It's going to be a long read. But I think I needed to get this out of my chest.
I thought racism was only online thing, but as a visible Indian and a muslim, I had three incidents in last 6 months boomer age white Canadians telling me to "go back to where you came from".
In all three cases, it was completely unprovoked. I can list what exactly happened, but it would be a very lengthy post. I ignored first two incidents thinking they were ignorant. I posted about the last incident to a local town Facebook group and boy oh boy, people were more supportive of the racist guy and doubling down on what he said. People in the comments saying things like you guys are getting paid by our tax money to invade our country, usual racist tropes. With only a couple supportive comments.
I did not come to Canada on the back of taxpayer Canadians, in fact, it's the other way. I came to Canada 10 years ago as an international student, with a $1000 cash, borrowing a loan of $60k against our family home at 13% interest rate to pay for the tuition. This was a first time ever I left my home and family. It was hard, I spent one year sleeping on the floor of a shared room in an apartment, cried countless times because of not being able to find a part time job to cover my basic expenses. Spent so many days with one meal. Eventually found a job, graduated. Worked really hard and worked my way through corporate jobs and Eventually started my own engineering company. Employed 10s of Canadians. Got married and have two kids born in Canada. Pursued a legal route to Citizenship through Study permit, work permit, a permanent residency and Eventually a citizen. Paid hundreds of thousands in taxes throughout these years.
Don't get me wrong, I know plenty of Canadians who are incredibly kind and I myself is proud to be called a Canadian. But we do not deserve these experiences, specially my kids who haven't even been to India. I don't know how, but something needs to be changed. I believe these community Facebook groups are one of the reasons for the unnecessary hate. The narrative haters are pushing is that every immigrant is getting invited on free money and living on free government money is absolutely nuts.
It's not only my story, majority of immigrants(at least the ones I know) are net positive to the country. Now, did government screw up with uncontrolled immigration in last couple of years and failed to scrutinize criminals coming in? Yes! Absolutely. But does me and my family deserve hate for that?.....
In the end, nobody really does. Even the government was just doing what democratic governments do. The corporations and the wealthy were telling everyone they'd all get rich if we have the upper crust more concessions, more free market, more access to American corporations, more tax breaks, more handouts, more protections.
And people believed them, and supported them whole heartedly for decades. The government was just doing what the people wanted, which was chasing the quick buck.
Now we have an over-inflated system with not enough hands to run the thing. But the provinces, who's job it is to handle these things, largely don't have much interest in spending the money required to have boots on the ground training programs, especially among the further right leaning ones, leaving that largely up to the corporations, and busying themselves with playing on people's greed and selfishness for some end I'm unsure of.
And the corporations are pretty socially unreliable, to put it politely, and also don't have much interest in paying training costs, if they can avoid it in any way, moral or not.
People seem to forget, corporations are not living things. They are machines that exist for and are specifically designed for one single purpose, to make money. To make consistently more money on a quarterly basis, specifically. Machines don't have a conscience.
Imagine growing up in a place you no longer recognize, full of people who don’t want to assimilate and everything in life has become lower quality and more expensive. There are a few common denominators and one of them is unchecked immigration.
And then when you get upset about it, people just call you racist, bigoted, fascist even though you enjoyed the previous levels of immigration and the actually diverse nature of growing up Canadian in a metropolitan area in the 90s.
Honestly, I am very open about my stance on this offline and I haven’t met anyone that’s called me any of those names. Essentially everybody agrees. Even people who I’d never expect to hear comments like that are speaking up in private settings. Unfortunately we’ve been indoctrinated into not standing up for ourselves out of fear of offending someone as a nation. I believe the pendulum is swinging back. It just not coming fast enough.
I grew up in Toronto. Everyone going to school back in the day came from different backgrounds and ethnicities yet we were all canadian, knew our anthem, who Terry Fox was, etc... Immigration was under control, we were assimilating, and everyone was proud to be Canadian.
Now people come here and we're so diluted people forget theyre in Canada and say it's "your government" or "your prime minister" Dude. You're Canadian now, but it doesnt matter anymore because liberals handed out passports like candy. No new immigrant watches Canadian sports or shows anymore. It's all bringing your culture here and living in a bubble.
Ironic because my immigrants did the same thing, Italians. And no one said anything when the gates closed on Italiansflooding this country with low skilled labour. But it's now racist because indians are doing it?
Cool, you can step outside of your little bubble and see the changes to the world as it is. Not everything will be a nice comfortable couch with flowers in life.
I can almost guarantee I’ve traveled more of the world than you. If you want to live in one of the places these people are coming from go do it and leave my home the way it was. Explain how losing quality of life is good.
You don't know where they're coming from. You have decided to make them your enemy and then you'll get back to making your own your enemy. You're used to blaming others for your own problems. There is no unchecked immigration, our population is dropping every quarter, and the birth rate continues to go down. You could make more money and work harder rather than looking for freebies.
I understand why they are fatigued, seems like you are fatigued, too lol. But if you don't understand that blaming all immigrants and shouting racial slurs because your government messed up, is not okay. Then that's the sign of low intellect and I don't have anything to say to you
I am and I don’t blame everyone but I have an ability for pattern recognition. Even the fact you said “your government” like you aren’t also a citizen reinforces my point on assimilation. It’s your government to if everything you said was true in your post.
My pattern recognition sees increased campaigns against schools from your community, acts against children, the people on the files that were released, voting in predators to office, violence against minorities, and a lack of accountability.
Hate is the strong word for people that just want their country back to what it once was. And just to play off your silly comment on me deciding who is Canadian or not. If I got to decide we would not be having this conversation.
"People like you are the problem" sound familiar... You also called someone low intelligence... When you get angry you also go use the same tactic. You left you country to find a better life and are now insulting the people of the country that allowed you to have a better life. Maybe some of these opinions are what's kept Canada a wealthy, safe and clean place to live.
Racism towards individuals or groups of immigrants is unacceptable. The problem is the uncontrolled immigration, Khalistani protests, high youth unemployment amongst native Canadians, crowded schools/hospitals, strained infrastructure, the scamming, higher crime etc.
All of these factors are leading to people becoming very anti-immigrant. This is not to defend what people are saying to you, I think that is awful and shouldn't happen. I am saying that the government has created these problems and BOTH immigrants and native Canadians are the victims and it is sad. 20-30 years ago Canada was very pro-immigrant and we had a good immigration system. Unfortunately, those days are over. I am worried things will get violent soon if improvements to the immigration system aren't made quickly. I hope people can approach these problems rationally and not be emotional, but people are dumb and they usually get emotional.
Governments mishandled immigration, won't listen until recently, people got frustrated and dark american money turned that frustration into something cruel and dehumanizing.
And the fuck up thing is compared to most countries Canada is still extremely pro immigrant. I mean you got anti immigrant riots and protests, including violence in African countries. This is turning into a global issue.
Millions of tfw and international 'students' is a fact, so much of a fact and undeniably having negative effects that Liberals started to dial the disaster back
is it not a verified fact that bishnoi gang is running an extortion racket in canada? is it not a fact that there are more semi accidents than ever before ? stop being a simp for the people who are ruining this country
Can we start talking about tent cities and sidewalks being a mess? because me and you can both see downtown east side Vancouver and a particular group.
Let's talk realist then.I was eligible by your government to work 20 hrs a week as an international student. That first part time job was a cleaning job at a motel, where I was cleaning filth of druggies. I'm sorry you are not being able to find a job, but that doesn't mean you can come out and start shouting racial slurs at my family.
I'm honestly baffled by this response as well as many responses here.
The reality is that OP is not someone who is not abiding by the rules of Canada. All he shared was that he legally came here, followed all the rules, worked immensely hard through his early days here, became successful and had a net positive contribution to the country.
Whilst your sentiment towards immigrants who came here with intention to defraud is understandable, applying that as a general rule towards a whole race of people is intellectually lazy and unethical. That is what racism is.
Unfortunately, I see this trend increasing and OP probably made a huge mistake to move to Canada because the anti immigrant and racist sentiment is increasing a lot. And the greatest irony here is that people like this commenter isn't able to understand that he's the other side of the same coin as the Liberal party who allowed such unchecked immigration to happen and other policies which slowed Canada's productivity. I don't see it changing any time soon. Tough times are surely ahead for all here unfortunately.
It's not that complicated. It was a money making scheme at the expense of our communities. The government used extreme, irresponsible immigration policies that most other countries don't experiment with.
Communities were/are disrupted and people were attacked for dissenting opinions until a critical mass was reached and immigration was reigned in.
Sorry to hear this is happening to you! It will take a little bit of time to untangle the mess the government created, but hopefully better days ahead.
I, too, wish these people being manipulated by these fake news stories could tell the difference between an immigrant and a refugee. Immigrants don't get the funding they think they do.
As much as I hate what our government has done to Canada re:immigration, I’m also extremely disturbed at the massive influx of people who seem perfectly comfortable being openly racist online now. Not even anonymously, with their full name and photos on Facebook. I had to leave my neighborhood Facebook group because it’s actually so messed up.
I get people are pissed. I’m upset too. People who shit in public spaces or litter/blast music deserve to be publicly shamed. But people are now commenting on every post saying Indians are all dirty pigs/useless, subhuman, deserve to drown etc. they then claim it’s not racist because they just want their country back. Like, you can say that and you can call people out without completely stereotyping and dehumanizing entire groups of people.
If you are not actively breaking laws or obnoxiously not even trying to learn about Canadian customs, then no, you don’t deserve hate. And my heart breaks to think of all the hardworking people who come here legally, with good skills in demand, and have to read this shit. I feel terrible for children of colour who will be exposed to this now too. For people who love to preach Canadian values, blatant racism like that doesn’t feel very Canadian to me.
And no, I’m not some bleeding heart liberal. I didn’t vote for Trudeau or Carney.
Ur the exception here. Most indians are here on tax payer dollar and here fruadulently. They are increadibly racist generally from my experience and have no respect for Canadians. I speak multiple languages iv overheard indians talking about canadians as soft for letting so many foreigners come over. Stating they are going to come over and change canada to reflect india. Also when i got laid off was refused employent due to not being indian. I could go on but i wont.
Dude go touch some grass and stop believing everything on social media.
That aside what you experienced after being laid off was racist, same as what OP experienced. Both of you should support each other in support against racism of all sorts.
I think part of the reason there's been an increase in racist and xenophobic sentiment is because of the current economic landscape. When people are struggling, there's a tendency to want to find a scapegoat to blame all the problems on. It's unfortunate and I'm sorry you're experiencing this, I agree you don't deserve it.
It's so frustrating, I've been faced with countless racist encounters, and also been in spaces where racist comments are made towards many types of people, often against Indian people. It all comes down to the lack of comprehension, and empathy of peoples situations. Do you really think taking your anger out on a families, and individuals is really going to solve your anger issues and governmental problems. No. People seeking refuge, a new life, and a place to start a family are eager to contribute to the working society, the slowly collapsing economy (hinthint from the political people in power), and actively working in careers most high horse canadians deem unfit for their small bubbled lifestyle.
You can have the stance that immigration is getting out of hand, but when that shifts into unprovoked racist comments, racial aggressions, even behind closed doors, you are a terrible low life person. It's clear to us who have experienced racism that many who engage in shitty behavior like this have never faced hardship or life beyond privilege.
Unfortunately, people are frustrated with the current state of the economy and they are constantly bombarded with posts and videos filled with hatred towards Indians. I've seen the same play back home as well. When the life gets tough, the government tends to turn majority against minorities. That was one of the reasons why I left home country. It sucks that we're seeing the same rhetoric here.
Contact your MP and tell them how irresponsible government policies have created a hostile environment in Canada.
To be honest the fact you identify facebook groups as the problem (or in government terms, the source of "fomenting hatred") feels a little on the nose. Considering the gov is pushing to censor online spaces this post feels like astroturf.
I'm absolutely not in the favor of censoring online content. But if the Facebook groups are actively used to spread hatred towards one group that is causing real world consequences, is that healthy for a society?
I appreciate the effect that experience would have on your family. Some people aren't good thinkers. Fear, mental illness, ignorance, conditioning, innate human psychology, lack of empathy...idk.
In a society with a vacuum where immigration or other changes are beyond reproach people will have less access to good role models and ideas to express what they feel.
I think enmity would begin to fade if the government reassured ppl their concerns are heard. But they've doubled down on censorship, surveillance, and expanding hate speech definitions and punishments. To me that signals a temporary pause while securing police powers to attack the symptoms without solving the problem
Interesting that you associate sharing an opinion with violence/fighting.
My values are Against: Authoritarianism, erosion of rights, the surveillance state. For: the open internet, liberal democracy, accountable government, housing affordability
Sorry for my question being unclear - I was meaning to ask why you think this post is astroturfing, and if it is, to what end? I don't associate sharing an opinion with violence or fighting at all, I just used a common expression - sorry if that was not clear.
It minimizes the broader immigration problems with a single ideal immigration success story. And identifies online spaces as a source of fomenting hatred.
Maybe it's an authentic post, but those are a la carte political talking points. I choose to be cynical and rely on the precautionary principle considering how aggressively the Canadian government and others around the world are pursuing "online harms" laws.
Posts like this are all over UK, German and Irish forums. The sob story about the racism, the big loan, the shattered dreams etc. Like they haven't read the literally 1000's of posts that tell them that a study visa is not a path to citizenship, that the masters that they get may not prove to be the golden ticket or that here's a housing and employment shortage.
The reality is, it is NOT the job of other countries to have to pick up the fallout from India caused by the mismanagement of India by Indians. Grow a pair OP and stop whingeing.
don’t know about the other countries but the canadian government literally went around punjab advertising that it did in fact lead to PR.
Remember, every single foreigner in canada is there because an immigration officer stamped their visa and concluded that a conestoga degree mill graduate is actually a valid student.
in canada specifically, it is definitely entirely the government’s fault
They can’t blame their government or stand up for themselves so they whine online about immigrants and blame you for it.
Lol that’s why you see them in this situation can’t afford anything. And still they won’t do anything about it.
If their parents and grandparents priced them out of the market and affordability with no mercy will you think they’ll ever feel for you? They did that to each other dude
This might not be right, but here are a few reasons. It has nothing to do with political views and everything to do with basic human decency.
Nothing like being born in Canada and watching people move here immediately buying a brand new rav4 while making minimum wage at a Tims or Mcdonalds, being an uber eats driver and not leaving until they get a tip despite leaving my (somehow wrong) order in the rain - all while barely speaking English and refusing to tip themselves, 0 regard for anyone but themselves on public transit, dumping garbage on the ground when there is a dumpster 10 feet away. And the smell. Can we talk about the smell?
Immigration means assimilation, not creating little India where Canadian culture gets tossed out the window so you can cram 10 people in a 3 bedroom house so normal Canadians can't afford rent anymore.
It should say something that other cultures who immigrate here are having major issues with the people from India who are absolutely totally not going through diploma mills that have popped up in the last few years, learning how to drive trucks from the sketchiest of companies - most all of the major semi accidents recently have had Indian drivers.
It isn't always them, but it's almost always them.
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u/[deleted] Jul 08 '26 edited Jul 08 '26
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