Hi EnglishST
I too have been looking at the possibility of emigrating, specifically to Canada, and have done tonnes of research into what it takes to get there. I have also visted several cities and looked into loads of others too. Went to Toronto, Ottawa, Kingston and Montreal last summer (Ontario and Quebec).
Toronto is huge - a bit like a Canadian New York - with lots of concrete and traffic, but still had a really cool atmosphere. That's where most of the jobs are (mainly cos of its size). Check out
Monster and
Workopolis for job listings throughout Canada.
Kingston is a lot smaller (although it used to be the capital of Canada) and really friendly - not much in the way of work there though. Ottawa is the current capital and is a great city - lots of cool architecture and the outdoor market is fab (a bit like Covent Garden). There's the canal too, which freezes in winter and becomes the world's longest skating rink, and they have a festival with stalls all along the iced over canal. To work in Ottawa, I think the need for French would be greater as it has to be very politically correct (as it's the capital), and the emphasis is therefore much more on bilingualism, even though Quebec is the really French province.
Montreal was beautiful, but I somehow didn't feel at home there - that's not to say that you wouldn't, of course, but you really would need to speak French, plus the immigration rules are different for Quebec.
Throughout Southern Ontarioa and Quebec, winters are cooooold with temperatures down to -40c sometimes, and summers are warm with lots of sunshine. Note that on this Eastern side of Canada, the cold is much damper (so you tend to feel it more) than in the more Western provinces, where the cold is drier and therefore feels more comfortable.
I also visited Vancouver and Victoria, both of which are wonderful, but jobs are pretty scarce because everyone wants to live there. Property is also very expensive and the climate probably isn't what you're looking for as they're pretty wet and warm-ish in winter (not very much snow anyway).
Alberta is a pretty good bet at the moment as the oil industry is really booming there, so the economy is fantastic. House prices are low and there are plenty of jobs around. You already known Edmonton, but Calgary is another possibility. Bear in mind that Alberta is mostly very flat (as you'll have seen in Edmonton), apart from when you reach the Rockies which border Alberta and British Columbia. Calgary is about 1.5 hours drive from the mountains and Edmonton about 4 hours. The skiing once you get there is fantastic!
One other thing I would say to you about emigrating to Canada is to go to the
Canadian Government Immigration website which can give you all the various options on how to gain permanent residency. I suspect you would apply through the skilled worker route which requires a certain number of points to pass. You can take the test to see what your points score is likely to be at this site. Bear in mind that applications for permanent residency from the UK to Canada are currently taking up to 4 years to process through London, so it's a long old wait at the moment. Also, you have to have a certain amount of money before they let you in (to support yourself when you get there), and the immigration process itself also costs a fair bit in fees (can't remembe exactly how much, but I think the website should tell you).
As an immigrant, it can be extremely difficult to find work in Canada if there aren't a shortage of people in your particular area. There is a lot of bureaucracy which stops people getting jobs (namely that employers don't like to take people without 'Canadian experience'). Also, many qualifications recognised in the UK are not recognised there, so you may have to re-qualify / re-train or get your current qualifications officially recognised in Canada. I am training to be a speech therapist and will have to jump through hoops to get licensed once I'm there! I have been on Canadian immigration forums where a
lot of people have had serious trouble finding work, many of whom have come back to the UK, or are working in jobs far beneath their skills (i.e. people with Phd's working as cab drivers etc.) just to keep a roof over their heads.
If you do decide to go ahead, lots of luck! I haven't applied for my permanent residency as I'm sorting out my training for my career here first, but I hope to do so soon. Can't wait to move there as it is a wonderful country - just a shame that it takes such a lot to get in!
Sorry for such a long post - hope it's useful!
Fliblet
