CANADA

General Information

Canada is located in the most northern part of the North American continent, and stretches over 9,984,670 square kilometers. With a population of about 31 million people, Canada has one of the lowest density of population per square kilometer.  The Canadian government supports a strong immigration policy targeting an annual 250,000 to 300,000 new immigrants to reinforce the local workforce.

Canada is a Constitutional Monarchy, the political party that wins the elections runs the Government and its leader become the prime minister. The country has two levels of government: federal and provincial.  The federal capital is Ottawa, located in the province of Ontario. Canada is composed of 10 provinces: Alberta (Edmonton), British Columbia (Victoria), Prince Edwards Island (Charlottetown), Manitoba (Winnipeg), New-Brunswick (Fredericton), Nova Scotia (Halifax),Ontario (Toronto), Quebec (Quebec),Saskatchewan (Regina),Newfoundland (St.John’s) and 3 territories: Northwest Territories (Yellowknife), Nunavut (Iqaluit),Yukon (Whitehorse).

Major cities include: Toronto (4,7 million people), Montreal (3,4 million people), Vancouver (2 million people) and Ottawa-Hull, the capital region  (1 million people).

Official Languages

With 59% of the population speaking English and 23% speaking French, Canada has two official languages. Interestingly, about 18% of the population speaks a language different from English and French, such as Chinese, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, Arab, Russian, Irish, Vietnamese, Greek or Ukrainian. In the province of Quebec French is the official language with 82% of francophones and 9%each anglophones and allophones. 
 

Health and Social Security

Basic health services are free in Canada (except dental health services, with restricted coverage). Canada also offers other social benefits, such as basic pension plan, family assistance, unemployment insurance or welfare benefits. 

Education

The basic education system is public (free) and generally consists in 5 to 7 years of elementary school, followed by 4 to 5 years of secondary school (with slight variations among provinces). Then, 3 to 4 years of undergraduate studies, graduate and post-graduate studies are available in most Canadian universities. The Canadian education system in recognized as one of the best in the world.

Economy

Canada is one the richest country in the world and as such, it belongs to the G7. It is one of the most stable economies in the world, with major sectors being natural resources, manufacturing and services.  The reduction of taxes, the elimination of inflation and the development of strong exports resulted in job growth and a healthy economy.

QUEBEC

Quebec is the largest province of Canada, with 1,542,056 square kilometers and a population of 7,2 million people. The province of Quebec alone is the 15^th largest economy in the world.

Its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) exceeds 170 billion Canadian dollars, which represents a quarter of Canada’s total economic output. 

The growth of Quebec’s economy is based on a strong technological base and a large industrial sector, competitive in international markets, such as:

Quebec is a province that is authorized to select its own immigrants, numbering on average 40,000 per year, selected according to many criterias but with an emphasis on education, skilled workers in demand and the candidate's ability to learn French and integrate in the French speaking community.

WHY CANADA AND QUEBEC?

A better place to live:

Canada is consistently considered by international rankings as a country having one of the very best quality of life in the world and one of the safest environments for both businesses and people. Health services, free basic education, pension plans, family assistance programs, unemployment insurance, and other welfare benefits create a very attractive society for new immigrants.

A dynamic job market:

Canada is a very attractive destination for professionals willing to emigrate, because its technology-based industries provide a large variety of job opportunities in numerous world-class companies.

Qualified immigrants really have access to great opportunities in the fields of engineering, science, research and development, marketing and sales, finance, business administration and many others.

Attractive investment opportunities:

Thanks to a dynamic, diversified economy opened to global trade, Canada provides potential investors with one of the best business environments in the world. Its strategic geographical location, multicultural workforce and proactive government economic policies make it an ideal place to locate a business.

Through the North American Free Trade Agreement, Canada takes part in the largest single market in the global economy: its 386 million people generate an Gross Domestic Product have about US$ 8.5 trillion.

The possibility of obtaining the Canadian citizenship:

All landed immigrants have the right to ask for the Canadian citizenship after they accumulate a total length of stay within the country of 3 years, with a minimum of 6 months in each given year.