Canada - Is it just snow and hockey?

When you hear the word Canada, what comes to your mind?

Maple leaves? Hockey? Snow?

Yes, hockey is the national game but there are also many other sports that Canadians engage in, such as baseball, basketball, soccer, skate-boarding and skiing. The number of sports that are played here is directly proportional to the number of communities living here.

Canada is an amazing place. It is a melting pot, where many immigrant families from South America to South Africa, from China to Singapore, from Australia to UK, come together, live together. Besides its official langauges, English and French, Mandarin, Cantonese, Spanish, Persian, German, Italian, Punjabi, South African dialects and many others are also widely spoken here.

The major cities and their population are Toronto (5.5 million), Montreal (3.8 million), Vancouver (2.3 million) and Ottawa (1.2 million).

My Black-American business associate once told me, that all Chinese look the same to him. Similarly for me, I feel all Koreans look the same and all Blacks look the same. Somehow, this is the feeling one gets when you first start out in Canada, a land of such diversity. Does one ever wonder how everyone with such different looks, colours and backgrounds, seem to have the same resolve of making Canada their home?

All the immigrant families leave their countries or their comfort zone for a reason - in search of a better life.

So, Canada - is it really a destination of choice?

I'll list the strengths of this country and let my audience make their own conclusions:

(1) Canada invests heavily in education - in fact, it is among the leaders in G8 in investment in education

(2) Canada adopts a highly flexible education system - besides facilitating eligible graduates to attain permanent residence, it also allows eligible students to work in Canada while and after studying in Canada. International students are exposed to opportunities to work via cooperative or internship programs.

(3) The systems of education in Canada are recognized internationally and programs offered by Canadian universities are widely accepted.

(4) In the World Happiness Report (2012 United Nations survey), Canada ranked 5th.

(5) According to the Global Peace Index (2012), Canada is 4th on annual ranking of world peacefulness.

(6) In the United Nations' list of Best Countries to live (1990 to 2012) - consistently ranks in the top 10.

Personally, I feel that the majority of people here are very accommodating and are ready to welcome ideas, opinions and cultures of other people. It is a multicultural society, yet so  homogeneous in loving Canada. Most importantly, for me,  I love the space, the cool weather, the pace and the richness of life here.