Entertaining the Idea of Moving to Canada

[Joey101]

Any thoughts? I am aware that I probably can't carry there. But then again I am not carrying here so it's no biggy. But how about owning guns? Is that legal? Do they have gun ranges? I know that their crime rate is really low up there and of course health care is free. So other than the possibility of not being able to carry a handgun, what are some more things to think about. To me it seems like a win win situation.

 

[Justin]

It's legal to own firearms in Canada, but the laws are more strict than in the United States (depending on which state you currently reside in, that is.)

Legally, as a gun owner, you are required to register your firearms with the .gov. Most semi auto rifles are heavily regulated, though not impossible to get (or so I've heard.)

No concealed carry.

And the healthcare is "free" not free. There's a difference.

 

[fjolnirsson]

Any thoughts?

I think you must be mad.....

Just my personal opinion. Why would someone volunteer to be disarmed? 'Course, that's why I don't fly, but at least flying is only temporary. Why would someone voluntarily move to a country farther along the socialism highway? I don't know, man. Good luck, with whatever you decide.

 

[ZeroX]

I'd rather live in CA or NJ than Canada.

 

[Joey101]

Well being that CC isn't that big of a deal to me. I don't see why it isn't a good idea. I mean I am not even going to get into why I am upset with the way things in this country are. I just need to know if there are anything else I'm missing other than no CC. Owning guns is fine with me. I own one now.

Now I don't how easily I could handle truly being disarmed like I would be if I moved to Europe.

If there are any Canadians on here, maybe they could offer some insight. Or maybe from people that have lived there.

 

[Telperion]

I suggest you start here: http://www.cfc.gc.ca/default_e.asp

For one, based on my cursory reading, your 4" XD is flat-out prohibited.

 

[Majic]

Short barreled handguns are a no-no. You have to have the license to even buy ammo. Healthcare is free, but only in certain areas. You need to check with the providence you are looking to live in.

 

[anchoryanker]

The medical care isn't all that its cracked up to be. I've seen stats that show fatality rates for cancer are 40-60% higher in socialized medicine countries like canada and britian. That's because the delays are so long to get a docters appoinment, almost 6 months for some specialists, that by the time they get treatment for some it is too late. I've heard (anecdotaly) alot of wealthy canadians come to the U.S. to get treatment for serious illness.

Remember, That "free" medical care comes from your horrendous taxes, so you can debate how "free" it really is.

 

[chopinbloc]

healthcare is not free, my friend. only people can be free, everything else has a price. taanstafl. socialized medicine is much MORE expensive than privatized medicine. when you remove the cash incentive of competition, prices climb and quality nosedives. it's true of other economic systems as well but easily witnessed in canada and other socialist countries.

the other issue is that i imagine you are a firearms afficianado. the right to defend one's self outside the home is not the only right canada refuses to acknowledge. the very possesion of the few firearms that the benevolent government will "allow" you to have requires registration, just in case they change their mind some day. NO THANKS.

canada can keep their crappy beer, their good weed and their ice boxing. i want nothing to do with it. and they talk funny, eh.

 

[dasmi]

and of course health care is free.

It's free, in that you don't pay at the doctor's office.
It's not free, in that they tax the hell out of you all year to pay for your free healthcare.
Don't listen to the media BS, Canada DOES NOT HAVE FREE HEALTHCARE. Period.

 

[Joey101]

I guess what aggrevates me most is our health care here. I pay $220 a month for family coverage. I pay a $1000 deductable every year. Not to mention I pay 20% of the hospital bill. BS! I would rather be in a country that actually does something for it's middle class. I am middle class, not upper, certainly not lower. But I guess that why I am so angered about this country. This country is known as the land of the free and home of the brave, right? Well this place is all it's cracked up to be if your an immagrent or on wellfare and such. And of course if your wealthy you've got it made. But us middle class have to pay "x" amount of dollars for health care. And when I go to rent a house or apartment I pay "x" amount and the guy next door gets the same kind of house for alot less!! I am not going to make this about race, cause I'm not racist.

I have a friend who is a Loan Officer. He says he gets loan applications everyday from people who don't hardly make any money but want a $50,000 loan. They don't pay but $15 dollars a month in rent. And Health care forget it the government pays for that!! BS. While I'm over supporting 4 kids a wife and myself working 40+ hours a week. But hey I can pay $220 a month for insurance that doesn't cover .

I know alot of you are gun nuts! I am too. But if you were in my shoes would you not think about the same thing? I mean it can't be that bad. One of you made the comment about my 4" XD being illegal, yes your right. So I'll just go and trade it in for a 5" tactical! And what I guess I'll have to deal with only being able to shoot 1911's the rest of my life right? Not so bad if you ask me.

 

[Rexrider]

I mean I am not even going to get into why I am upset with the way things in this country are.

I can't image what is so bad in this country that you think you would be better off in another country.

Sorry, I don't have any specific information about firearm laws in Canada but I can tell you they are a lot more restrictive than Texas !!

Even those stuck behind the lines in CA and various Northeast States are not talking about moving to another country.

Please...take a deep breath....count to ten....have a good look around. Yes, things are not perfect but IMHO, we are still the best game in town.

You really need to think this through. Good luck either way.

 

[Rexrider]

oops

Now i see what you are mad about.

Sorry you are in a tight spot with healthcare. A lot of us are. But you have to look at the big picture and the overall quality of life.

I would rather have an overall decent life and squeak by on healthcare rather than have so called "free" healthcare and have everything else about my life suck.

You need to really research the whole firearm law thing. And don't forget, there is no 2nd admendment in Canada. They can take everything away anytime they want to. Just like England.

Edited to add: Sorry to those in Canada, no offense intended. I was just trying to make a point that I would not move to another country just over healthcare.

 

[chris in va]

I fully understand your frustration. The immigration plague is getting bad.

But frankly running away to Canada isn't the answer. Move to a different state instead. I'll step on a lot of toes saying this, but after living in TX half my life, I don't see what the big deal is. Definitely not my kind of living. Even my dad, having lived in the Dallas area most of his 60 years, admits he'd move out to Virginia in a heartbeat if he was single.

 

[Joey101]

Now, you know. I was thinking about Virginia too. I was born and raised in Maryland. My parents still reside there. I will not go back. I hated it there. But I can't get them out here so I was thinking about where I could move that would bring us as close together as possible. Virginia was my initial thought. Then I wanted something colder. My mother said Alaska! LOL!! I laughed and said I couldn't handle their what is it 3 months of sunshine 24 hours a day? I also thought about Montana. I am very heat sensative. Texas isn't the place for me!! LOL!! Too hot here.

Sorry for going off on a tangent fella's but you all obviously understand my frustration. Thanks for having patience!!

 

[Majic]

Talk to some Canadians. I know several familes up there spread over several providences and have visited several times. Life isn't as bad as some would think. Like here it's a matter of where you choose to live. I like it up there, but it's just too cold for me.

Try Vermont. Far enough north to avoid the heat and the best carry state in the union (no permit needed).

 

[BruceB]

I lived for fifty years in Canada, from early childhood until I was 54, in 1997. It was extremely fortunate that I was born in the US, which made relocation rather easy.

I moved my family to the USA as soon as I'd completed the required years of service for early retirement under a private-company pension plan, which I've been collecting since emigrating. That was the single factor keeping us in Canada as long as we did stay. The incoming gun laws were highly instrumental in making us emigrate.

The last full year of my employment in Canada generated about $CDN 85,000 gross, and my DIRECT PAYROLL DEDUCTION by my employer for federal income tax was $37,000. Look at that figure again...$37,000! On top of this was/is a federal "Goods and Services Tax" on almost everything one buys, of about 9% I believe. On top of that, most provinces have their own, additional sales tax. On top of THAT are usurious "sin taxes" on booze and cigarettes, etc., which drive a 26-oz bottle of decent whiskey up around the $30 mark or more, and a carton of good smokes up to $60.

This is where the "free" medical care comes from!

As a very active shooter in Canada, I'm well aware of the horrendous laws in effect there. IF you jump through all the hoops, it will take about a year before you may own a (legal, i.e.: registered) handgun. This gun may NOT be owned for self defence, may NOT have a barrel shorter than 105mm, may NOT hold more than ten rounds, and may NOT be removed from your house without a police permit, even if you're on on your own land. It must be kept locked-up at all times, and apart from its ammunition.

IF you are granted a special permit through membership in a GOVERNMENT- APPROVED club, you MAY take the gun to a government-approved range ONLY, and the handgun MUST be trigger-locked inside a locked box, with the ammo separate, while you're traveling to the approved range. The permit may specify days of the week, hours of the day, routes of travel to-and-from, and such rules as "no stops en route". There is NO concealed carry, NO handgun hunting, NO informal plinking, ever, under any circumstances.

Semi-auto rifles are restricted to five-round max capacity. Dozens of rifle and shotgun types are on a prohibited list, and many others can only be owned under the same restrictions as handguns...ONLY to be fired at approved ranges, locked en-route, etc.

IF you should be raided by the cops, who may do so on suspicion that guns, ammo, or PAPERWORK pertaining thereto are in your home, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT! The law says you must cooperate with such a search, and silence is specifically mentioned as non-cooperation. Silence is a felony, $10,000 and/or ten years in prison. Oh, and they're allowed to download or seize your computer, AND to print out whatever they want, using YOUR printer, paper etc.

IF you're in a vehicle and discover there's a gun in the car, and if you do not IMMEDIATELY ascertain whether or not there is a permit in the car for that gun, YOU commit a felony. IF you find there's NO permit and fail to immediately leave the vehicle....yep, another felony. Both of these have the same $10,000/ten years penalty.

Any firearm of any description may be permanently banned in Canada by a simple "order in council" by the federal government. There are no hearings, no prior notice, nothing. All it takes is a simple motion in a government committee and a signature on the minutes of the meeting. Bye-bye!

All these things only scratch the surface of the stupid and draconian gun laws.

Anyone CHOOSING to leave the United States of America to live in that socialist hell-hole to the north is NOT PLAYING WITH A FULL DECK. I trust that makes my position on Canada amply clear.

 

[Lucky]

I'm in Canada, but I don't think any one country is really better than another, at least not in the 1st world, they're just different.

Couple things:

Firearms
There are permits for carrying, but if you're not working in the forest then you have to be in a bad spot to need one (death threats or such)... Got a bolt-action rifle or a shotgun or anything rimfire, they can be kept (unloaded) locked in the trunk of your car, or if you have no trunk you have to hide them.

There's also an exemption if you clip on cross-country skis

You can see the list of banned firearms, if you didn't have one before they were banned you can't get one. No select-fire, super short weapons, bullpups, and there's mag limits on semi-autos (and of course the Stryker shotgun was banned by name). But you can own things that are banned in the USA, like PTRDs and grenade launchers (Though Barret light 50 was banned by name?)

If you hunt then you'll be happy, and iirc you can shoot any coyote and trade the pelt for money. Also I think that gopher tails are worth something (Richardson Ground Squirrels, technically) at least you get a free rifle if you collect the most of them, in some contests.


Medicine
The socialized medicine is sort of a hoax. In Canada there's provinces, like the USA has states. In the USA, it seems the Federal government increased in power over the states, but in Canada it's the other way. So health is a provincial thing, and the Feds pay a bit of it on the condition that they pass some laws, making it universal.

It's not free, you pay taxes (though 25% of them go straight to paying interest on national debt. That's just paying the interest. America you've been warned!) I pay $40 a month, every 3 months but there's discounts for families, and that covers all basic surgeries and hospital stuff, really basic stuff, maybe an eye exam every couple years. I'm shopping for insurance and that's what covers prescriptions and dental checkups, it's probably another $40 for that. Basically if you get hurt seriously, you're in luck! Oh yea, also almost any job you get will have a really good comprehensive medical plan, even if you drive a forklift in a warehouse you're going to be in on the group insurance, after a few months of course.

Oh yea, there's problems with health now though, obviously, because it's just so expensive. Prescriptions cost 70% of all health care expenses, so to save money in my province they decided to demolish a few hospitals :banghead: so now there's more lineups when you break your arm, because of triage. But my Dad has great service for his heart, first class.

When someone gets sick enough to need surgery, and you just start thinking about how much that would cost, my dad's heart surgery would have cost as much as a house. And people with cancer, it must be a little comfort to know that their family isn't going bankrupt trying to pay their expenses, in futility.

Immigrating
Talk to them. One tip I can tell you is that if you promise to invest $40,000 in Canada you are in like Flynt. And Canada is cool with the USA because the USA doesn't let people have dual citizenship with anyone else, so you can be a US citizen and a Canadian both.

Politics
issues: the nanny state grew fast, and the repurcussions are coming. Pensions are going to fail, all that. Also the general wussiness of the nanny state is being realized, some like it some don't whatever the case it can't be afforded long.
And there's trade issues like everywhere else.

But we don't have 2 million illiterate Mexicans jumping our border each year! Lol.

 

[Joey101]

But we don't have 2 million illiterate Mexicans jumping our border each year! Lol.

I can vouch for that, I think there's at least that many in Wal-Mart on any given night of the week!! :banghead:

 

[mattw]

I am not even going to be polite. The idea of living in Canada disgusts me. Sorry if I offend the few decent Canadians, thats the way I feel.

 

[RevDisk]

Canada isn't that bad. It's not great, but from what I understand, its gun laws are better than NJ. That's kinda scary. Most annoying aspect from what I understand is the magazine limitation. Bah!

As for the gun registry, isn't there an admitted 80+ percentage non-compliance rate? Plus it's over a billion bucks overbudget, and not completely functional. Even the anti's are sick of it.

The healthcare program is not great, but it'll keep you alive. I'm not up on all the details of Canadian healthcare, so I'll refrain from commenting on it.

Canada does have high taxes. Then again, the average American has slightly over 50% of his paycheck taken by the government in one form or another. Our govt is just slightly better at hiding it.

As for smokes. In my state, the average price is $40 a carton. And people wonder why I roll my own cigarettes?


Yea, Canada has a nanny state. Out in the boonies, it's not nearly as noticable. In the cities, it's pretty bad.

Then again, if most Americans knew about many laws on the books, they might reconsider how much of a nanny state America is. Ignorance is bliss, but it is not a valid defense under the law.

 

[anchoryanker]

if i have a choice between great healthcare that costs some, and mediocre healthcare that i still indirectly pay for out of my taxes (not "free", like they want you to think) I'll stick with great healthcare. no WAY will i ever go to canada.

 

[Wedge]

My short post on socialized medicine...

In college I had a professor that used to be Canadian. He had a wife who had cancer. Her survival rate didn't match the statistics they went by so they told them they were going to stop treatment as it was too expensive, sorry you're going to die.

They moved to the United States. He got real healthcare that didn't have any sort of pre-existing condition clause. He paid his premium, they continued the treatment. His wife is still alive.

Which system is better?

 

[halvey]

There is ... NO informal plinking, ever, under any circumstances.

That would make me never want to move to Canada.

 

[dolanp]

I tell myself if I ever leave the US I'm moving to Switzerland where they still have some respect for gun owners and privacy, but I can enjoy certain European amenities and maybe live up in the mountains.