunity Boomtown: Calgary is the largest city in the province of Alberta, and the heart of the country’s fastest growing economic region. Endowed with the highest personal income in Canada, Calgary is a thriving metropolis with a strong entrepreneurial core. A major center for the global energy industry, it also has the country’s lowest taxes. With its close proximity to the sports playground of the spectacular Canadian Rockies, it is an exceptional city in which both businesses and families can prosper and thrive.
Toronto – City in the Fast Lane: Toronto is Canada’s largest city and a vibrant driver of the Canadian economy. With more than 100,000 companies, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is Canada’s business and manufacturing capital. Its remarkably diverse economy creates almost unlimited entrepreneurial opportunities. Situated on the shores of Lake Ontario, the GTA stretches out over approximately 7, 000 square kilometers that incorporate farmland, forests and large protected areas. This allows it to benefit from one of the world’s lowest urban population densities. The city is consistently rated as one of the world’s most livable,* as well as one of the most business-friendly.
* Economist Intelligence Unit
Montreal – European Style, North American Energy: Montreal is a major port and the major city in Canada’s largest province of Quebec. While known internationally as a French-speaking city, it is home to almost 400,00 English-speakers. Strategically situated a short drive from the US border on the Saint Lawrence River, its astounding economic upswing is based primarily on the emergence of a thriving knowledge economy. Montreal is a vibrant, cosmopolitan city famed for its quality of life, tolerant, pleasure-loving populace and its openness to new ventures.
High Quality Education
Canada, as a society, has always invested heavily in education and Canada’s literacy rate is over 99%. In fact, we invest more money per student than any country in the world. Schooling is free for citizens from kindergarten through high school. In Quebec, college-level education (CEGEP) is also free for Quebec residents. Universities are also government subsidized. Public education, in Canada, is a provincial and territorial responsibility. For this reason, systems across the country are all a somewhat different. While meeting similar high standards, they reflect the needs and desires of local populations. Broadly speaking, over 90% of Canadians are in preschool or ‘kindergarten’ by the age of 4 or 5 and education is compulsory for every child though high school in most provinces. Our most recent census data indicates that more Canadian’s than ever before have university degrees or diplomas, and that recent immigrants are even more likely than native-born Canadians to have university degrees.
World Renowned Universities
The excellence of Canadian universities is acknowledged worldwide. Students come from around the globe to study in Canada. The reasons they site include the diversity and multiculturalism of the student bodies, the safety of the campuses, the broad variety of first class programs, and the international respect accorded the degrees they earn. Canada has over 90 universities for you to choose from, spread all around the country, in cities, towns and rural areas. Their varying characters and programs often reflect their geographical areas as well as regional economic drivers. Whatever program your sons or daughters are interested in, graduating from a Canadian university opens the door to a world of possibilities, not to mention financial advantage. Typically, Canadian university graduates earn an average of 57% more than those who don’t have a university education and are much less likely to be unemployed irrespective of economic conditions.
Cost of University Education
While tuition is charged for Canadian universities, the cost of a university education is considerably less here than in the United States. Because of larger provincial subsidies, the lowest university tuitions are found in Quebec, home of renowned McGill University. Student loans, bursaries and scholarships are available for those needing financial help, across the country. As is usual worldwide, university tuition fees are substantially less for citizens than for students coming from other countries. However, if you come to Canada under the Immigrant Investor Program, you benefit from the same low university tuition as Canadian citizens. If you educate only two children, over the course of a 4-year university degree, you save enough to pay most of the cost of the Immigrant Investor Program. As an Immigrant Investor, your children benefit from one of the most valuable educations in the world at the lowest cost to you. And, by the time they earn a degree, you can all be Canadian citizens.
A World of Democratic Values
Canada is one of the world’s great liberal democracies: Founded on the British parliamentary model, every citizen over the age of 18 has the right to vote – to have his or her say in how our country should be run. A model for the world, Canada is active in helping bring democracy and democratic values to other countries.
A Dynamic Federation
Canada is a federation made up of 10 provinces and 3 territories. As a large country with a small population and great regional differences in geography and perspective, we have developed a unique style of government based on respect for alternate views and compromise. Our three levels of elected government – federal, provincial and municipal – divide the responsibilities of governing us among them.
Human Rights Protected
Canada has an independent judiciary and laws based on a written constitution, which includes a Charter of Rights and Freedoms that takes precedence over the other laws of the land.
The Most Welcoming Country in the World
Canada is a country founded by immigrants: Immigration has always been pivotal to Canada’s economic success. In fact, Canada has the highest per capita rate of immigration in the world. Two million immigrants were welcomed into the Canada in the last decade alone and the bright stream of peoples from around the world who chose to make a better life for themselves and their families in Canada, is one of our country’s greatest assets.
Open and Tolerant
An open and tolerant society, Canada has been called the least racist country in the world. Individuals born in other countries rise to the top in every sector of Canadian society from business, to politics, to the arts. Our rich ethnic diversity is a source of pride. Where the United States views itself as a melting pot of world cultures, Canada considers itself a mosaic. Far from having to abandon all the cherished ways of their homeland, immigrants are encouraged to bring the best of their cultural traditions with them and share them with their fellow citizens.
A World of Universal Health Care
As a liberal democracy, Canada cares deeply about the welfare of its citizens. Its publicly funded health insurance system is one of its prides. Known as Medicare, it provides basic medical care to all. Funded jointly by the federal and provincial governments, the health care system is administered by the individual provinces to meet the needs of its local populations. For this reason it has a different character in each area. In Quebec, for example, in addition to medical care, free medication has been integrated into the province’s Medicare plan. Reflecting the needs of its large Asian population, in British Columbia, traditional Chinese medicine as well as other complementary medical disciplines, are features of the system. Those with a permanent resident’s visa are eligible for Medicare.