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Select a category below to view the opportunities and services we currently feature for Canada
 General country information
Canada is one of the largest countries in the world, whose territory stretches
from the Atlantic to the Pacific oceans and from its border of over
5,000 miles with the USA to the Arctic Circle. Three quarters of
the population lives within 200 miles of the US border.
Much
influenced by its economic ties to the USA, Canada
also has historical links to the UK (it is a member
of the British Commonwealth) and to France (French
is the official language of the province of Quebec,
which is three times the area of France).
Canada is a parliamentary democracy administered from Ottawa. There are
10 provinces: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland
and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan.
There are also three territories: Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut.
Such matters as health cover, property title and rental regulations will
vary from province to province. There are also local and federal taxes.
Non-residents are able to buy property in Canada but for those who wish
to live in the country there are a number of immigrant programmes including
those for skilled workers, business class and family class immigrant.
 Most property is held in ‘fee simple’ ownership. Condominiums
are a special type of fee simple known as ‘strata title’, similar
to UK commonhold and involving maintenance obligations. Most couples purchase
property as a ‘joint tenancy’ since upon the death of one the
ownership reverts to the surviving joint tenant.
Those buying property have a responsibility to use ‘due diligence’ to
discover any patent defects. If no inspection is made, the buyer has no
recourse for obvious defects that should have been spotted.
Sellers, however, must not mislead buyers about ‘latent’ defects
that could not reasonably be expected to surface in an inspection.
Most houses are bought and sold in the spring and early summer, when prices
are likely to be higher but choice greater. According to the Canadian Real
Estate Association, British Columbia tends to commands the highest house
prices, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland, and Manitoba the lowest.
 The real estate body Re/Max, which has over 13,800 members working in 600
offices across Canada, is predicting a 6 per cent increase in house prices
in 2005, with Edmonton, Quebec city, Kelowna, Halifax-Dartmouth and Vancouver
leading the way.
In many cities landlords are required to use a standard rental agreement
or lease which specifies such things as the number of rooms, utilities
and options such as parking or storage space. The agreement will most likely
be for at least one year, with tenants paying an initial payment, possibly
the first and last month’s rent, and perhaps a damage deposit.
Country information - Canada |
Principal
cities: |
Ottawa, Toronto,
Vancouver
|
Median
age of population: |
total: 38.2 years
male: 37.2 years
female: 39.2 years
(2004 est.) |
| Language: |
English 59.3%
(official),
French 23.2%
(official),
other 17.5% |
Employment
rate: |
92.3% |
Flying
time
from UK: |
Toronto - 6.5hrs
Vancouver - 9.5hrs
Ottawa - 7.4hrs |
Currency: |
Canadian dollar (CAD) |
Time
difference
from UK: |
Toronto - UTC/GMT
-5 hours,
Vancouver - UTC/GMT
-8 hours,
Montreal and
Ottawa UTC/GMT
-5 hours |
Rate
of inflation: |
2.8% (2003 est.) |
Average income
per person: |
$29,700 |
International
dialling code: |
+1 |
Average house
price: |
$214,856 |
| Climate: |
Varies from temperate
in south to subarctic
and arctic in north |
House
price inflation: |
11% |
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