Tag Archives: brits in toronto

Are British drivers better than Canadians? Discuss

And it’s time for our new Tuesday Night Fun Quiz! Fingers on the buzzers. Your starter for 10. No conferring. Canadian drivers … what does this light mean?

Boy racers. Sunday drivers. Road hogs. Speed freaks. Rubberneckers.

No — not names of famous 70s bands, but various ways we describe drivers. We all think we can drive. But who’s the best? Is one country better than the other? Got an opinion? Want to be in a documentary about it? Want $250 if you’re chosen?

Brits in Toronto have been asked by a production company to help find people to appear in a two-minute documentary video sponsored by a Canadian insurance company to chat about all the above.

“I am working as a content producer for a video series that deals with driving and I am looking for people that grew up in foreign countries and would be comfortable talking about the differences in driving behaviour between their homeland and Canada. Do you know anyone who could be interested?

“We will be filming in Ontario in March or April, depending on the interviewee’s location and availability. The filming takes about two hours and the fee is $250.”

They are looking for five people from five different countries, so if you’re a Brit who wants to represent your fellow expats then e-mail Charlotte at nadeau DOT charlotte AT gmail DOT COM or give her a shout on the dog and bone at 514-774-9918.

You’ll be asked to provide some background info and the producers will choose the final candidate to appear so … good luck! And tell ’em Brits in Toronto sent you, cheers.

Totally biased product review by me — The Caledonian

2 Replies

The poshest haggis you’ll ever see on these pages

We finally did it. Been on our to-do list for a loooonnngggg time but we never got around to it. Now we have.

Yes — we went to The Caledonian, hoots mon! And was it worth it.

First things first … the Toronto crowd love their Scottishness. The place was packed and we wished that someone in our crew had thought to make a reservation. But luck was on our side and we got squeezed in. It was loud. The kind of place where you have to shout to the person sitting next to you.

Feel like a whisky, perchance? Don’t think we misheard the bartender who said they have 350 kinds on offer. A lot of them were in special cases on the wall, to be gazed on, fantasized about as you feast on …

… a savoury pudding containing sheep’s pluck (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, traditionally encased in the animal’s stomach. HAGGIS!

Check the photo above for our serving, sitting atop the traditional neeps and tatties. Extremely, extremely good. There’s also a veggie version too with a whisky sauce.

Want more? How about sausage rolls and deep-fried pickles? Yes. Superb too.

Tired of the numerous whisky flights? How about a Scottish stout unique only, worldwide, to The Caledonian. Had two of those. Sublime.

Safe to say we love this place and give it a solid Brits in Toronto 5/5 stars.

Totally biased product review by me — Kothur Indian Cuisine

Leave a reply

Pristine and untouched, but not for long …

Out on the lash Friday night so the Brits in Toronto crew popped into Kothur Indian Cuisine, on Yonge Street just below the Duke of Gloucester. We needed to get a base first.

Once the prerequisite trio of pickled carrots, mint sauce and tamarind sauce came out, we dived into the main events.

I had the Veg Pakoras to start, six of them which was pretty generous. They were nice and crunchy on the outside, but a little chalky on the inside. Wasn’t a huge fan but they filled a gap.

Then onto the medium-spiced Chicken Karahi, my go-to dish when checking out a new curry house for the first time.

It was a decent-sized portion with good flavour, lots of sauce and an odd piece of carrot stuck in it. Should have asked for medium-to-hot spice level though because it was slightly lacking on that front.

So all in all it’s a Brits in Toronto 2/5 stars for the experience.

Toronto Buccaneers Rugby Club are looking for new members

Leave a reply

Ooorgghh arggghhhh mateys, shiver me timbers, yo ho ho and a rugby ball

In March of last year we introduced you to the Toronto Buccaneers Rugby Club and they got in touch with Brits in Toronto for some more free PR, so here it is me mateys.

They are looking for new members for the club and also have some events coming up, thus:

Pre-season Indoor Training (Jr)
Location: Monarch Park Collegiate, 1 Hanson Street, (West Gym)
Dates: February 4, 18 and 25, starts at 11:00 a.m.

Pre-season Indoor Training (Sr)
Location: Major League Sportsplex, 641 Danforth Rd
Dates: February 19 to April 9, starts at 12:00 p.m.

Buccaneers Registration Day
Location: The Leaside Pub, 190 Laird Dr
Date: March 18

Buccaneers March in St. Patty’s Day Parade
Location: downtown
Date: March 19

Buccaneers Poker Night
Location: Army Navy Air Force Veterans Club, 128 Broadview Ave
Date: February 11, doors open 6:00 p.m., first hand 7:30ish

Here’s their latest flyer and their website for more deets.

Things to do in Toronto for Robbie Burns Day, eat some Scotch eggs and drink some whisky

Leave a reply

Celebrate Robbie Burns’ birthday on January 25

It will be Robbie Burns birthday on January 25 and if you want to celebrate it, there’s a few fun things lined up in Toronto.

Here’s the top 10 events courtesy of blogTO and Toronto Life is mentioning the Scotch Egg Club: “a pop-up speakeasy highlighting a unique (and delicious) marriage — Scotch eggs and Dewar’s Whisky.”

Hoots mon, we canna decide!

Take the best of 2016 and look forward to 2017

Leave a reply

Already out of date

This was going to be a post lamenting how bad 2016 was and how we can’t wait to see the back of it. And in many ways it was.

Too many notable people dying, lots of very talented Brits included. But also good people that we may have personally known. Here at Brits in Toronto we lost some close family this year.

A disaster of a US election filled with scandal, hate, bigotry and issues that will be remembered for a long time.

Wars and terrorist attacks. Natural disasters. Plane crashes.

And don’t even get us started on Brexit.

What a year 2016 was.

But, then we thought about the good things too. Not the good things that you read in the media — because, let’s face it, it’s scant — but the good things that happen in everyday life.

Maybe you got a new job? Got married? Bought a home? Made some great memories with family and friends? Went on a nice trip? Feel healthy and in good shape?

We’re so often inundated with the bad news that we overlook the good stuff and that’s what we should take from 2016. Let’s all hope that 2017 will bring more happiness, good fortune and joy into the world.

And if we don’t check in before Saturday night, wishing you all a happy and healthy new year.

James and I go to London

2 Replies

The “constructive boardroom meeting” stock photo actor auditions were very competitive this year

(London, England that is, not London, Ontario. Well played.)

Nigel Nelson is a regular contributor to Brits in Toronto, and is a member of the non-profit Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners (CABP), and a Director of the (also) non-profit International Consortium of British Pensioners (ICBP).

Here’s his latest thoughts on Brexit and pensions in Canada. All views are the CABP’s and Brits in Toronto does not endorse them and is not held liable in any way. As always, do your due diligence.

In my previous article, I introduced you to my friend James (real person, name changed). James is an octogenarian who emigrated from the UK many years ago, and retired in Ontario in 1998. He is what is known as a “frozen” pensioner.

Now, I know he lives in a cold part of Canada, but that is not why he is “frozen”! No, James is one of 144,000 UK pensioners living in Canada who do not receive an annual increase to their UK state pension — whereas pensioners living in the UK, the European Union, and several disparate countries around the world do receive the annual increase.

This is known as the UK “frozen pension” policy. He still cannot understand why, if you live south of the Niagara Falls (in the US) then you get the annual increase, but if you live 500 yards north of the Falls (in Canada) then you don’t.

When I showed him the “Pension Erosion” chart (see below), then he marked on it (in blue) the year in which he retired, and then realized that he had received £25,000 less than his peers in the UK … even though he has made the same National Insurance Contributions as them, and had earned a “full” UK State Pension.

James marked the blue bit

So, James packed his bags, said goodbye to his wife and set off for the UK — and I said goodbye to my wife and went with him. Somebody had to carry his bags!

“G-4?” “Hey! You sunk my battleship!”

In the space of eight days, we spoke with 24 Parliamentarians (Members of Parliament and Peers), the UK media, and several other pension organisations. We showed everybody the Pension Erosion chart, and there came a new realization of just how badly UK pensioners living abroad in countries like Australia and Canada are being treated by the UK government.

For example, for those UK pensioners living in Canada who are 85 or over, the accumulated “Pension Erosion” amounts to £669 million. For those UK pensioners living beneath the poverty line, the Canadian government subsidizes them, which comes out of Canadian taxpayers’ pockets, rather than the UK government’s. How can that be right, or fair?

What we learned from our trip to London is that the main issue challenging UK Members of Parliament is Brexit.

Nobody knows what is going to happen with respect to the 488,700 UK pensioners living in the European Union (EU). The table below shows the number of UK pensioners living in each country within the EU.

That’s a lot of UK pensioners scattered across the EU

It is not clear whether these pensioners will continue to receive the annual increase to their UK State Pension once the Brexit negotiations have been completed, since the UK government only increases UK State Pensions annually where, “they are legally obliged to.”

Post-Brexit, if the UK is neither part of the EU or the European Economic Area (EEA), then the UK government is no longer legally obliged to annually increase the UK State Pension for UK pensioners living in the EU.

The Telegraph reported in May 2016 that over a 20-year-period, UK pensioners living in the EU would be, “£50,000 poorer.”

Many of the UK pensioners living in the EU fear that they will be a “pawn” in the Brexit negotiations, and their annual UK State Pension increases will be a “bargaining chip.” If this is the case — and their UK State Pension is no longer increased each year — then, for many of them, they will have no option but to sell up and return home to the UK.

If all UK pensioners living in the EU were to return home to the UK, then the additional cost to the NHS has been estimated to be £2 billion per year.

In talking to one MP, we found out that the rural areas may offer the cheapest housing but these houses are in remote locations, far away from medical facilities. NHS hospitals, which are already stretched, will become even more so due to inadequate staffing levels.

Every day seems to bring yet another story of how the UK NHS system is one step closer to breaking point. Pensioners tend to be the greatest users of medical resources, so, if they were to return (from the EU) in significant numbers, they would stretch the NHS to beyond breaking point.

James and I came back from London with new vigour to try and help the UK pensioners living in the EU, by setting up a new petition. We wanted to let Brits in Toronto readers know that the International Consortium of British Pensioners have developed their own petition.

This petition is designed mostly for the nearly half a million UK pensioners living in the EU — but also applies to the 144,000 UK pensioners living in Canada who already have their UK state pension “frozen” — who may lose the annual indexation to their UK State Pension as part of the Brexit negotiations.

We also ask your readers to review the House of Commons Petition. British citizens and UK residents can sign this petition, so please sign this if you can, and ask your family and friends in the UK to sign this petition as well. There are currently just over 4,000 signatures. At 10,000 signatures, the UK government will respond, and if there are 100,000 signatures, then the UK government will debate the petition. Please sign this petition before it expires on 25th January 2017.

We would also like to encourage readers to join in the battle and become members of the Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners.

We would also like to wish all Brits in Toronto readers a wonderful holiday season and a healthy and prosperous 2017.

Nigel can be reached via e-mail at nigel AT britishpensions DOT COM.

Successful Brits in Toronto: Josh Bill

1 Reply

“Alright mate, I’m Josh and we can teach you to knock a ball about, not for a larf, mind you, but to earn some good wedge doing it for real, like, maybe in the Prem or MLS, who knows mate?”

Josh Bill is a special Successful Brit in Toronto on two counts:

He has two first names and we’ve never had that before, and;
He will have the honour of holding this coveted spot as the last interview of 2016.

If he looks familiar it’s because we recently featured a job posting from his football academy looking to hire a full-time coach. Great opportunity.

A man of few words, we caught up with Josh to get his tweet-friendly answers to the following questions …

What made you decide to choose Toronto as a city of choice? Did you plan a permanent move, or wanted to “try it for a while and see how it goes” and it turned out to be longer than planned?

When I first moved to Toronto I was only 19-years-old; after my dreams of being a football player came to a halt in the UK I wanted to become a football coach. My passion was always to set up my own academy and I knew this could be possible in Canada.

What steps did you take to land your first Toronto job? Did the infamous “Canadian experience” hinder you in any way?

I was scouted by a Canadian company in the UK, they offered me the job and I couldn’t turn the opportunity down.

What’s the best/worst aspects of living in Toronto?

Leaving family behind was the worse experience. That’s always hard to do. But to pursue your dreams I felt I had to take the plunge.

Do you make an effort to connect with other Brits in the city, or just meet them when chance allows it? Any recommended pubs/eateries/other places for homesick Brits to meet each other and network?

Most of my friends/employees are English and we have met other English people from playing football over here in Toronto or bumping into them in the pubs.

Me and my girlfriend always go to a British store based in downtown Oakville to buy home comfort foods such as Walkers Crisps, Branston Pickle etc!

Open question/comment: feel free to write anything here/advice/tips on a Brit living in, or moving to, Toronto.

It’s the best thing I have done moving to this country — the Canadian people are so friendly and helpful to make you feel comfortable living in their country.

Also it’s given me a great opportunity to run a successful business and employ my fellow Englishmen giving them the same opportunity that I had.

Thanks Josh! If you want to give him a shout, here’s his Twitter account.

ADP Soccer Academy are hiring for a full-time coach. Know anyone?

1 Reply

Think you can teach people how to knock these in the back of the net? Might be a full-time job in it for you

Now, this is a superb opportunity for someone who likes football and thinks they can teach others to play the beautiful game. Paid too. Yes. A full-time job kicking a football around.

Josh Bill, Director and Founder of ADP Soccer Academy in Oakville and Mississauga contacted Brits in Toronto. Here’s what he said:

“I moved to Toronto three-four years ago and have recently set up my own soccer academy business in Oakville and Mississauga. We have six full-time staff who I have flown over from the UK and employed, myself being from Stoke-on-Trent and some others spread around the UK.

“We also have former Stoke City Premier League player Andy Wilkinson working for us.

“We are looking for a full-time member of staff to coach in our academy. They must have coaching qualifications. Can you help?”

Job done, Josh.

The official title is Soccer Head Coach and the salary range is $30,000-$35,000.

If you or anyone out there in Internet land are interested in the position, please e-mail Josh at josh AT adpsoccer DOT COM or dog and bone him at 905-276-0676.

Please mention Brits in Toronto if you do … and good luck!

Let’s all help fellow Brit Kathy find a job!

1 Reply

The recruiter wants to become the recruited

Kathy got in touch with us back in October with the exciting news that her husband had been offered a new job in Toronto, so, with the alternative being divorce or separation, decided to come with him.

She came for a few days shortly after for a mini-trip, but has now moved to Toronto and is — as we all have at some point — started the job hunt. We offered to give her a hand, hence today’s blog post.

Here’s her overview: “A highly organised, personable and motivated team player, I have experience in both internal recruitment and recruitment consultancy across a variety of sectors. Am passionate about supporting young people into work and, until the beginning of this month, I was running a youth recruitment social enterprise that placed young people (18-25) into jobs across London, UK.

“Now looking for recruitment-related roles, ideally in the corporate, social enterprise or not-for-profit sector. Very open to opportunities and would love to hear from anyone regarding vacancies and/or advice. Many thanks in advance.”

She also added: “Thank you so very much for your help. If I can return the favour at all (am currently in possession of a large box of Yorkshire Tea which I would be very happy to share with you!) please let me know.”

Bribes always work with us, so that helped a lot.

If you — or someone you know — can connect Kathy with a good opportunity, please e-mail her at kathyandrea01 AT gmail DOT COM, send a tweet or via her LinkedIn profile.

Free webinar about improvements to the Express Entry immigration system

2 Replies

Just click and you’re in

Bit tired of the UK and feel like you need a change of scenery? How aboot Canada?!

On November 19, 2016, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada introduced several improvements to the Express Entry immigration system.

In the wake of these changes, Attorney David Cohen is holding an exclusive FREE webinar (November 29-30) on the topic of the revised system, and how potential immigrants to Canada can take advantage of the improvements that have been made.

Might be worth a butcher’s, right?

Here’s all the deets.

Just moved to Toronto? You can still play the UK National Lottery from Canada

Leave a reply

You only have to guess six numbers from 49, easy peasy lemon squeezy

We were pitched a guest article by The Lotter Canada abut the main lotteries you can play in Toronto, plus how to play the UK National Lottery from Canada if you still miss it.

Thought it would provide some useful info for Brits arriving laden down with pounds in their pockets but still want to try and win millions, then appear on the news and say: “Yeah, but this won’t change my life much. Might get a new jumper and possibly a trip to Burlington. But that’s about it.”

Here we go …

Have you ever dreamed of winning the lottery and getting a fresh start to a life? Of course, you have. In fact, each and every one of us has thought at least once about it would feel to become a millionaire overnight. While dreaming about it may be entertaining, the only way to turn it into reality is to actually play. Remember you only need one lucky ticket to change your life forever, so take a chance and play the lottery because you might be in for a major surprise one day.

If you live in Toronto, then you should know that there are some amazing lotteries that you can play here. Moreover, you can easily enter the biggest lotteries from back home in the UK.

In this article, we will tell you all about the major jackpots you can play in Canada so that you can get an idea of the impressive amount of options you have.

1. Lotto 6/49
Lotto 6/49 is currently the main lottery game in Canada. It was also the first lottery game to allow players to actively choose their own numbers. Moreover, it has the highest jackpot in Canadian lottery with an immense $63.4 million prize won in 2013. With tickets at only $3 each and record-breaking prizes in the game, this is one lottery definitely worth playing. Tickets can be purchased from authorized retailers located in Canada.

How To Play
– Choose six main numbers from 1-49.
– For each ticket, players are also assigned an automatic Guaranteed Prize Draw combination, which consists of a unique 10-digit number.
Prizes
For each $3 ticket, players can participate in the run for the main jackpot and secondary prizes, as well as the $1 million Guaranteed Prize Draw. The main jackpot starts at $5 million and then it gets higher and higher with each draw. The main jackpot is awarded to players who have the full set of the six main numbers and it amounts to 79.5 % of the pools fund.

2. Lotto Max
Introduced back in 2009, Lotto Max is one of the three major Canadian lotteries you can participate in. With a record jackpot of $60 million and a record prize pool of $100 million, it is the second-largest lotto prize you can win in Canada. Lotto Max tickets are $5 each and for each set of numbers that the players choose, the lottery terminal will also generate two additional combinations of numbers. Tickets can be purchased from authorized lotto terminals all around Canada.

How To Play
– Choose seven main numbers from 1-49.
Prizes
The Lotto Max jackpot cap was initially set at $50 million, but as of last year, it was increased to a whopping $60 million. As an additional bonus, when the main jackpot exceeds $50 million, players are automatically entered in the MAXMILLIONS competition. Depending on the amount over $50 million, each draw comes with one or several MAXIMILLIONS $1 million prizes.

For each MAXIMILLIONS prize, seven numbers are drawn separately and players must guess the full set of seven numbers to win the $1 million prize. This means that each $5 ticket offers players the chance to win the main jackpot, as well as one of the MAXIMILLIONS prizes.

3. Daily Grand
The Daily Grand comes with a brand-new lottery concept for Canadians. While the vast majority of world lotteries offer massive jackpots, the Daily Grand offers winners the chance to get $1,000 each and every day of their lives. What would you do with $1,000 a day, every day? To find out, you have to get a $3 Daily Grand ticket and maybe your days will come with a fixed income for the rest of your life. As for the other Canadian lotteries, tickets can be purchased from authorized retailers.

How To Play
– Choose five main numbers from 1-49.
– Choose one GRAND NUMBER from 1-7.
Prizes
The $1,000 per day for life is the grand prize of this lottery and it goes to players who guess all five of the main numbers and the grand number. The second prize is $250,000 per year for life and it goes to players who have the five main numbers. As an alternative to the lifetime prizes, winning ticket holders may also choose the cash option, which entitles them to a unique payment of $7 million for the top prize and of $500,000 for the second prize.

4. Play UK lotteries from Canada
If you had a habit of playing the lottery back in the UK, moving to Canada is no reason to break it. You can still enter your favourite English lotteries from Canada by playing online.

All you have to do is go to theLotter.ca and you can play UK EuroMillions, UK Lotto, UK Thunderball, as well as many other lotteries from all over the world. Because the ticket is purchased on your behalf from an authorized local retailer, you are eligible for any UK-based lotteries and you can even choose your own numbers. Here are the main UK lotteries you can play online:

UK EuroMillions
With record breaking jackpots of up to €190 million, the UK EuroMillions is one of the biggest lotteries in the entire world. It is a multinational lottery open to players from Austria, Belgium, France, Ireland, Andorra, Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Monaco and the UK. By playing online, you can be eligible for the game even if you currently reside in Canada.

UK Lotto
Thanks to online lottery platforms, you can also participate in the UK National Lottery that also offers huge jackpots. With a record of £66 million, you should definitely consider including the UK Lotto on your list because it is an excellent opportunity to become a multimillionaire.

UK Thunderball
This UK lottery is also worth taking into consideration because it offers some of the best odds of winning. In fact, one in every 29 players typically wins the 9th prize, which is truly stunning. The main jackpot is fixed at £500,000, which is far less than other lotteries offer, but still an impressive amount of money.

So, have you decided which lottery to play? Whichever one you choose, keep in mind that one winning ticket will change your life forever. Remember that by playing the lottery online, you can enter the run for British jackpots even from Toronto.

Lots of good luck!

Immigration rules tweaked to make it easier for Americans. Er, hello? What about Brits too?

Leave a reply

Hey Canada, Brits can be your BFF too

So, let’s just get it of the way. Since we last posted, Donald Trump will become President of the United States and it’s horrible.

So horrible that the Canadian immigration website crashed, probably due to Americans desperately looking to move north. Not probably … 50% of IP addresses logged were Americans.

Fine. It’s a free country, check to see if you want.

But then this story from The Walrus caught our beady eye:

“Two days after Donald Trump was elected forty-fifth president of the United States, the Canadian government quietly tweaked our immigration system to make it easier for many Americans to move to Canada.

“The changes first surfaced in the Canada Gazette — the dull digital publication of record for the federal government — on Thursday afternoon. The notice was sandwiched between a list of meritorious service decorations awarded by the Governor General and changes to chemical classifications in the Environmental Protection Act. There was no press release, no backgrounder, no ministerial statement. The new rules, according to the notice, would take effect Saturday, November 19.

“Those rules mean that thousands of Americans currently working in Canada — and thousands more who want to move here — may be able to stay forever and eventually become citizens.”

Er, hello? What about the Brits that might want to come because of Brexit? We didn’t see a quick change in the immigration system to make it easier for them too.

If we’re missing something obvs then please correct us. Cheers!

Discuss.

p.s. “Canada’s immigration system is sometimes described as a labyrinth. That’s generous. Navigating the regulations can feel more like stumbling through dark caves without a flashlight while juggling kittens. Getting permission to come into the country to work or study temporarily is one thing. Getting the right to stay is another. There are dozens of different programs that lead to coveted permanent residence status; many of them rely on a complicated point system.”

Successful Brits in Toronto: Alysa Kim

Leave a reply

“Hello fellow Brit just arriving in Toronto! Need a house in a decent hood? No probs. $1.2 million please!”

A recent study discovered that there are more Successful Brits popping up in Toronto than condos being built, an average increase 27% year on year.

That statistic is absolutely astounding, totally made up by us but a convenient segue for today’s profile: a realtor (North America) or estate agent (Rest of the World).

Apart from discovering Toronto and dealing in real estate, Alysa Kim also likes to blog about great tea finds. So that’s a bonus!

Here’s her thoughts on Toronto … and also a nice “Best of” list further down the page.

What made you decide to choose Toronto as a city of choice? Did you plan a permanent move, or wanted to “try it for a while and see how it goes” and it turned out to be longer than planned?

My family moved to Toronto for work. My dad was a psychologist at the Hospital for Sick Children and my mum was an art director at Maclean Hunter.

I had a VERY British upbringing. There are so many British Torontonians that there are many things you can find that make it feel like home.

I grew up on toast soldiers with boiled eggs in Bunnykins bowls, and watching All Creatures Great and Small, Doctor Who and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy over fish and chips for tea with my dad. I learned the rules of cricket and how to bake a proper scone.

I feel like Britain is my second home and am looking forward to taking my children next year to introduce them to where their grandparents came from.

What’s the best/worst aspects of living in Toronto?

The best aspects of Toronto are the friendly people and the multiculturalism. My husband is also a first generation Canadian (Korean) and no one has ever asked our three children, “What are you, anyway?” The idea of discrimination is completely foreign to them. That is a beautiful thing.

The worst aspect of Toronto is definitely the cold. The rest of Canada think Torontonians are babies for whinging about the cold when they get -50˚C with the wind chill — Manitoba, and yes that is as cold as Mars — and 222 cm high snow drifts (Charlottetown).

We are definitely not the toughest Canadians but I reserve my right to complain when I clean all the snow from my car only to discover that I just cleaned my neighbour’s SUV because it was so deep in snow and ice I couldn’t tell whose it was.

Also, very few others share my joy and sorrow over Great British Bake Off but that is what Twitter is for.

I live in Lawrence Park where a lot of Brits seem to settle so I’ve made some lovely friends that way. I also work with the University of Toronto and their relocation services for professors moving to Canada and I’ve met some wonderful families that I just love there too.

The city is so big and has so many wonderful pockets to choose from so it is impossible to pick the best anything … but I’ll do places I love in my neck of the woods or that I’ve stumbled upon and can’t do without.

Best pub: The Caledonian (856 College St.)
Scottish, perfect for Robbie Burns night.

Best afternoon tea: The Old Mill (21 Old Mill Road) I grew up in High Park and we’ve been going here for special treats as long as I can remember. Lovely hotel too.

Best fish and chips: Olde York (96 Laird Dr.)
Go for a late lunch to avoid the lines.

Best curry: Banjara (164 Eglinton Ave. East)
The best veggie curry!

Best British product shop: Uncle John’s Candy Shack (635 Mount Pleasant Rd.)
For Jaffa Cakes and those missing Marks and Sparks.

Open question/comment: feel free to write anything here/advice/tips on a Brit living in, or moving to, Toronto.

As a realtor, I’d say there are so many great neighbourhoods in Toronto (the city recognizes 140) and the market moves so fast, perhaps consider renting for your first year to get to know the city and where you want to be, before you buy.

Thanks Alysa! For anyone wishing to sell their gaff or purchase a place in their favourite manor, here’s her website.

Successful Brits in Toronto: Alexander Nathan

3 Replies

This bloke used to make macarons in primary school. Could have made a fortune in Toronto!

The chap above may look a tad familiar. (No, he’s not the ruthless sleeper in Paris you call when Jason Bourne is in town.)

Cast your minds all the way back, if you will, to October 13, 2016. We featured a profile of Under The Cosh, a football blog and podcast.

Alexander Nathan is one-fourth of the brains behind that venture — and he’s a Brit to boot — so we wanted to delve deeper and find out his thoughts on Toronto.

And he also does some good work with a sporting not-for-profit, so grab a nice cup of tea and enjoy …

What made you decide to choose Toronto as a city of choice? Did you plan a permanent move, or wanted to “try it for a while and see how it goes” and it turned out to be longer than planned?

I was actually born in Toronto, and my mum is from here. My dad is English and we moved to London when I was a baby, but we’d come back to Toronto for family holidays and to visit my grandparents. It was always in the summer, of course, but I loved it and felt that I might return at some point.

When I was 18 and it came time to apply for universities I applied for five or six in the UK and one here, the University of Toronto (UofT). Once I was accepted here I made up my mind pretty quickly. It felt time for a change.

I didn’t plan a permanent move, but I also quickly took to Toronto and after a couple of years the thought of moving back to the UK didn’t seem as attractive. Especially once Cameron and his lot got into power.

But during my fourth year in university I also met my partner, who is Canadian. If there were any doubts, meeting her put an end to them — and having dual citizenship made staying here very easy.

What steps did you take to land your first Toronto job? Did the infamous “Canadian experience” hinder you in any way?

I now work at UofT, but the very first job I had in Toronto was at a bricks and mortar audiobook store. Obviously they don’t exist any more because, you know, the Internet … but I had a little bookstore experience, the interview was pleasant and informal and I got the gig.

They promptly asked me to try and sell their small collection of BBC audiobooks, thinking that people would buy them if they were recommended in a British accent. It didn’t work, often. Their customers were very set in their ways!

What’s the best/worst aspects of living in Toronto?

It’s a cliche response I know, but Toronto’s diversity is fantastic. It’s not as if London isn’t also extremely diverse, but it feels different here.

To me London always felt on edge, as if multiculturalism was fine as long as everything was going well. As soon as problems arise, fingers start being pointed. The same is true in many places, I’m sure, but in Toronto tolerance and multiculturalism feel innate and are points of pride rather than simply tolerated.

I run a football website and podcast with three mates who are Nigerian, Egyptian and Indian Canadians. There aren’t many places in the world where the four of us would have come together, but this is one of them.

I also love how manageable the city is in terms of getting around. It doesn’t take long to get anywhere, despite people’s complaints about the TTC who I think do a largely excellent job despite being ridiculously underfunded.

The worst: Snow is rubbish, as is city governance of late. One less serious thing that annoys me is that Toronto is a bugger for a culinary fad, no questions asked, especially if it’s “artisanal.”

For example, recently macarons got really popular for some reason and a number of places started selling them in a variety of colours and flavours at silly prices, and people got really excited. Bit bizarre. I just thought, “Mate, we used to make these in primary school.”

I don’t, really. I’m always happy to meet other Brits and it tends to happen mostly when I go to a pub to watch football.

Actually, I’m doing some work with a not-for-profit called NUTMEG. We provide free football coaching for 6-12 year-olds, but one of the founders is British and a Norwich fan. The first top flight game I ever went to was Norwich vs. Spurs at Carrow Road so it was fun to chat about that.

In terms of a recommendation, I’d say follow Davy Love. He’s the chef who owned The Bristol for years and recently made a short-lived attempt at an English pub on College Street called The Old Laurel. It was brilliant in there — dark, great food, sold Twiglets, showed football — but maybe the location wasn’t perfect for it.

I haven’t been yet but Davy is now the chef at a place called Janie Jones, so I’m looking forward to trying it out.

Open question/comment: feel free to write anything here/advice/tips on a Brit living in, or moving to, Toronto.

I would suggest listening to a fair bit of BBC radio to keep your accent in shape, leave your weekend mornings free for watching football, and switch your English driver’s licence for an Ontario one soon after moving here.

I’ve quite literally never used mine, but it’s good to have especially as most places don’t accept a health card as ID.

Other than that, I suppose try to wean yourself off Marmite because that looks like it’s about to become even more problematic to get hold of.

Totally biased product review by me — Chef Bombay Beef Vindaloo

1 Reply

Didn’t really live up to our expectations, this one

Really silly busy day running around in the warm sun (luv it!) and picking out our pubs for the Champions League and Blue Jays. Didn’t have time to cook up a proper lunch, so decided to give Chef Bombay Beef Vindaloo that we picked up in Loblaws a try.

Yuugggeee mistake! The photo above is what we discovered upon opening the box. NOT what it looks like in the photograph on the front, trust us. It was a really tiny portion too.

But taste is king, so we threw it in the microwave and Googled Jose Mourinho looking glum just to pass a few minutes while we waited.

We thought the rice was a bit stuck together and the meat was a little congealed.

It was quite spicy though, but that wasn’t enough to elevate this particular curry past a Brits in Toronto 1/5 stars.

Successful Brits in Toronto: Jordan Thelen

Leave a reply

Next time you see this man, whisper: “Pssst, are you a Trickie?” and get access to a very exclusive group in Toronto

“I wouldn’t say I was the best manager in the business. But I was in the top one.” Ahhh, you gotta love the late Brian Clough, one of the best football managers to grace the beautiful game.

So Brits in Toronto was pleasantly surprised to learn that there’s a small but burgeoning Nottingham Forest fan base in Toronto. They call themselves “Trickies” and Jordan Thelen is one of those. (Not to be confused with “Trekkies” who hang out at science fiction conventions and such.)

Luckily for us, Jordan is also a Brit, so thus, by deduction, is eligible to be featured as today’s Successful Brit in Toronto.

He also has a sporting request at the end, so scroll down for the action if you have no patience.*

What made you decide to choose Toronto as a city of choice? Did you plan a permanent move, or wanted to “try it for a while and see how it goes” and it turned out to be longer than planned?

I was pretty lucky moving to Toronto really. My company has recently launched a new offering in Toronto similar to what I was working on in the UK, a program has been created to send people over on secondments to help build the practice so I managed to get selected to come over for that!

I initially visited at the end of February “for just three months” before going to the Euro 2016 Football Championships in June … but enjoyed my time so much here that I have now transferred as of July until the end of next year before I decide whether to permanently move here or go back to London.

What steps did you take to land your first Toronto job? Did the infamous “Canadian experience” hinder you in any way?

Luckily, the “Canadian experience” didn’t hamper me as I simply transferred from the UK firm so I was pretty lucky having a mobility team support the whole visa process etc. and carry on where I left off (despite an interesting encounter at the immigration desk at Pearson).

I simply had a couple of calls with the management in Toronto, then some discussions during my three months, before singing my new Canadian contract.

What’s the best/worst aspects of living in Toronto?

Best:
– How friendly the people are in general around the city
– The diversity of cultures from Chinatown, Little Italy to the Financial District
– The city is as busy as London with less than a third of the population
– Rooftop bars and patios with #viewsfromthe6
– How far the British accent takes you and how my British accent has improved since moving
– Timbits (particularly Salted Caramel)
– Pubs and bars aren’t as crowded as those in the UK
– The support of the same sports team by all in the city whether it be Leafs, Jays, TFC or Raptors
– Watching football all morning in bed at the weekends and still having the afternoons for other activities
– Summer!

Worst:
– Groceries are so expensive
– Phone bills, Internet etc. are really expensive
– Driving through the city on the wrong/opposite side of the road
– Streetcars and lack of coverage of the subway
– Adding tips and tax to basically any price you see
– I’m told that winter isn’t a highlight of the year
– Getting lost on the Path
– The lack of a Sunday Roast (any recommendations, please let me know!)

My work team is around 50 per cent British so naturally had some British friends as a result. But as a Nottingham Forest fan, I reached out to a few fellow reds on Twitter which has resulted in having a group of us that meet up to watch games, grab a drink etc., which is awesome. If there are any more Trickies fans in Toronto, please reach out!

I hear that the British meetup group/forum is really good. They hold quarterly quizzes so definitely looking forward to going to the next one for the first time.

I would say that everyone is really friendly here so there really isn’t a need to seek shelter with fellow Brits; some of my best friends have turned out to be Canadian, including my new flatmate!

Open question/comment: feel free to write anything here/advice/tips on a Brit living in, or moving to, Toronto.

*If anyone is looking for an extra player on their 5/6-a-side football teams, please let me know!

For anyone who wants to contact Jordan, here are his Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts.

Behind the scenes of … a football blog and podcast

2 Replies

Left to right: Rishay, Alexander, Mohaned and Bernie ponder over some top-notch banter in the Coshcast

Back in March 2015 we started a series of articles themed, “Behind the scenes of …” with the aim of finding out what goes into particularly British things. We profiled a fish and chip shop and then never did another one for some reason. Until today!

We found these lads and really liked the cut of their jib. They are passionate about the beautiful game and created a brilliant football blog called Under The Cosh and weekly podcast called the Coshcast to back up their knowledge and opinion. It’s very funny.

There’s a Brit in the group — Alexander — so we sent an e-mail and probed him harder than Sergio Aguero in a West Ham defence. Here’s what he told us about running a football blog and podcast …

Firstly, why the name Under The Cosh?

There are so many football websites that we wanted something unique. We also wanted something British because it was the British game that we all grew up watching.

“Under the cosh” is a phrase used only by British commentators. Admittedly, not many people here know what a cosh is, but they tend to love the phrase once explained to them.

If I recall correctly, a couple of other candidates were “Into Row Z” and “Two Banks of Four,” but given we do a podcast, the “Coshcast” just seemed too perfect.

Please introduce yourselves, where you are from and how you got together? Any Brits in the team?

There are four of us: Mohaned (Egyptian), Rishay (Indian), Alexander (British) and Bernie (Nigerian).

All of us are Canadian citizens but also Anglophiles at heart due to our long-held love and interest in English football as well as growing up in British colonies (all is forgiven). Only Alexander is a true home-grown Brit though, growing up as he did in North London.

We all moved to Toronto in 2006/2007 for school and attended the University of Toronto. That’s where the group was formed, though we didn’t start the website and podcast until 2013 after we’d all graduated. The four of us now work in different industries but football runs our lives.

We actually bonded over the shared experience of dragging a laptop over a sleeping significant other at 7:00 a.m. Canadian time in order to watch a noon kickoff in the UK. Pretty sure that’s a standard British expat experience now.

How much time a week do you put into creating content for the blog?

The podcast is the one constant recurring chunk of time on a weekly basis. With the preparation for it, the travelling to get together, recording, editing and uploading … I’d say we spend about seven hours a week on that.

After that there are the articles that we publish — whether original or submitted by guest writers — and writing or preparing that content for publication is probably another four or five hours a week. Of course, there’s also being on Twitter all the time …

How do you decide what you’re going to chat about on that week’s Coshcast?

We have categories that we almost always cover; the English Premier League takes up half the podcast, with the other half split between news from the other major European leagues, a Toronto FC update when MLS is in season and two lighthearted segments: the football quiz which is named after a new player every week (Quiztophe Dugarry, Santi Quizorla etc.) and Mumu of the Week.

“Mumu” is a Nigerian pigeon slang word that Bernie taught us, meaning “fool,” “idiot” etc. So for Mumu of the Week we find the funniest or most ridiculous off-pitch stories from the world of football and have some fun taking the piss.

Last week for example we had a right laugh at Ryan Giggs for claiming that Swansea couldn’t match his ambitions, and a Norwegian manager who wants to use sperm from Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo to produce a world-beating team in 20 years. You can’t make this stuff up, Clive.

In May, I believe, we plan on awarding the season’s biggest mumu the Bellend D’or.

Preparation goes on throughout the week, though. We have a Google document that acts as the agenda and we fill it up as the results and stories roll in.

Obviously Brits love football, but what kind of reaction do you get from your Canadian audience to the beautiful game?

The local appetite for football coverage is definitely growing and we know that a good portion of our reader and listenership is Canadian, which is great … but of course there is still a huge difference between here and the UK.

In Toronto I am still surprised and delighted if I overhear a conversation about football, whereas back in England it’s just innate and constant. What we’re trying to do is provide the level of depth, passion and humour with which the game is talked about in the UK to the Canadian “market.”

I think there’s some quiet dissatisfaction with the mainstream coverage of the sport here. The level of debate, analysis and even personality or humour that you get on Canadian TV leaves a lot to be desired. Craig Forrest seems like a lovely bloke but, let’s be honest, it’s the West Brom of punditry.

That said I suppose we can always be grateful that Sportsnet haven’t hired Robbie Savage or Michael Owen yet.

The Canadian football-supporting scene is a fascinating one. Given Canada’s urban diversity, a lot of people move or grow up here already supporting teams from elsewhere.

For example, the Canadian-Italian community has a great presence online that is very strong on its support both for Toronto FC and for various Seria A clubs, or if you go to a Toronto Arsenal Supporters Club event you’ll find a group of passionate young people with truly global backgrounds.

I think our content probably speaks most to this urban population who grew up with the Premier League or European football but are also pleased to have a local team to support.

Equally there is a base of Canadian national team(s) supporters who have fought hard for a long time to promote and popularize football in this country, and support for Toronto FC has been first class from the club’s first day with the stadium packed full of people desperate for local football.

We would dearly like to produce more content aimed at Toronto FC and Canadian national team fans but it’s a question of hours in the day. Our first love is British/European football and we’re always likely to have more fun discussing the expansion of Steve Bruce and Troy Deeney’s waistlines over the expansion of MLS, as sad as that might be.

The lads having a bit of a giggle on their football pilgrimage to Europe

Spill the beans on your upcoming Football Trivia Night. And do you organize any other social events for Brits or football lovers to hang out?

We’re really excited about this! For a couple of years we’ve thought that a football trivia night would be fantastic, so we’re looking to merge the traditional British pub quiz with Toronto’s massive appetite for trivia and our perceived encyclopedic knowledge of the beautiful game.

We’re working on questions that will make this a lot of fun but also a really good challenge for those that reckon they know their stuff. We’ll cover the Premiership, European leagues, World Cups, we’re planning visual rounds and “identify the commentary” sections. It should be a good laugh!

The first event is taking place upstairs at Betty’s (King and Sherbourne) on Wednesday, November 2 from 7:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m. It costs $10 to play, we’re aiming for eight teams of four and there is a substantial cash prize for the winners! Betty’s has a good beer selection and food too so I can’t think of many better options for a good evening.

You can sign up on the Facebook event or, if you don’t use Facebook, feel free to send us an e-mail at underthecoshblog AT gmail DOT COM.

We’re putting the night on in partnership with OpenSports which is a great, locally-designed app that allows you to create or find and join games of pick-up football (or many other sports) going on around Toronto.

Feel free to tell us anything about Under the Cosh or running a football blog that Brits in Toronto readers should know.

If you’re a Brit in Toronto and into football then we strongly believe this blog is for you. We cater to the Premier League as already mentioned, but are also supporters of the local side Toronto FC. The club couldn’t have grown in the way that it did without the support of British expats who set the tone for football fandom here.

We also aim to highlight football at a grassroots level and the main players in that area. We’ve interviewed former players like Paul Stalteri, Nolberto Solano, Danny Dichio, Kanu and Bruce Grobbelaar who are all invested in youth development in Ontario.

All in all, running a football website and podcast is the best thing we’ve ever done. It led us to travel to Europe on a football pilgrimage that we documented and we’ve met legends of the game. Well worth it.

All feedback is welcome and if there are football-related events you’d like to see happen in Toronto, get in touch and let’s talk about making them happen.

The British Isles Show is back and looks bloody brilliant!

Leave a reply

“Hi. I’m Ryan Thomas. You may have seen me in such soaps as Coronation Street. I’m heading to Toronto”

We’ve covered The British Isles Show for the last few years on Brits in Toronto — you can search for it in the “Find The Good Stuff!” box to the right of this page.

This year it’s taking place as part of the ZoomerShow from October 29-30, 2016 at the Enercare Centre on the Canadian National Exhibition grounds. Very easy to get to.

There’ll be the usual mix of British goods and performers, including Ryan Thomas who played Jason Grimshaw in Coronation Street. (We met Curly Watts at one of these in times past too.)

Over 200 exhibitors, five stages and 20 performers. Tickets are $12 at the door but you can save some wonga by buying in advance on the website.

It’s a good time, a chance to chinwag with other Brits and stock up on the Curly Wurlys. (We’re not sure of the plural because you’re probably going to buy more than one. So maybe it’s Curly Wurlies or Curly Wurli. We’ll check into that grammatical conundrum and update it here at some point.)

The Toronto Blue Jays moving on

Leave a reply

It’s just not cricket!

We don’t profess to know much about baseball, but we do know that we chose to live in the City of Toronto, and thus, by default, support the local teams.

One of those is the Toronto Blue Jays and they did bloody brilliant last night in a tight game that ultimately finished in a home run to take them to the next round against the Texas Rangers. (They don’t really get on, as the photo above shows.)

We were all here last year and the campaign really brought the city together, so looking forward to the same buzz this time around.

The first game in that series is TOMORROW in the afternoon, so book a *cough* “dentist” or “doctor” appointment now.

Let’s go Blue Jays!

Totally biased product review by me — Knorr Hot Curry Sauce Mix

2 Replies

Don’t feel you have to ladle on the sauce like in the photo, you can never do it that precisely anyway unless your ladle has the little pouring spout thing that usually comes in the more expensive ladles

The Brits in Toronto crew love to cook. OK, it’s easy to head to the nearest curry house for a Ruby Murray, but it’s also good to buy the ingredients ourselves, get a sauce and hope for the best.

So we jumped in the motor and headed to one of our favourite British shops A Bit of Home to see what they had. After picking up some Monster Munch and Heinz Chunky Classic Ploughman’s Pickle, we spied Knorr Hot Curry Sauce Mix.

After a bit of cheeky banter with the owner, we paid for the goods, gave a hearty “Cheerio mate!” and off we jolly well popped back to the office.

Emeril Lagasse once told us, “Bam! When you make packet curry sauce, I recommend using less water than stated on the packet thus making a slightly thicker sauce. Bam!”

We had to agree, so took Emeril’s advice and made the sauce a little thicker. Good move.

Threw in some peppers, onions, chicken, tomatoes, minced garlic and ginger … simmered for 20 minutes … and Bob’s your uncle, chicken curry for lunch.

(There were also “mild” and “medium” choices for this product, but we went all out for the “hot” option.)

Have to say it was pretty delish actually. The flavour was great, not burn-your-laughing-gear heat but a nice kick to it. On the tissue scale, we only had to use one to blow our runny nose, so not too bad.

All in all, pleasantly surprised and we give Knorr Hot Curry Sauce Mix a Brits in Toronto 4/5 stars.

Successful Brits in Toronto: Jaime Randle

Leave a reply

Read on to discover how this profile was nearly called Successful Brits in Montreal. So close …

As well as the “best pubs, curry, jobs and dental care,” we’re always on the lookout for Successful Brits in Toronto to highlight. It only took a Twitter chat of 14 words (count ’em) to snag Jaime Randle. That’s probably our record so far.

[Brian, get Paul to insert a second paragraph here before publishing this morning to beef up the word count a bit. And the printer needs some paper. Thanks mate.]

So let’s hear Jaime’s thoughts on his adopted city …

What made you decide to choose Toronto as a city of choice? Did you plan a permanent move, or wanted to “try it for a while and see how it goes” and it turned out to be longer than planned?

I moved to Toronto in 1999 after spending a few years in British Columbia. To be honest I was on my way to Montreal as I craved a European flavour/culture and had stopped-off in Toronto to stay with an English friend. I then decided to stay as the city made me feel most welcome.

What steps did you take to land your first Toronto job? Did the infamous “Canadian experience” hinder you in any way?

My first Toronto job was to start an animation studio. I had experience in production and had a deep love for art and animation.

After meeting a talented Canadian animator — and believing in my own abilities — it felt like the right time to start a company. Canada is a country of opportunities which has a clear affinity with the UK; I think that helped.

What’s the best/worst aspects of living in Toronto?

Toronto is the smallest “big city” you’ll ever go to … or at least that’s what I tell my friends in the UK. It has a population of a big city, but is unique in the feel of a smaller city. I think it’s the famous “neighbourhoods” that make the city so special.

The worst aspect has to be the transportation. It looks like Andy Byford is doing a great job in turning it around, but I’m amazed that the city hasn’t addressed the needs as the population has increased.

I am so busy with work and family that I regretfully admit I don’t make enough of an effort to meet other British people. It’s funny as every time I do meet other Brits, I always have a great time.

As far as places to meet up or get the British vibe, I’d say The Caledonian on College/Ossington is a great pub and Reliable Halibut & Chips in Leslieville is my go-to place for food.

Open question/comment: feel free to write anything here/advice/tips on a Brit living in, or moving to, Toronto.

I think the biggest thing that struck me when moving to Canada was that, though we speak the same language, we are very different. It sounds obvious in retrospect but I think I came here thinking it would be an easy transition.

Torontonians are very friendly people but there are differences that one takes for granted when growing up in England.

For British people thinking of moving to Toronto, they will find a friendly city with plenty to do — its multiculturalism is fantastic and is maybe Toronto’s best attribute.

The city has changed quite a bit since I moved to Toronto; I think there is a new generation of Torontonians that are sophisticated and are aligning the city as a global leader.

My biggest tip would to make sure you return back home at least once a year. You will miss England but, given time, you will fall for Toronto’s charm.

That’s great, Jaime, cheers. If anyone wants to connect, here’s his LinkedIn profile.

Let’s all help fellow Brit Iain find a job!

Leave a reply

Brits are pretty good at engineering too you know! Got any leads for Iain?

Iain got in touch with us for some help and advice from fellow Brits in Toronto in finding work in engineering. Here’s his story:

“I would like to reach out to any fellow Brits who might have advice for me in my, so far unsuccessful, search for work.

“I am an experienced civil/structural engineer and I’m finding it extremely difficult to make any progress with employers in the GTA. It appears that the engineering job market is currently very competitive so companies are not even considering newcomers.

“My recent career experience is in heavy industrial sectors (oil, energy etc.) but I have a background in general infrastructure work with engineering consultancies. I also began my career as a designer/technologist so would be prepared to revert back to this if required. Essentially, I’ll do anything if given the chance.

“Please contact me for my resume … and hopefully some of your readers might have some advice.”

So, engineering community in Toronto, if you can help Iain in any way, shape or form, his e-mail is iain DOT greenshields AT gmail DOT COM or check out his LinkedIn profile.

Good luck, Iain!

British and Canadian citizenship? You get a break on new passport rules … until November 10

Leave a reply

British and Canadian? You have a bit more time to get one of these now

Brits in Toronto recently mentioned that if you have dual British and Canadian citizenship, as of September 30, 2016, you will need a Canadian passport to be allowed to fly back into Canada. That seemed pretty tight and thankfully the higher-ups agreed.

Yesteday, Immigration Minister John McCallum announced the implementation date would be postponed until November 10, 2016.

As the Toronto Star reports:

“‘In consultation with airline partners, we’re taking further steps to minimize any travel disruption,’ said McCallum. ‘We’re extending the leniency period and doing another major information blitz in Canada and abroad to encourage affected travellers to plan ahead and get the necessary travel documents before they book a flight to Canada.'”

Full story here.

Totally biased product review by me — Loblaws Scotch egg

Leave a reply

Just a serving suggestion. No one would put tomato ketchup or Worcestershire Sauce on a Scotch egg, right?

We actually knew this fun fact about the origins of the Scotch egg — it was a question on University Challenge once — but just had to double-check it: “The London department store Fortnum & Mason claims to have invented Scotch eggs in 1738.”

For those who don’t know, a Scotch egg consists of a hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in bread crumbs and baked or deep-fried. Sounds delicious, right? We agree.

So we’ve been on a quest to find the best Scotch egg in Toronto. While wandering around Loblaws, we happened upon their Scotch egg in the prepared meals and deli section, nestled between the beet salad and kale and cashew mix. So we decided to give it a go.

First impressions — and a friend told us that size doesn’t matter — is the Loblaws Scotch egg is pretty small. We understand that the egg is the defining component, but feel there could have been a thicker layer of sausage meat wrapped around it.

Maybe we just remember the Scotch eggs when we were younger, enjoying them at sunny picnics with a glass of weak, warm Ribena … and they seemed much bigger back then.

The egg itself was OK but we would have liked more seasoning in the sausage meat. It was a tad bland. The bread crumbs didn’t do much for us either.

So, sorry Loblaws, but we are still on the hunt for the perfect Scotch egg and give yours a disappointing Brits in Toronto 2/5 stars.

Sir Ranulph Fiennes is coming to Toronto

Leave a reply

“Excuse me old chap, but did you spill my pint?”

Checked my CV the other day. Intermediate in Microsoft Excel, increased carpet fastener sales 25% year over year and able to multitask under pressure and to tight deadlines. Was pretty chuffed with myself.

But then I read Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ CV. Over US$23 million raised for charity. First to reach both Poles. First to cross the Antarctic Ocean and Arctic Ocean. First to circumnavigate the world along its polar axis. First hovercraft expedition up the longest river in the world. First unsupported crossing of the Antarctic continent. Climbed Mount Everest and The Eiger North Face. Completed Marathon des Sables aged 71. Awarded the OBE. Oh, and a former SAS soldier too.

I got my coat and called a taxi.

If that’s not a list of brilliant achievements then we don’t know what is. And guess what? He’s coming to Toronto on Tuesday, September 27, 2016 and you could be there to hear him talk.

“An Evening With Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE” is part of a series of inspirational speaker events linked to The Global Reach Challenge. Sponsored by TMF Group and KPMG, and with the aim of raising funds for Marie Curie UK, Sir Ranulph’s goal is to become the first person in the world to cross both polar ice caps and climb all of the highest mountains on each of the seven continents.

If that sounds like a great evening — and we think it does — you can find more details about the event or register to attend.

Absolutely smashing talent on show from the Brits at TIFF 2016

Leave a reply

TIFF includes 39 British films this year*

The Toronto International Film Festival starts today and runs until September 18. As usual, there’s tons of great British talent on show and we’re proud to represent.

We checked out the British Council’s website and they have a brilliant section dedicated to this year’s festival and the 39 British films on show. The Huffington Post Canada has some information too.

So keep an eye out around Toronto for the next 11 days and let us know if you spot any celeb Brits in town.

(*Not to be confused with the Thailand International Furniture Fair.)

Free online employment program for immigrants to Canada

Leave a reply

JVS Toronto offers a free online employment program

It’s very competitive to find jobs in Toronto, let alone for those Brits thinking of coming over to try their luck. Any little helps, basically.

CanPrep, offered by JVS Toronto, is a free specialized employment program designed for internationally trained individuals immigrating to Canada to help them quickly connect to a career. The program is offered online so individuals can start preparing for employment before arriving in Canada.

Tim Hortons heading to the UK. Sweet!

Leave a reply

This liquid addiction coffee will soon be in the UK

All our British friends and family back home just don’t know the utter joy of finding a toonie down the back of the Chesterfield, jumping on a streetcar to head into the nearest Timmy’s, checking that the white crayon time is new on the steaming pot of coffee and declaring that you want a Double Double and 10 Timbits.

Soon they will be able to as … Tim Hortons is heading to the UK. What a glorious time to be alive!

Not sure if they’ll do RRRoll Up The Rim too and other promos, but Brits love to enter competitions so we hope they will. (Tims, if you’re reading this free advertising promo blog post for your company, please offer flights to Toronto/Canada as a prize so the fam can come and visit, cheers!)

Full story here.

British and Canadian citizenship? You better get a Canadian passport PDQ

1 Reply

British and Canadian? You’ll need one of these to fly back into Canada from September 30

Pretty oldish news, but important. If you have dual British and Canadian citizenship, as of September 30, 2016, you will need a Canadian passport to be allowed to fly back into Canada.

So you have about a month to sort that out.

From Metro Toronto:

“‘What is changing is that the Government of Canada is implementing a new electronic system to assist airlines in verifying that all travellers have the appropriate documents to travel to or transit through Canada by air,’ Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada spokesperson Lindsay Wemp told Torstar News Service.

“‘Air carriers are obligated by law to confirm that all persons seeking to travel to Canada carry both proof of citizenship and proof of identity. A valid Canadian passport satisfies these requirements for Canadian citizens, and is the only acceptable travel document for the purpose of air travel.’

“Currently, Canadian citizens with dual citizenships can use the passport of the other country to enter Canada by air if they can provide proofs of residency in Canada, such as a driver’s licence and Canadian citizenship card.”

Full story here.

Ontario investing $3.35 million over two years to help internationally trained immigrants find jobs

Leave a reply

The Ontario flag flutters proudly in the Canadian breeze

This interesting item on the wires caught our roving eye today …

Snip:

“The province is investing $3.35 million over two years through the Ontario Bridge Training Program to help internationally trained professionals find jobs that match their skills and experience.

“The investment will support 11 new bridge training projects that will:

“- Improve access to career assistance services for internationally trained immigrants, for example career mentoring, employment events, language skills-training and a micro-loan program.
– Help employers recruit, hire and retain internationally trained immigrants, with networking events, an online recruiting service and employer workshops.
– Identify newcomers’ transferrable skills and alternate career pathways through, for example, mentoring events and the promotion of entrepreneurship.”

Here is the full article.

Ouch! How Brexit is hurting UK pensioners in Canada

15 Replies

File your pension somewhere safe, like in a paper folder with “Pensions” written on it or something

I was talking with my good friend James (real person, but name changed) the other day and he wasn’t very happy. But first let me tell you a little bit about James. He has spent his whole retirement living here in Ontario — he is 83 and first started drawing his UK State Pension in 1998.

At that time he was paid £64.60/week, which in those days meant he was getting about $150/week; this was when gas cost 52 cents/litre, and a loaf of bread cost just $1.30.

Today, because of the UK’s “frozen” pension policy, James is still getting £64.60/week, which immediately after the Brexit vote converted to $110/week ($40/week less than he was getting in 1998) — the British pound instantly fell 18% against the loonie. Meanwhile the cost of gas has gone up to 94 cents/litre ($1.15/litre in Western Canada), and a loaf of bread is now nearly $3. How can anybody be expected to live on 110 bucks a week?

James’ UK State Pension has fallen in real terms because the UK Government steadfastly refuses to annually uprate pensions for UK pensioners living in Commonwealth countries like Canada and Australia. The rate of inflation in Canada has increased and “frozen” pensioners continue to lose pace with the cost of living. How can that be right?

You can imagine what James said to me the other week when I told him that if he had retired to the southern side of Niagara Falls, in the USA, rather than the northern side in Ontario, or even if he had stayed in the UK, then he would have received about an extra $46,000 in pension money since he retired. What he said to me cannot be printed here!

James is not the only UK pensioner who is feeling the pinch. The CBC Vancouver radio station recently contacted the CABP as part of its research on the immediate effect of Brexit on UK pensioners living in Canada.

The UK State Pension is paid every four weeks and many pensioners cannot afford to pick and choose when they convert their sterling into Canadian dollars. They need the money as soon as possible because for some it is their only source of income. This means that they are hostages to fortune with regard to exchange rates — they have to take what is available on the day.

The graph below shows the fall in the £ against C$ over the last three months, especially the dramatic fall the day after the Brexit vote:

Source: tools.currenciesdirect.net/currency-chart

These rates are mid market rates at best; the rate received by pensioners is often a couple of cents less than shown in the graph above. This has hit UK pensioners living in Canada very hard and it’s also a similar story in Australia.

Brexit will have a significant impact on the “frozen” pensions issue. The UK is only legally obliged to pay the annual increase to pensioners who live in the European Economic Area (EEA), Gibraltar or Switzerland or countries that have a social security agreement with the UK that allows for cost of living increases to the State Pension. The EEA includes all EU countries plus three other countries: Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

There are over 400,000 UK Pensioners living in the EU and over half of them live in EU countries that had pre-existing (i.e. prior to them joining the EU) social security agreements with the UK, which may now come back into force post-Brexit.

However, the other half live in EU countries where, like Canada, there have never been social security agreements that facilitate annual uprating of the UK State Pension.

If the UK is able to negotiate to join the EEA, like Norway — without being part of the EU — then one presumes annual uprating will then be restored to all EEA/EU countries.

However, one of the tenets of the EEA is free movement of people and so it is not clear how the UK would be able to join EEA as opposition to free movement of people is thought to be the main reason for the “Leave” vote of Brexit.

Regardless, the UK will not be able to ignore the new “frozen” pensioners in the EU. There are over 150,000 UK pensioners living in Canada who are hoping that whatever the UK Government does for the new “frozen” pensioners in the EU then they will do the same for those living everywhere in the world.

There can be no just or legal basis for treating the EU “frozen” pensioners any differently from the other “frozen” pensioners around the world! It is time to bring this unfair and immoral practice to an end, and then maybe my friend James can smile again.

Watch this space (as well as the CABP website and Facebook page) for further updates, both on Brexit and on how my friend James is managing to make ends meet.

On a separate issue, the CABP has recently been talking to the folks at CARP with a view to tackling some common issues that we have.

Nigel can be reached via e-mail at nigel AT britishpensions DOT COM.

And the results are in …

Leave a reply

“I already told you, I have absolutely no idea where Pete in Basildon is”

Back in January we ran the Brits in Toronto First Annual Survey to see what our readers like and dislike about the website, and what they wanted to see more or less of.

Well, the responses are in, and here they are.

Do you live in Toronto permanently or just visiting?
90% said they lived in Toronto permanently and 10% were just visiting.

What made you decide to come to Toronto?
Answers included: “Wanted a change in scenery,” “Job,” “Canadian girlfriend, now wife,” “Seconded by Canadian arm of my UK employer,” “Getting married,” “Family,” “Love the place,” “Work, quality of life, not the beer, although I am trying to change that!” “Father decided there were more economic opportunities here.”

What is your employment status?
90% are working full time, and 10% are looking for a job.

Are you happy as a Brit in Toronto?
55% said, “Yes, love it mate!” and 45% said, “Still mulling that one over …”

How did you hear about Brits in Toronto?
The majority said Twitter. (Good, because we don’t really think Facebook works.)

What do you love/dislike about Toronto?
Some loves included: “So much going on, easy to travel,” “Summer,” “My job and the friends I have made,” “Sport and shopping,” “I love the snow,” “Restaurants,” “The city itself,” “Quality of life, multiculturalism, generally kind and generous people,” “Shopping, restaurants, cultural events.”
Some dislikes included: “Lack of good biscuits,” “Lots,” “The cost of living,” “Not being able to walk to bars and restaurants from where I live,” “Canadian $,” “TTC ( transport for London you are forgiven),” “Being asked to sit down at a bar — I have legs and have been able to drink beer standing up for 20 years now!” “Liquor laws,” “People in general. Lack of humour,” “Poor transit infrastructure, too many condos, road construction,” “TTC problems, cold winters, Rob Ford (RIP).”

What Brit-related activities/social/products/food/drink etc. do you engage in?
Answers included: “Hiking in/around the city (a fairly British pursuit I think), Indian-British-style curry eating, drinking Yorkshire tea, avoiding paying bank fees,” “Like to find fish, chips and mushy peas. Bring Yorkshire tea from home. Crave real bacon and a real Sunday roast,” “Nothing so far,” “Football, pubs, finding British products,” “Football, food and drink, TV,” “Not really any right now.”

What features do you like on Brits in Toronto and/or what should we cover in 2016?
Answers included: “Interviews,” “General updates,” “Just started reading it,” “Reviews,” “Rugby,” “All of it,” “It’s all good,” “I moved here a long time ago so like to keep up with what is happening,” “Coverage of British Torontonians in the news, and Britain-related events in Toronto.”

Do you know Pete in Basildon by any chance? He still owes us a tenner.
20% said they did know Pete in Basildon, and 80% denied all knowledge of the mug.

A huge cheers to all those that took part, we listened and will circle back in January 2017 with another survey if the synergy ties in with Brits in Toronto’s stratcom.

Toronto Summer Music Festival: London Calling starts today

Leave a reply

Lean in just a bit more please, Mr. McNabney … little more … more … hold it. Say cheese!

And … we’re back!

Quick jaunt across the pond back home to soak up the post-Brexit fun and games, just in time for the London Calling: Music in Great Britain festival that starts today and runs until August 7. (Forgot? We gave you a heads-up back in April, tut tut!)

The Toronto Star has it pretty well covered, so take a look at what’s going on and show your support for great British music!

Brits look to Canada after Brexit

Leave a reply

If you don’t like this future, try Toronto!

CIC News carries a nice article today on how many Brits are looking towards Canada as the immigration destination of choice after the UK voted to leave the EU last week.

Some highlights of the article …

“As the results began to come in last week, and as it became clear that the ‘Leave’ option was edging out ‘Remain,’ Google reported an enormous spike in the UK for the search ‘move to Canada.'”

“Most new immigrants to Canada arrive under one of its many economic immigration programs. … There are programs for skilled workers at the federal level and in each of the provinces. A major advantage for English-speaking candidates is that English proficiency is deemed to be a highly desirable commodity for these programs, many of which are points-based, requiring candidates to reach a point threshold in order to become eligible.”

“Other options for working in Canada include being hired by a Canadian employer and obtaining a temporary work permit, or coming to Canada as an intra-company transferee. Many people who eventually settle in Canada permanently initially arrived with temporary work status.”

They even link to a handy free online assessment to find out if you are eligible for any of over 60 Canadian immigration programs.

The full article is here, highly recommended.

UK bids cheerio to the European Union

Leave a reply

It’s a shit show

It was a long night fuelled by Horlicks and Jaffa Cakes that kept the Brits in Toronto crew going as the UK voted to leave the European Union.

We are stunned and think it is a huge mistake.

The fallout has already started, with stock markets and the value of the pound plummeting, a second Scottish independence vote already being called for and Prime Minister David Cameron to step down by October.

The world is in shock, the shit is hitting the fan and we have no idea what comes next. The plain uncertainty of how the future will unfold over the next few years is troubling and worrisome.

The vote was so close — 51.9% Leave, 48.1% Remain — that anyone who says, “The people have clearly spoken …” or words to that effect are wrong. A few percentage points is not “clear.”

Who will be the next Prime Minister? The future of jobs and the economy? Scotland … Wales … Northern Ireland splintering off? What immigration policies will be put in place? Travelling around Europe on an EU passport?

So many questions and too much to take in right now.

CBC News Network wants to hear from Brits in Toronto about Brexit

Leave a reply

The Brexit vote is taking place right now … have your say in the media

CBC News Network wants to hear from Brits in Toronto about their views on Brexit. Details below …

From Cameron Perrier: “I’m a reporter with CBC News Network here in Toronto. We’re doing lots of coverage on the Brexit vote today, and wanted to tap into the expat community in Toronto.

“I was wondering if you — or anyone you know in the British expat community — would be willing to come onto our show to speak with one of our hosts?

“I can be reached at cameron DOT perrier AT cbc DOT ca or phone 416-205-3209.”

Good opportunity to have your say while the vote is still taking place!

Have your say about Brexit on CBC Radio’s Metro Morning

Leave a reply

Got a view (pro or con) about Brexit? Metro Morning wants to hear from you

A referendum is being held on Thursday, June 23 to decide whether Britain should leave or remain in the European Union. It’s huge, and the opinions seem very divided either way.

British people love to have their say on the politics of the day, and CBC Radio’s Metro Morning is very keen to speak to some Brits in Toronto on Thursday morning’s show.

Joe Solway is a producer on the show and has asked us to refer possible guests and/or spread the word. We’re very happy to help do that, so please contact Joe ASAP if you are keen to offer an opinion.

E-mail joe DOT solway AT cbc DOT ca or phone him directly on 416-205-5706.

All are welcome at the CABP AGM on June 18, 2016

Leave a reply

Are you an ex-pat pensioner living in a black hole that sucks in all light? Help may be at hand from the CABP

Brits in Toronto has been following the issues around freezing of the UK State Pension for ex-pats living abroad, especially in Canada.

We also featured a very popular guest article by Nigel Nelson, a member of the Toronto-based non-profit Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners (CABP).

Nigel contacted Brits in Toronto again to let us know about the CABP Annual General Meeting this Saturday, June 18, at the Sir John Colborne Recreation Centre for Seniors, 1565 Old Lakeshore Road West, Oakville, Ontario, L6L 6N1.

The meeting starts at 2:00 p.m., but doors are open for registration at 1:00 p.m. Everyone is welcome.

Nigel writes, “If you’re not a member of the CABP, don’t worry, you’ll still be made to feel welcome and, if you think that this illness, the ‘frozen pensions syndrome’ needs curing, it would be an excellent time to sign-up and help bring this social injustice to an end.

“There will be plenty of opportunities for you to ask about the impacts of the new Single Tier State Pension that came into force in April 2016, which is a new fever that future pensioners might catch!”

So, if you feel strongly about this issue and want to have some say, go along to the AGM, meet Nigel and find out more information.

Successful Brits in Toronto: Ed and Sherille Layton

1 Reply

Was a struggle, but managed to get this caption under 140 characters or less

You asked for more Successful Brits in Toronto and we heard you. Why not do two at once to save precious bandwidth?

In fact, even better, why not feature a successful husband and wife team!

Ed Layton works at Twitter Canada and has been there for three years when there were only a few staff in the Canadian office. Sherille Layton has been in real estate for about 12 years and is currently at Sotheby’s International.

We caught up with the busy pair to ask them about their experiences of being Brits in Toronto.

(Ed, can you please RT this, cheers mate.)

What made you decide to choose Toronto as a city of choice? Did you plan a permanent move, or wanted to “try it for a while and see how it goes” and it turned out to be longer than planned?

We came to Canada on vacation a couple of times. We have cousins in and around Toronto and we came to visit them. We always had such a great time.

There came a point where we realized that we were going to be together for a while and were in a life phase where we were making some pretty big choices. At the time we found London extremely expensive and incompatible with the way we saw our future going.

Within months of being in Canada we bought our first house. I guess you would say that our intentions when we came to Canada — and specifically Toronto — were to enjoy ourselves, be close to our extended family … and for sure we saw it as a permanent move.

What steps did you take to land your first Toronto job? Did the infamous “Canadian experience” hinder you in any way?

We had an interesting start to our careers here. One of us came from a media background in London. It took about six months — although it was an amazing summer so we didn’t exactly rush — to find work.

The pathway to doing this was through networking and getting people to take coffees and generally hustling … and slowly those people introduced us to other people who needed people like us.

Sherille quickly however decided that she wanted to work for herself and so qualified as a real estate agent — and the rest from there is history.

What’s the best/worst aspects of living in Toronto?

There are so many great things about Toronto, but the big picture things, and not in this order are:

The seasons (there are few places in world where you can ski part of the year, bike most of the year round and almost guarantee a great summer and snowy winter).

The people are by and large friendly, open and kind, the culture is inherently liberal, fair and not completely self-interested. Canadians are genuinely concerned about the well-being of their communities and neighbours and support them in the way they vote and behave.

Other great things are chicken wings, Creemore beer, meat and corn.

There are a few sacrifices you make to be here and most of them are rooted in not being near family or being culturally isolated. But these things diminish over time and replaced by other things.

We don’t really, although are always happy to find a fellow Brit when chance happens. We would like to know more.

We were lucky to find a great network of Canadian friends. One thing about Canadians is that if you make the effort to be part of what they are interested in, they always welcome and include you (although you will get some stick for your accent).

Occasionally we go to The Oxley to see some Aston Villa games with other Villa fans but don’t reach out as much as we probably should.

Great pubs and eateries for homesick Brits are the aforementioned The Oxley, The Queen and Beaver and Scallywags at St. Clair and Yonge.

Open question/comment: feel free to write anything here/advice/tips on a Brit living in, or moving to, Toronto.

Overall the best advice we can offer anyone moving here, is within reason, do your best to enjoy Canada for the amazing things it offers. There are things to do and see that you can’t get in England.

Keep an open mind, involve yourself, enjoy the winter (learn how to ski or skate) and drink plenty of Ontario’s amazing variety of craft beers. It is always important to keep hydrated !

The UK’s EU referendum: All you need to know

Leave a reply

Time to vote: in or out?

A referendum is being held on Thursday, June 23 to decide whether Britain should leave or remain in the European Union.

The BBC has an excellent article that is designed to be an easy-to-understand guide to the process.

Whatever way you are leaning, if you can vote, do so.

Transporting a personal vehicle from Britain and the USA to Ontario

Leave a reply

Who wouldn’t relish this daily joy in their own motor?

You say cheerio to your mum, jump on a plane and start a new life in Toronto. A few months later you think, “Hmmm, really wish I could bring my beloved Datsun Cherry over to cruise around Toronto in. I wonder if there’s a way …?”

Over to guest writer Jason Mueller, a Canadian expat currently living in Costa Rica and working for A-1 Auto Transport International. As always, this is not an endorsement of the company or services, but just for information purposes. Do your due diligence before entering into any agreements or contracts.

If you plan to relocate to Canada from a foreign country and become an expat you will most likely want to bring all your personal items with you including your personal vehicle. It is wise to do your research before you make the big move as Canada has specific regulations that apply to different types of vehicles when it comes to importing.

If you are looking to import a vehicle specifically from Britain this will be very rare. This is because Canada does not allow vehicles outside of the USA to be imported because they will not meet the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (MVSA) and you are not allowed to modify the vehicle to meet the Act.

The main reason is due to the fact that the steering wheel is located on the right-hand side of the vehicle. There are some circumstances where you can import a vehicle from another country other than the USA.

Special Circumstances
– If the vehicle is 15 years old or older according to the date of manufacturing and is a regulated class.
– Buses manufactured before January 1, 1971 are permitted.
– The vehicle was purchased in the USA or Canada and is returning in the same working class and still meets the MVSA ( proof is required).

If you have obtained a temporary residency visa for Canada to work or study then you may be exempt seeing as you are a temporary visitor … but the vehicle will not be permitted to stay permanently. Thus:

– Only you are permitted to use the vehicle.
– If you have any changes to the status of your residency such as getting permanent residency you may be required to export or destroy the vehicle.
– The vehicle will not be able to be sold while in Canada.
– The vehicle cannot remain in Canada longer than the time limits on the student visa, work permit or any other customs authorization.

Most Brits have a deep sentimental value to their cars so the successful Brits will undoubtedly find a way to get their car imported to the country. If you own a private track — or you are only using the car for a production of a television series, for example — you should contact Transport Canada and talk to someone personally.

Documentation Required for Shipping
– Driver’s licence.
– Passport.
– Bill of sale or purchase invoice.
– Vehicle documents such as registration, title, VIN.
– Certificate for pre-shipment inspection.
– Power of attorney (only necessary if there is a destination agent clearing the shipment).

Steps of procedure
– The first step is to do a lot of research and be sure that you are connected with an auto transport company that has a good track record when it comes to shipping vehicles to Canada. Ask your friends and family for a good referral and put a post on Facebook asking your friends to share.
– Look for reviews on Google for the company that you are thinking about booking with; reviews are always the best way to find out if the business is reputable or not.
– Finally, you will need to prepare your vehicle for shipment, make sure to remove all valuables, only have less than a quarter tank of gas remaining, and take off any after-market items or add-ons (such as antennas) that could be damaged during shipment.

Importing a vehicle from the USA
– 5% GST.
– 13% HST in Ontario.
– $195 import fee.
– In order to officially import your vehicle it has to be inspected by the Registrar of Imported Vehicles. Upon inspection you will get a certificate if the requirements are met.
– If the vehicle fails the inspection it is not permitted to stay in Canada, even if the duties and taxes have already been paid.
– If a vehicle has been modified from its original state it may not qualify to be imported in to Canada.

There’s a couple of job fairs coming up

Leave a reply

Jobs galore for framers and others too

We got wind of a couple of job fairs coming up that may be of interest to Toronto newcomers, plus it’s FREE admission for both.

The Career, Education and Settlement Immigrant Fair 2016 is taking place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on June 8, 2016.

The Summer 2016 Job Fair and Training Expo is taking place at the Pearson Convention Centre in Brampton on June 15, 2016.

So pop along and land that new job!

Where will you be watching EURO 2016 in Toronto?

Leave a reply

It’s almost here! Where are you watching the games?

Now the Premiership is done and dusted, it’s time to turn our thoughts to Euro 2016. To say we are excited is an understatement.

It’s fantastic that England, Northern Ireland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland all qualified. We are very sad that Scotland didn’t make it this time around, but hope they’ll still throw their support behind the Brit contingent.

So, that begs the big question — where will you be watching the games?

Some fans prefer to host at home, maybe with some beers and a barbecue, or slip away from the office and watch the game in the lobby. Some companies are kind enough to set up TV screens … we remember that in the last World Cup … as the time difference from France means most games will start at lunchtime or early afternoon.

The Brits in Toronto crew love to meet up with fellow fans and find a pub to watch the games at. Nothing beats putting on your chosen team’s shirt and living the agony and ecstasy with those of the same ilk.

Here’s a list of pubs to start your research.

We are interested in suggestions for the best pubs or other locations to watch the games in Toronto, so please tweet or e-mail us, or leave a comment under this post.

We know it’s still 21 days away but want to get prepared!

Cheers in advance.

Update June 9, 2016
And here is the list from blogTO.

Update June 3, 2016
Here’s Opera Bob’s Euro Schedule to plan your days of hooky.

Jack Astor’s at St. Lawrence Market says, “We have a great big screen TV and will be showing all the games with sound!”

Update May 27, 2016
And here’s our first entrant. “Just wanted to get the word out that we’re showing the Euros on the telly at our pub! My Drunk Uncle’s Pub, 300 College Street, with a proper surly bartender and cheap beer!”

Promise and Promiscuity coming to Toronto

1 Reply

Penny Ashton demurely sips a cup of Rosy Lee before mixing up Beethoven, bonnets and big balls*

“OK, so though I am not English …” began the e-mail. We shrunk back, aghast. You know this is BRITS in Toronto, right? But we like honesty so kept reading.

“I am married to a Yorkshireman if that helps.” Yes, yes it does. Carry on. “And I am mainlining one of your British heroines for a show in the Toronto Fringe.”

Why didn’t you say that, Penny Ashton?! The floor is yours.

“I am bringing my solo Jane Austen Musical, Promise and Promiscuity to Toronto for the first time to the Randolph Theatre all the way from New Zealand. I have performed this show over 200 times in over 40 cities in six countries. So suffice to say, it’s a bit polished 🙂

“In it I play nine different Austen-style characters and tell a story that’s in the style of Austen — but is a brand new surprise for the audience. It also features quite a lot of pop culture references, innuendo, feminism and silliness thrown in for good … measure which not only comments on how far women have come but also on how far they had to go, all with a smile firmly in place.”

Penny says that there are some interesting angles:

“1. I am related to Jane Austen’s rumoured flirtation, Thomas Langlois Lefroy. He was played by James McAvoy in the movie Becoming Jane and he is my 5th Great Uncle. Amazingly! I only found this out after having done various Jane Austen Shows for five years in 2013. 2017 is also the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death. He is even touted as a possible inspiration for Mr Darcy, so I like to say he’s my uncle.

“2. I have performed this show all over Canada, at the Jane Austen Festival in Bath, on a huge tour of New Zeland, across Australia and ran at 80% in the last Edinburgh Festival where I played at the prestigious Assembly Festival.

“3. The cult of Jane is huge the world over. The fans being called the Janeites with societies everywhere. Here in Wellington the local society came to my show and invited me out for dinner, I have had lunch with the Jane Austen society of Adelaide and given a talk, I have even lectured at the University of British Columbia. I love it!”

Penny Ashton squeals in utter delight and merriment as her Umbrella Drone starts to pick up speed

*The media release shouts that, “Charmingly accomplished Kiwi Penny Ashton mashes up
Beethoven, bonnets and big balls … with alacrity! Follow the fortunes of Miss Elspeth Slowtree as she battles literary snobbery, cousin Horatio’s digestions and her mother’s nerves, armed with a blushing countenance, excellent ukulele skills and being quite bright — you know … for a girl. One Kiwi tackles all of Austen’s characters with song, dance and appalling cross-stitching.”

So, if all that sounds your cup of tea, catch Penny in Promise and Promiscuity from July 1-9, 2016 via Fringe Toronto.

Canada recognizes dual citizenship

Leave a reply

“Here you go, mate”

CIC News is reporting that Canada is moving closer to bringing new measures into law that would allow immigrants to apply for Canadian citizenship earlier and more easily than is currently the case.

Canada also recognizes dual citizenship so you can still keep your British connections and enjoy a new life as a Brit in Toronto.

There are some changes coming July 1, 2016 to the Canadian Citizenship Act, one being, “A reduction in the amount of time permanent residents have to live in Canada in order to become eligible to apply for citizenship, from four out of six years to three out of five years.

“Further, certain applicants who spent time in Canada on temporary status would be able to count a portion of this time towards the three-year requirement.”

Read the full article.

MP wants to unfreeze state pension for Brits living in Canada

4 Replies

MP Ian Blackford wants to unfreeze British state pensions and also highlight good stucco work

We recently ran an article by the Canadian Alliance of British Pensioners entitled “Quirks of the UK State Pension affecting British pensioners living abroad” that really hit a nerve with our readers. It got a ton of traffic.

The main crux of the issue is the fact that UK pensioners living abroad in certain countries — including Canada — have their state pension frozen … but those living elsewhere see the amount they receive uprated annually.

We feel that’s a tad unfair.

Luckily, Ian Blackford, upstanding bloke and MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber, is leading the charge to amend things and said, “The Government should reflect on the ‘injustice’ of the current system,” as he highlighted the strength of support for change among a large group of cross-party MPs.

The full story is covered by The National and we at Brits in Toronto think it’s a good read and an issue to keep an eye on.

Job opportunity … and this one’s a rare gem

Leave a reply

Can you take the high pressure and shine like this diamond had to?

Geoff Black is a real diamond geezer.

Even though he was born in Toronto, Geoff grew up in a British household and spent time in the UK. His family are from Devon and London and he currently works at Mississauga-based Griffin & Highbury diamond company.

Geoff is looking to hire possibly one candidate for a sales position. “The sales are telephone based,” he writes. “It pays a salary as well as commission that is very competitive.

“We help in the acquisition of fancy coloured diamonds for investment purposes. I am looking for a self-motivated, driven young person to reach out to prospective clients via telephone and to complete 10-minute online presentations to prospects on the merits and risks of diamond investment. Answering any questions and or concerns they may have and ultimately making a sale.

“The candidate must have a thick skin, make a lot of phone calls and present well. A money-motivated person is probably a bonus as well. No diamond knowledge is required as training will be extensive.

“Many years ago someone would have given my family an opportunity when they came to Canada from London. Maybe this could be me paying it forward?” he adds.

So there you have it. If this role interests you, contact Geoff at gblack AT griffinandhighbury DOT COM com or dog and bone him on 905-813-0008 and mention Brits in Toronto.

Good luck, candidates!

Totally biased product review by me — The Borough

2 Replies

Get in mah Belly of the Borough!

The Brits in Toronto crew treated ourselves the other week to some proper British grub at The Borough over on the Danforth. That’s in the Greek manor.

We’d heard some good things so wanted to check the place out. The Borough bills itself as an, “English-style gastro pub, which specializes in local sustainable food, beer and wine.” We like to support the local community, so agree with their ethos.

First things first. We think this place leans more towards a restaurant, than a pub. It’s not huge — we estimated around 30-40 seats — but has a nice cosy feel to it, and a good buzz when busy, like the night we went.

It’s a plus point for us when you can see the chefs cooking your food, as you can here.

I started with the curried kale soup, which was on special. It was very nice, but thought the curry flavour was a little on the low side. Wasn’t looking for more spice … just more curry factor. Delish though.

The star of the show though was the Belly of The Borough: roasted pork belly served with horseradish cream sauce, Brussels sprouts and bashed winter root vegetables.

Some people hear the term “Brussels sprouts” and shrink away in horror, mewling in fear and loathing — but they need to try these for an education. Slightly charred and dipped in the horseradish cream sauce, these are sterling.

Pork belly can sometimes be too fatty and sickly, but The Borough has done theirs proper. It’s a good portion of meat that is simply delicious. (A few of the Brits in Toronto crew had their forks in there too to try it.)

There’s weekend brunch too if you fancy getting your laughing gear around such delicacies as a big and smaller fry-up — thus entitled the Borough Full and Proper and the Proper But Not So Full — or the Full English Breakfast Burger which does exactly what it says on the tin and is a full English brekky atop a burger. Simple … but brilliant.

We will most definitely be back for that bad boy, and give The Borough a Brits in Toronto 5/5 stars.

Let’s all help fellow Brit Liz find a job!

1 Reply

Liz is a talented Brit in Toronto. There’s jobs here. Let’s connect the two

There’s so many talented Brits moving to Toronto that we feel a need — nay, a duty — to find them good jobs. There are some around … it’s just a matter of connecting the two.

So come on, 22 Brits in Toronto readers, one of you must be able to help Liz?!

Here’s her story …

“I recently moved to Toronto with my other half as he is on a secondment with his UK employer here for two years,” explains Liz. “I am a marketing communications professional with a a BA (Hons) degree in Public Relations and seven years experience, and I am looking for a position within the greater Toronto area.

“I am legally entitled to work in Canada and am very much open to new opportunities of any kind whilst here — part time, full time, temporary and permanent.

“I have worked for national and international companies implementing communications plans and marketing campaigns, and have delivered exceptional results in complex marketplaces, including biotechnology, manufacturing, construction and engineering.

“I’m an adaptable, strategic thinker who is able to translate brand strategy into effective tactics in order to achieve business goals. A caring and trained leader with experience in coaching less experienced team members.

“Key skills include: marketing, internal communications, public relations, events, trade shows, SEO, social media, corporate responsibility, crisis communications, project management, content management systems, customer relationship management, lead generation, design and copywriting.”

Tons of experience. So what about your spare time, Liz?

“I’m a keen volunteer, love walking our foster dog, Winter, around High Park, exploring all of the new experiences that Toronto has to offer, being creative and meeting new people,” she adds.

Thanks Liz. Can you help her? If so, please e-mail her at lizchester630 AT gmail DOT COM or check out her LinkedIn profile.