Blue Bird Blog

Canada Day: A kick off to summer festivals across the country

Canada Day is statutory holiday celebrated on July 1st by all those who call Canada home. The day commemorates the anniversary of the Constitution Act. The Act, signed in 1867, consolidated three new territories who agreed to come together to join Canada’s wider confederation. Canada Day is informally referred to as “Canada’s Birthday”, but July 1, 1867 was an important milestone in the evolution of the country into its current form of ten provinces and three territories.

Canadians celebrate Canada Day in many ways including fireworks, parades, picnics, and events. Canada Day can also be viewed as a kick off to many of the festivals that happen across the country in July and August.

Canada’s summer festivals have global audiences, and they are a great way to explore the country. This article will highlight some festivals across Canada this summer.

The Canadian National Exhibition

The Canadian National Exhibition in Toronto, known locally as “the Ex” is an annual event that takes place over the last two weeks in August. The Ex has over 1.4 million visitors annually and is one of Canada’s largest annual fairs. Agriculturists, engineers, and scientists represent their country by exhibiting their discoveries. The grounds also have food stands, live entertainment, sporting events, a casino and a carnival with rides.

Montreal’s International Jazz Festival

The Festival International de Jazz de Montreal puts on more than 650 concerts, featuring 3,000 artists from around the globe. Many of these concerts are free outdoor performances. The festival goes on from June 29th to July 8th, and attracts over 200,000 visitors from around the world.

The Calgary Stampede

The Calgary Stampede is one of Canada’s most famous festivals. It is a rodeo show that takes place July every year and is a major part of Calgary’s cultural identity. The Stampede attracts millions of visitors of the ten days of rodeos, parades, agricultural competitions, races, parties and concerts at the Stampede grounds. The Stampede this year will be from July 7th to July 16th.

Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo

The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo is a weeklong event held from June 30th to July 3rd in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The event features military demonstrations, highland dancers, and bagpipes. Themed Tattoo performance are included in the event every year., Over 2,000,000 spectators enjoy the shows in arenas across Halifax, featuring thousands of performers from numerous countries.

Richmond Night Market

Richmond’s Night Market is an annual night market held in Richmond, British Columbia. It is North America’s largest night market. The market happens every weekend all summer long, from April until October. This year, the theme is Summer Wonderland and there will be over 600 international food items from 110 booths and food trucks.

Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival

The 47th annual Newfoundland and Labrador Folk Festival happens on July 7th, 8th and 9th this year. The public is invited to Bannerman Park in St Johns for music, crafts and food. The theme this year is “Everything that’s old is new again” and the festival plans to bring back some favorite traditions from the past and are adding new ones to celebrate the province’s unique history and heritage.

Source: cicnews.com

Canada

Visitors no longer allowed to apply for work permits from within Canada

As of August 28, temporary residents in Canada on a visitor visa are no longer permitted to apply for a job-supported work permit from within Canada.
The temporary policy allowing visitors to apply for these work permits was introduced in August 2020 to assist some visitors in Canada who were unable to return home because of border closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic—with the further aim of aiding employers to fill key labour gaps, by allowing some visitors who met certain conditions to apply for an job-supported work permit from inside Canada.

Is it worth applying for Express Entry after you turn 35?

Prospective Canadian immigrants are sometimes discouraged from applying for Express Entry after they turn 35 years of age.
This is largely due to points lost on their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score.
The Express Entry application management system uses the CRS to rank and order eligible Express Entry candidates based on their human capital factors before they can receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The average cost of buying a home in Canada’s largest cities

Housing has become a key issue for Canadians in 2024, with much attention given to the impact that changing interest rates, population increases, natural emigration patterns, and other factors have had on housing costs.
After compiling a guide on rental costs across Canada in 2024, CIC News has prepared the following guide on the costs of buying a home in Canada, considering the largest cities and population centers in each of the country’s provinces.

Quebec announces suspension of LMIA processing for some low-wage temporary foreign workers

Starting September 3rd, the processing of Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) to applicants in Montréal will be suspended for job offers with hourly wages below $27.47 CAD (the Quebec median hourly wage). This measure is expected to be in place for the next six months and has been approved by the federal government of Canada.

Canada implements policies to increase affordability of housing and groceries

A new Leger poll conducted for OMNI news, illustrated the effect of an increasing cost of living on newcomers in Canada. According to the study, 83% of the 1522 newcomers surveyed felt that affordability issues were making settling in Canada more difficult.

Simultaneously, a recent study by Statistics Canada found that more than a third of newcomers who recently arrived in the country were in renting situations where they needed to spend more than a third of their pre-tax income on rent.

On February 6th the federal government announced new policies to help increase affordability for Canadians, and those living in Canada. Similar affordability policies were instituted by the government last year.

5 challenges newcomers face in Canada and how to deal with them

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) Immigration Levels Plan 2023-2025 aims to welcome over 460,000 new immigrants each year, which is the highest level in Canadian history.
Upon arrival, newcomers must settle into their new homes and may experience some challenges adjusting to Canada and their new lives in the country.