Indeed more people than care to admit have toyed with the idea of migrating to the city which is slowly turning into the very warm laps of Santa Claus. The heat was most felt late last year when it was getting really obvious that President Trump will take the oval. Immigration sites crashed under the weight of the fuss and it wasn’t just amusing but opened the eyes of the world to just how incredibly exciting Canada is. A lot of immigrants are not shy to admit Canada is in their cross-hairs, neither is Canada backing away from the pressure.
I got to chatting with a passionate Canadian immigration consultant, Brandon Miller of Maple immigration, on life as a consultant and the unique circumstances that surround immigrating to Canada.
How did your work experiences prior to Maple Immigration lead to a successful execution of Maple as a business?
I have worked for myself since I was 25 years old so this was certainly a good introduction to running a successful immigration business. Additionally, my maturity has also been a factor as my learning curve has not been as great as most 1st time entrepreneurs. I have worked cross-culturally for many years, this has given me the priceless opportunity to relate to a lot of my clientele, thus allowing for a unique client experience.
As an entrepreneur, it is believed that your primary drive is to create solutions to existing or impending problems. What would you say inspired the creation an immigration consulting firm?
I am in the solutions business and I love building things that are in place to help. My whole career has been focused on helping people grow and this business is no different. The solutions that we provide is to give people a simple and straightforward approach to immigrating to Canada, while ensuring that they are informed and making educated decisions at every step of the process. I was inspired to create this firm because I had a vision of what the market ideally needed and knew I could provide fact based solutions that lead to results.
Why do you think there’s been a boom in the interest to migrate to Canada?
I believe that there always has been an interest to settle in Canada from every corner of the globe. We have seen the numbers increase and they are predicated to hold firm on the number of people that will be welcomed into Canada. The previous system was slow but the introduction of some great computer systems brings more efficiency to the immigration department which in turn allows for a greater number of people, and their life aspirations to be processed quicker.
As Justin Trudeau often says, Canada welcomes you irrespective of faith. Considering the influx of a diverse range of religious immigrants, do you think there’s any cause for security concerns?
Not at all. I think that diversity should be celebrated and we have security protocols in place focused on keeping the Canadian population safe. Thankfully we have a political system in place that does not paint immigrants with a broad brush and keeps the door open to people who will serve to strengthen and contribute to the society.
What do you think drives the desire to settle in Canada?
As a well traveled person, who has lived outside Canada in various parts around the world, you come to find that people are the same the world over and want nothing more than to lead a comfortable life with their family, free from all of the political/security issues that we are confronted with today, while being able to have the opportunity to live and grow both personally and professionally. We are seeing people with different desires coming to Canada. At the end of the day it all boils down to opportunity and there are lots of it here in Canada.
Who would you say is most enticed to move to Canada?
It is people from all walks of life and at all stages in life. Whether it be at the beginning of the career for someone who has come to Canada as a student, or under the International Experience Program, or maybe someone who has come later in life under a program such as the Federal Skilled worker/Investor, or as an economic immigrant who is transferred here as part of a job and finds that they like being here in Canada - they are all enticed to immigrate to Canada. Some people come here for a better future for their children while others move here for strategic business/career reasons.
The next few years will see the US government stabilizing, or not, with policies that affect immigrants. How is Maple positioned to play in this?
Canada has a lot to gain in the current global political climate. Where doors are closing in some places and anti-immigrant attitudes are driving domestic policy in some areas of the world, Canada remains non-conflicted regarding their attitude of embracing immigrants and welcoming them as a necessity to both economic growth and population maintenance. Maple and Canada are aligned with ensuring that pathways to residency and citizenship are open and accessible to foreigners who meet the eligibility criteria and will contribute to Canada’s prosperity and growth.
What should people know, which isn’t common knowledge yet, about Canadian immigration?
What is not common knowledge with the layman is that it isn’t as easy as most people think to immigrate to Canada without professional help. A lot of times people have this misconception that they can immigrate to Canada by themselves. Whilst this may be true and some people might get lucky, if you make a mistake you could pay quite dearly for a simple omission or misunderstanding. Sadly, most will only find out how difficult things are once they are invested in the process.
What are the most popular ways to Immigrate to Canada?
The most popular ways to come to Canada these days through the economic program are usually through the NAFTA visa; the student coming in to study and then get integrated into the workforce; the skilled worker with a work permit or sponsored by an employer.
Canadian Immigration has a history of innovation with the most recent launch of the Express Entry system for skilled workers. In the near future, we just may see more initiatives focused on matching the needs of Canadian employers with accessing foreign talent.