Where The Job Recovery Is Strong: Oh Canada!

A great article from Time showing how Canada is becoming a leading nation in getting out of recession and recovering faster than some of the world's wealthiest nations.

Canadians may have achieved what Americans still long for, a turn up in the national mood, and a job machine that hums.

In fact, Canada's job creation engine is on a tear, last month producing 10,000 more jobs than the U.S. This despite having a population and stimulus program roughly one-tenth the size of the U.S.
(See which businesses are bucking the recession.)


Critics warn that the new jobs being created in Canada don't pay nearly as well as the old ones, resulting in a permanent underclass of McWorkers. Still, America's northern neighbor created 93,000 new jobs in June — nearly 70% in the industrial heartland of Ontario — continuing a trend of job growth in service industries, including retail, wholesale trade and construction. By contrast, private employers in the U.S. added 83,000 jobs in June. However if you factor in the loss of 225,000 temporary Census jobs in government, the U.S. labor market contracted by a dramatic 125,000 workers last month.

Canada's unemployment rate sits at 7.9%, compared to 9.5% in the U.S. And while its latest job numbers are impressive, June was the second month this year that the U.S. was outperformed by its biggest trading partner in labor statistics. (Canada created 43,000 new jobs in January, compared to 14,000 in the U.S.)

"Canada is coming back better than the U.S.," says labor economist Alan Blinder of Princeton University. "I'm losing a bit of the confidence I previously had." Blinder says the U.S. needs to create at least 200,000 new jobs every month to keep its economic recovery on track, but since May employment growth has been nowhere close to that level. This has many in the private and public sectors wondering whether President Barack Obama's stimulus plan — which has so far injected about $450 billion into the economy — has prematurely run out of steam.

Read the rest of the article here.

It's not all rainbows and butterflies however.

But Canada is far from being the Land of Oz. The economy has created 403,000 jobs in the last two years, making back nearly all the losses suffered during the recent global crisis. The bad news is that its manufacturing sector continues to shrink, losing 14,000 jobs in June. That means high-paying manufacturing jobs in the industrial heartland of Ontario are being replaced with lower-paying service jobs with few benefits and even less security.

What are your thoughts ATS?

~Keeper

I would love to live in Canada. I live in FL and I am over it. I want out and there really aren't any places in the US that I find I like. I love many places in Canada and if I could move there for 3 years I would.

It still sounds better than the job market here in the US. I have been looking into moving to another state, but maybe I should look at how I can move to Canada for 3 years

I've been hearing and witnessing a lot of interesting things about Canada the past few years. I am an international tour guide and I spend a part of my summers in the Canadian Maritimes.

Here are few downsides to Canada's burgeoning economy and popularity:

What I dislike about Canada:

1) Border Hassles. I've just finished an article I hope to post later today regarding Americans crossing the Canadian border. I've had 60-year-old passengers on my tours yanked off the bus for 30-year-old DUI's. That's right! You can no longer cross the border of Canada if you have even a minor criminal record. This goes for cruise ship passengers and day trippers and those flying in to Canada's airports. GW Bush sold the FBI computer system to the Canadian Border Services Agency in 2003, and life has been miserable for Americans ever since. My brother can't go and visit his relatives in Fort Erie---just a few minute's drive from his house for a minor offense he committed in his teens, that was eventually dismissed. Welcome to the new normal.

2) The insanely high tax rate: Someone has to fund their socialized medicine program! How does 18 percent sales tax grab ya?

3) Ground Zero for Immigration: Some parts of Canada are actually encouraging immigrants to come and populate their cities! Take St. John, New Brunswick, for example. They're losing their young population to bigger cities and so they need new blood to come in and support their infrastructure. On the other hand, cities like Toronto have been flooded with immigrants to the point of exhaustion.

4) Year after year, I see the same people in the same jobs when I head back to Canada. These are people in the service orientated industry like hotels, restaurants, ferries, etc. These types of jobs have a high turn over in the US, but not in Canada! What does this tell you? Why do people hang on to and covet low-paying jobs there? Because it's hard to move up, hard to get ahead and hard to find another job.

5) Recently, there was word that cities in central Canada were begging people to come and work there. You'd walk down the street in cities like Edmonton and Calgary and find help wanted signs on every other door. So, yes, there are jobs. As long as you are willing to bear the cold and work in service-orientated jobs.

6) I find it interesting that their college tuition is so much more realistic than ours. You can go to one of the best schools in Halifax (like Dalhousie) for $8,000 a year. 40 percent of the student population there is American. It's a no-brainer!

Great post.

reply to post by MRuss


I live in the Maritimes my friend. Moncton to be exact in New Brunswick.

1) Yes there are border hassles now, it happens, they've been getting more strict, but still great compared to the Mexican/Us border etc..

2)It's not that bad, for what we have, I don't mind paying taxes so that when my kid breaks his arm I don't have to shell out 5k for a cast. Trust me once you lived here for a while and enjoy the services, the taxes are neglible.

3)Yup, we love our immigrants, we are a mosaic of cultures, our policy and philosphy for immigratio is VERY different from other places.

We are one of the largest countries in the world with one of the smallest populations.

4)That's not true at all, the people who stay in their positions are ones that like their jobs. It's different when you have an employer who offers great benefits.

5)In the West things are getting hectic because a lot of the jobs are drying up, but this is common occurance in the west, there's a boom every 20 years that lasts for 10 and then dies down again.

6) Yes, I still think it's overpriced, however look at MUN for example, one of the top pre med schools in the country and tuition is about 4k a year.

Overall, Canada is a wonderful place, would not want to live anywhere else.

Actually, maybe Norway..

~Keeper

reply to post by MRuss


I would move there. I don't mind service jobs right now. I am in school and those are perfect for me. I want something steady and if those are available and people can stay for years at it then it's fine with me. Here you have no job security like that.

I have no criminal history what so ever so I would be fine on that part. If I could go to school for that price then damn I am in. I pay 20k a year here for online schooling which I have come to call online scamming Anways, I think I will look into living in Canada if you are American

Reply To the 10th power...

Hello, Canadian friend! I pass through Moncton several times each tour season on my way to Hopewell Rocks, or Nova Scotia or St. Johns. The Canadian Maritimes are beautiful!

I truly wasn't trying to postulate that there is anything wrong with immigration. The downside to immigration in Canada right now is the tough stance your country is taking. On one hand, Canada is full of immigrants...on the other hand, it is harder and harder to get in.

I'm sorry my friend, but I have to disagree with you about the crack down your border agents have initiated at the border crossings.

Mexico does NOT have the FBI computer system in place at its borders---only the passport scans. Canada has gotten RIDICULOUS about Americans crossing the border, to the point where your tourism is down by ten percent. That might not sound like much, but trust me, that equals billions of dollars your country is losing each year. Not only that, but you are exacting some difficult karma when it comes to your neighbors. Canada has been unfair, unkind and kind of crazy when it comes to the border. How about the woman from Michigan who tried to cross the border last month and was turned down because she is on Welfare? Where is the law that states this is illegal? How about the sixty people who could not get off the cruise ship in Nova Scotia because they had some minor criminal offense way in their past?

This new border craziness has more to do with your Prime Minister than anything else. It is an ANTI AMERICAN stance, and one day it's going to blow up in your faces. I know at least a dozen people who don't even bother at the border anymore---people who want to come to your country to fish, spend money, or rent a cabin. And trust me, these are all upstanding citizens in my community.

So, no. Traveling to Mexico for a vacation is much better than coming to Canada. You're fooling yourself if you think otherwise.

What right do your border agents have to yank a 60-year old man off my tour bus for a minor offense he committed when he was 25? Seriously? What harm was this man going to do? He's on a tour bus, my friend. He's obviously leaving when the tour is over--on the BUS with the rest of us.

You are taking what goodwill is left between our country's and trashing it.

And for what?

To flex your muscles? To show everyone how big and bad Canada is?

In the long run, it's Canada that looses. In both your tourism industry and your reputation.

Originally posted by MRuss
I've been hearing and witnessing a lot of interesting things about Canada the past few years. I am an international tour guide and I spend a part of my summers in the Canadian Maritimes.

Here are few downsides to Canada's burgeoning economy and popularity:

What I dislike about Canada:
2) The insanely high tax rate: Someone has to fund their socialized medicine program! How does 18 percent sales tax grab ya?

Really? All across Canada? I live in Ontario...and HST rate here is 13 per cent - combining the existing 5 per cent Federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) with an 8 per cent Ontario component.

And as to kvetching about the 'socialized medicine program'...It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye, right?

You miss the point...financially, Canada is in a lot better shape than the US. That's with that socialised medicine and the Hated Sales Tax.

I think that's what time was trying to convey, here. C'mon up...we'll leave a light on.

Originally posted by MRuss
This new border craziness has more to do with your Prime Minister than anything else. It is an ANTI AMERICAN stance, and one day it's going to blow up in your faces.

Self edit to comment on that...yes, Steve is an arse and the sooner we get him off the public teat, the better. But anti American? I do believe that tightening of the border came from his good buddy George.


[edit on 18-7-2010 by JohnnyCanuck]

I am canadian, and i dont not believe this article

But Canada is far from being the Land of Oz. The economy has created 403,000 jobs in the last two years, Read more: www.time.com...

If i may add, goverment jobs, part time jobs were added.


I cant believe ATS is buying the whole Job Recovery is strong in canada

You miss the point...financially, Canada is in a lot better shape than the US. That's with that socialised medicine and the Hated Sales Tax.

alot better? really? by adding part time jobs?

[edit on 18-7-2010 by Agent_USA_Supporter]

reply to post by MRuss


Border policy was set and devised by George and his crooks after 9/11. They are the ones that pushed for passport requirements and more scanning.

It's not our border patrol that are being douches as far as I can tell it's the American ones, and ours if they are, have been pressured by the government, who were pressured via the United States to stop up protection and security.

I agree that it's hurting both our countries, but we the people never wanted it that way.

~Keeper

[edit on 7/18/2010 by tothetenthpower]

reply to post by Agent_USA_Supporter


Actually we have the 6th most stable economy in the world right now.

How's that?

~Keeper

Just to add something of use to the border controversy.

Back in I believe, 2002, a man that lived in - heck, I'll put some of the article in here and link the rest. The very reason I'm glad we are strict on the border crossing:

"Grimsby, Ont. was reeling Saturday after learning an American man had crossed the border and gone on a shooting spree, killing four local residents, including his ex-girlfriend, her young daughter and two grandparents, before killing himself.

Milwaukee resident Peter Kiss, 30, shot his ex-girlfriend Shannon Cruse on Friday in the driveway of a home in the small community about 25 kilometres east of Hamilton.

Police said they received several 911 calls around 9:30 p.m., after some residents heard gunshots. Authorities arrived minutes later and found Cruse, 23, lying outside with at least two gunshot wounds. She was taken to hospital but was later pronounced dead."

Rest of the article here, if interested:www.ctv.ca...

I'm glad we've taken the stance we have. For once, Bush selling out the states works for someone.


Edit to add - The gunman would have killed her brother had he been there as well. I lived there at the time, and this never happens. Ever.

[edit on 7/18/2010 by hhcore]

[edit on 7/18/2010 by hhcore]

reply to post by tothetenthpower


Good for Canada. It should be pointed out that producing lower paying jobs, many of which were service sector jobs, is not exactly a "good" thing.. they do seem to have found good footing for an actual recovery. I don't know much about Canadian reporting methods.. I just hope they don't lie nearly as bad as America. You say the unemployment rate is 7%ish .. America says theirs is 9%ish .. when its well around 23% right now..

Just don't advertise it to much.. you'll get a massive wave of Mexicans coming from America.

reply to post by MRuss


The border issues are mutual and have been getting worse going both ways since 9/11. We need passports now to cross land crossings, unthinkable only ten years ago.

The highest sales tax rates are in the Maritimes but they aren't 18%. PEI is the highest at 15.5, the rest across the country is on average about 12%.

Canada needs immigrants, not just here. When they do come here, they concentrate in high density urban areas where there are larger populations of people from their home nations. The rest of the country needs the boost to the population. With the birth rate if the country, if we don't get new immigrants, the legal kind, we will be in negative population growth in the not to distant future.

The job description is true but for different reasons I would think than you state. Why to you come here every year? Because of the Tourism industry. That is the staple of our economy in the Maritime. There are industrial jobs here, and the knowledge based economy is growing but for the time being and historically, we have been a service oriented region.

reply to post by MRuss

This new border craziness has more to do with your Prime Minister than anything else. It is an ANTI AMERICAN stance, and one day it's going to blow up in your faces. I know at least a dozen people who don't even bother at the border anymore---people who want to come to your country to fish, spend money, or rent a cabin. And trust me, these are all upstanding citizens in my community.

I am sorry but you have no idea how wrong that statement is. Our current Prime Minister is about as pro American as you can get, as have been most of them since the 70's. The Border issues have much more to do with the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Patriot Act in our respective countries. Flexing our muscle?? You realize that less than 1/4 of our Border Guards are actually armed?

www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca...

As of May 2010, 1,252 armed officers have been trained and deployed to various locations across Canada. The CBSA continues to work diligently to ensure that its officers are properly trained and provided with the tools, equipment and other resources needed for the successful implementation of the Arming Initiative.

I agree that keeping someone out for an offence that happened 30+ years ago may be ridiculous but you have to realize, that stuff happens going both ways, not just one.

[edit on 18-7-2010 by GAOTU789]

How do you explain this, Canadian friends?

A Mid-Michigan woman says she was denied entry into Canada because she is on welfare.

Rose Kelley of Owosso says she has filed a discrimination complaint with the Canada Border Services Agency over its refusal to let her and her two children cross the border via the Blue Water Bridge connecting Port Huron with Sarnia, Ontario.

source


Mod Edit: External Source Tags – Please Review This Link.

[edit on 18-7-2010 by Ahabstar]

And how do you explain this?

Boomers planning a trip to Canada had better revisit their memories. Let's say you got busted for smoking marijuana in college, which, at least in my time -- the 1960's and 1970's -- was almost as prevalent as that other national pastime. "Getting busted" for it was part of the game. But that bit of youthful indiscretion may come back to haunt you now, in a most surprising manner.

Source


Mod Edit: External Source Tags – Please Review This Link.


[edit on 18-7-2010 by Ahabstar]

I am from Ontario. I work for a company called Gerdau

It has become the largest steel producer in the Americas and the 2nd largest in the world.

The plant has 400+ union employees, half of which (myself included) were layed off Mar. 2nd/2009.

The last time this plant, which is very unique, in that it has both a bar mill and structural mill, was running 50% was 1984.

Steel is becoming less and less profitable here in Ontario because of the taxes and hydro costs. A country like Turkey will subsidize there travel costs and be able to come here, buy scrap, go back, make steel, come back and sell it....somehow cheaper than we can make it here?

The system is failing us! Our plant "recyclyes" scrap metal into rebar, angle, i-beam, flats...u name it

I will not agree the recession is over untill infrastructure is back to normal and we stop importing chinese radiated steel that people live in with there wide concept homes

reply to post by MRuss


Sure it happens but it goes both ways. A quick google search showed me a bunch of articles saying the same thing going the other way. I have friends who can't go into America due to criminal records.

Whats your point?

The laws make it harder to cross, not the people enforcing the laws and it happens in both directions.

Sure there might be alot of jobs but companies are using agencies contracts
they can rid of you at a moment's notice, and they pay poorly as to keep wages down so alot of people are making what they did 25 years ago and the prices keep rising along with taxes.

people are number citing without realizing where the numbers come from how the numbers are formed

Is the grass really greener?

reply to post by MRuss


Ummm. As previously stated by another member, what's good for the goose is good for the gander, dude. We got enough on welfare here, we don't need anymore. Wonder what the reason was for coming here. Standard question both ways you know, and if a guard feels she is being deceptive, just like if I was being deceptive entering the states, the guards discretion rules the day.

As for the second one, if you can't do the time, don't do the crime. At least be smart enough to not get caught...... if that's your cup of tea. This thread wasn't about border issues, anyway.

As far as the person that stated a lot of employers are contracting help in, that is very true. My brother being one of them. So it's not all rose buds and rainbows as portrayed in the media.

Originally posted by MRuss
How do you explain this, Canadian friends?

A Mid-Michigan woman says she was denied entry into Canada because she is on welfare.

Rose Kelley of Owosso says she has filed a discrimination complaint with the Canada Border Services Agency over its refusal to let her and her two children cross the border via the Blue Water Bridge connecting Port Huron with Sarnia, Ontario.

I'm guessing that it had a lot to do with her not being able to prove she could sustain herself while in Canada without either disappearing into the woodwork, getting illegal work, or hitting up the Canadian social safety net. I've seen that in several circumstances of friends and family going to the US...and either being turned away or given grief. This is a non-story.