Lifestyle and Leisure
How is it for the kids?
Kate Waite talks to Brits living in Canada to find out how their children’s lives have changed since they emigrated
For many migrants, part of the decision to move to Canada is often made to offer their children a better lifestyle and to give them opportunities that they feel no longer exist in the UK. Maxine Fyffe-Roberts emigrated to Canada in August 2005 with her husband and two children. "Both my husband Mark and I were born and raised in the East Midlands. We relocated to London as adults to pursue our careers. Our first daughter was born in 2000 and from the outset of becoming parents we were certain that London was not conducive to raising our children. "Essentially, through our professions (Social Worker and Education Social Worker) we bore witness to children in London being exposed to a whole host of life experiences far sooner than their counterparts in other cities and regions."
Certainly, they are not alone in their feelings. In our 2007 Emigrate Canada reader survey, providing a safer environment for your children was the top reason cited for motivating a move to Canada. It was a deciding factor for the Wallace family who moved to Nova Scotia in 2006. Rachel Wallace recalls: "One of the main reasons we decided to emigrate was our belief that it is better to bring up children in Canada. The environment is a lot safer and there is not the drinking culture which you have in England."
Education
One essential aspect of your children's new life will be the education available to them in Canada. One fundamental difference is that education doesn't start in Canada until age six. This means for many children that when they first arrive they may find that they are re-learning old content. However, many parents are quick to reassure that this has had a positive effect. Rachel Wallace feels that it was a benefit for her two children: "Schooling here has been a big improvement on the schools they attended in England. As Jack and Kerry were older than the children in the equivalent school year when we arrived due to Canadian children starting school later, we dropped them back a year which then put them in the right age groups. This also gave them a chance to settle in without having to try and catch up."
Paul and Ellie Looker, who moved to Edmonton, also found that it worked to their youngest daughter's advantage, "She was ahead in her reading and writing ability, which gave her a lot of confidence to settle in quickly." Helen Willy moved to Calgary and found her daughter was pushed up a grade, "She finished Grade 12 at 16˝ versus the typically seen here ages of 18 to 19. On the whole, most families, which typically have come from a larger population area in the UK, comment that the schooling they find way better here." However, the later start did have implications for their younger daughter: "The biggest frustration for us was Charlotte, our four year old, was due to start full-time school in the UK the September of the year we emigrated. When we tried to enrol her in school in Alberta for that start date but because she hadn't been in school prior to emigrating here, she wasn't allowed to start full-time school for another two years. Mentally, being UK born and bred and reared, we were geared to her starting that September, so to wait another two years was quite a shock at the time."
Maxine Fyffe-Roberts spent a lot of time researching the best education options for her children in Ontario. "Overall, we have had a very positive experience with the public education system. In order to determine which learning environment would be suitable for our elder daughter, we had considered the public, private, Catholic and French Immersion options, including visiting the schools and researching the Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) test results. "Our daughter was assessed and determined to be Exceptional Intellectually Gifted. She is taught in a Primary Enhanced Learning Class (PELC), within the public system. I believe that had we remained in London, this opportunity would not be readily available, and we would have to factor in the cost of private education to meet our daughter's educational needs."
Ann Smith, who emigrated from Surrey to Cochrane, Alberta, in May 2007 also speaks highly of the Canadian education system. "The atmosphere is much more casual and not that strict with regards to keeping the kids sitting still. It seems less restrictive and there is no uniform, which is both a plus and a minus at 7am! "The curriculum seems very similar, almost identical, give or take the odd lesson specifically on local history or geography, but does seems to run one year behind the UK for children of the same age. So any child that has done any schooling in the UK could well be repeating many subjects if they are put in with their age group. This can work as a benefit or a boredom point, depending on the child. We have one of each! "The school's emphasis is very different from a UK school, which nowadays is completely results driven. Canadian schools hugely focus on the child's attitude to others – empathy, sympathy, kindness, understanding and helping which are all rewarded with merits, stickers and comments in morning readings. I am pleased with this change of emphasis. Results are, of course, still important, but it is not the be-all-and-end-all of a school's life in the community. "They do some kind of sport or activity every day. Both my children thrive on this focus."
Denver Thomas, who trained and taught in the UK has been teaching high school children in Montreal for 11 years, working for the largest English school board in Quebec. He feels that the provincial education systems in Canada appear to have a serious qualitative edge over the UK GCSE system. "The standards for success in the UK have dropped severely since 1992, allowing more students to attend university. Almost all Canadian provinces have raised the difficulty levels for high school leaving and increased the specific content in the important courses (core languages, sciences and math). This has led to an increase of students attending university in Canada and graduating (not just enrolling and attending)."
Activities
When you land in Canada, it won't be all work and no play and certainly one reason for your children to get excited about their forthcoming move is the whole range of new activities they will have available to them. For the Hobden family, a move to Vancover Island in 2004 opened up plenty of new opportunities for their two children.
"Daniel has really got involved with basketball. He gets to travel a lot playing in tournaments here on the Island, in Vancouver and the Fraser Valley and also in the US. "He has also been to youth clubs and has been to week-long summer camps which are on a lake and involve lots of water activities like boating, tubing and swimming."
Summer camps are extremely popular in Canada and offer a great way for your children to meet new people.
Julie Falls moved to Calgary with her family and her sons have both enjoyed the opportunity that summer camps present. "The boys were both involved in summer camps the first year that we arrived. Calgary has a wide range of camps and they cater for every interest. This year they will be hopefully go to the University of Calgary, which offers a wide range of sports and science camps. In addition, the Canada Olympic Park offers snowboarding and skiing camps in the winter and mountain biking camps in the summer. Camps seem to be very much a way of life here. The summer holidays are ten weeks and most kids will be in summer camps for at least a couple of weeks." The Looker family have also found that there is no shortage of suitable camps for their young children. "Our local leisure centre runs programmes for all ages from half day to full days and from sports only, to a mixture of activities, so you can get your child into any programme to suit their needs." Helen Willy comments that her children have had some great summer camp experiences. "These range from generic Rocky Mountain/rafting type ones through to Dudes on Horseback for a week.
A good move?
All the migrants I spoke to, without exception, agreed on one thing: Their move to Canada was a good decision as far as their children are concerned. Darren and Mette Hobden certainly feel that it is better bringing up children in Canada. "The children and teenagers here seem to have more respect for people and get involved in things a lot more. This can be sports, arts or community events. "In general, we are happy that our children are being brought up here. We feel they have more freedom than they did in the UK and more opportunities. There is definitely a greater feeling of community spirit here. There are many activities and sports specifically for children and we actually have the difficulty of trying to fit them all in!"
The Looker family are also quick to say why they feel that Canada is a better place to raise their children: "There are more opportunities for outdoor activities and sports and everything seems less crowded, less rushed and more relaxed. The teenage children, in general, seem more polite and sociable and you don't wonder if they are likely to hurl abuse at you as you walk past. Our children are very active and the opportunities are endless." Helen Willy, who emigrated 13 years ago and can speak with the benefit of hindsight says, "I am so proud of the way my children have turned out, and I believe from the bottom of my heart that Canada has enabled this to be an easier task for us to achieve as parents, than if we had stayed in the UK. "Canada's far from perfect, we have our share of problems to deal with as does everywhere, but as far as emigrating with children, it was the best thing we could ever have done for theirs and our grandchildren's futures."
Helen Willy is a licensed realtor. You can contact her by email
Darren and Mette Hobden run the website Emigreat
Daniel Hobden, aged 15, has his say
The idea of emigrating was exciting, although I was sad about leaving friends and family. I was looking forward to no school uniform, new placesto visit, and a bigger house. Canadian life was easy to fit into and I've found Canadians have a laid-back attitude. I think there are more opportunities here and I enjoy the travelling and hotel stays with my basketball team. School work seemed easier and I think schools are about two years ahead in the UK due to starting / finishing school earlier than here. I still enjoy it though and it was easy to make friends. I'd only go back to the UK for a holiday.
Anja Hobden, age 13
I was upset when it was time to leave the UK but was also excited about new adventures. In particular, I was looking forward to being closer to my cousins (who live in Vancouver) and having no school uniform, although now I would prefer to have one. The first year was fun but I have found the last couple of years more difficult at school. I had already learnt some of the stuff when I started school but was also learning new stuff like Canadian geography and history. It was easy to make friends, particularly having an accent. I'd like to go back to England and perhaps stay for six months to see if/how it has changed.
Jack Wallace, age 13
I felt sort of sad but also happy when I was told we would be moving. Sad because I knew I would be leaving my friends and family but happy because I would get to explore and live in a completely different place. I was looking forward to having a bigger house, the hot sun, and the proper snow in winter. Life in Canada is better than England as I get to experience lots more activities in the summer and winter, which I wouldn't be able to do in England. I find that school here is a little easier to understand as they use lots of helpful methods. It was very easy to make friends as everybody is a whole lot friendlier and they like listening to my accent, which is now slowly changing. I don't think I would like to move back to the UK. as we have a lovely big house right on the lake which is cool in the winter and summer with either skating, swimming, boating or fishing. I will be happy staying here.
Kerry Wallace, age 11
When I was told that I was moving to Canada, I was really nervous and didn't want to leave, but I regret saying that now. I didn't want to leave behind my friends and family. At the same time, I was looking forward to meeting new people. I have found life in Canada fun because the people are really friendly and there are more activities to do. The schools here are different because most children take the bus to school. In Grades 7-9 you have an opportunity to take Late French Immersion, which is what I am going to do next year. It was easy to make friends, because everyone was eager to meet me. I don't think I would like to live in England again, even though I miss my friends and family and good old English chocolate. I am very happy here.
Henry Falls, age 10
I felt really sad about moving to Canada because I would be leaving all my friends behind. I was also worried I would miss my bedroom, but I was looking forward to making new friends and experiencing new stuff in Canada. I really enjoy living in Canada. We live in a nice community and it has been fun exploring the new places. School is really fun – we get to play games and do in-line skating for PE.
James Falls, age 7
When I was told I would be leaving the UK I felt sad to leave friends behind. I was really looking forward to being able to go camping. We live in Calgary and get to go to the Rocky Mountains a lot. I have found life here fun. School is much more fun – we are able to learn in a fun way, playing loads of games. It was really easy for me to make friends at the school because everyone liked my English accent.
Kate Smith, age 10
When I knew we were leaving the UK I was nervous because it was going to be a big change. I was most afraid that I'd miss my family, but I was excited about going skiing and being able to do a lot more sporting stuff. It wasn't hard to make friends, when the teacher introduces you, all the kids want to be your friend. I thought it was easy in the class because the grades are different and I'd already done most of the work before – I got a bit bored actually!
Hannah Fyffe-Roberts, age 7
I was very excited about leaving the UK. I was actually looking forward to getting on a plane and flying to Canada. I was a little upset about leaving my friends, but I knew that our friends could come to visit, which helped. I really like Canada and do not want to go back to London to live. I prefer to visit London, but know that I am coming home to Canada. I have made a lot of new friends at school and camp. At first everyone wanted to hear me speak because I sounded different, but now I speak with a Canadian accent. School is great. I have a great teacher and we do cool things in the classroom to keep everyone interested in what we are learning.
Jessica Ffyfe-Roberts, age 4
I was also very excited about leaving the UK. I really like my nursery and my friends, my teacher is very nice too, and we have a new splash pad in the playground which I will need swim shoes to play on when it gets warmer outside.
Megan Looker, age 7
Emigrating was a happy time although I did feel a little sad about leaving family. I was looking forward living in St Albert and because I had seen my school I was excited about starting. I was also excited about visiting Jasper and learning to ski. I am happy living here, especially as I like the snow and we never seem to get it in England. My school here is bigger and has a big play park where we can have lots of recess fun. In England we just had a concrete playground with little to do. Making friends was a little hard as I am a bit shy but because I could read the class asked me to read to them which helped my confidence and I soon made some good friends.
Joshua Looker, age 4
I was very excited about seeing a new country and exploring a different place, although I was concerned about leaving family behind and the house. I soon met new friends by taking time to talk to other children.
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