Pursuit of the Canadian Dream

By Akinwale Thompson

"Pursuit of the Canadian Dream" is a book that is designed to help youth and new immigrants to Canada to Navigate the financial system successfully. It contains a lot of personal and client examples to buttress the points.
Part 1
Build your credit, buy your first car, and buy your first home.
The first three things a new immigrant or youth must grasp in their pursuit of the Canadian dream is the credit system.
Part 2
Education, retirement, taxes and charitable giving, life insurance, wills and POA, death, and the lottery.
The next six chapters give you the bolts and nuts required in a proper financial plan, like how do you plan for children's education?
Part 3
Real estate investing, investment landscape, and starting a business.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: May 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9781667888071

Book preview

Acknowledgements

To my wife, my love, my partner, and my greatest cheerleader, Lolade Leigh-Thompson, I appreciate all that you do for me; without you in my life, all these would not have been possible. Thank you for allowing me to share our stories of successes and failures with others and thank you for walking this journey with me. To my children, Temi and Tosin, I am so proud of you; you were my first readers, my unpaid editors, my finance students. Thank you for letting me test the ideas contained in this book on you, and I am glad you got it. I hope you will teach the lessons to others as well. To my father-in-law, Professor Abisogun Leigh, it was you who planted the idea of this book in me many years ago; you would constantly tell me to document my daily client experiences, for a time will come when those experiences will help others and you might not remember them all. Thank you, Daddy, this is the fruit of that seed. To my cousin Folashade, a.k.a Aburo, the new immigrant, you came to Canada just after I finished the book; the questions you asked and the things you needed validated my ideas in the book. Thank you for being my test subject and for contributing your thoughts. To Rotimi Olumide, my brother and friend, you took the time to review, critic, and help stir the content in a better direction, thank you. To Gori Deen, my dear friend, the minute you heard about this work, you gave two concrete ideas that shaped the final outcome of the book; thank you. And finally, to Jabo, my brother from another mother, your friendship inspires me to do more; thank you for your listening ears. You and Mora’s lives mirror ours on so many levels, and I know you can see yourself in the pages of the book; it’s a pleasure to do life with both of you.

To my editor, J. Austin Lee, thank you for keeping track and thank you for being patient with me, and to my publishers thank you for getting this book out into the world.

Introduction

Most people hear of the American Dream and how everyone hopes to make it big some day in America. Canadians don’t talk like that; few people talk about the Canadian Dream. Perhaps, its because we don’t have an all or nothing system. It doesn’t mean that Canadians don’t have big dreams and aspirations. After all, we are a prosperous nation, and we have a lot of successful corporations however a lot of people don’t know how to achieve financial success in their personal lives.

This book is a guide for the new immigrants, youth, and anyone who seeks to better understand the Canadian financial landscape and navigate our economic systems. It’s a resource to help you achieve your Canadian dream.

There are approximately 38.3 million people living in Canada, yet we are part of the Group of Eight (G8) nations. Over the past several years, immigration has been a top priority in our country. People come from all over the world to Canada, some speaking very little English or French, and many have settled here and made a decent life for themselves. While some came to escape terrible situations in their home countries, others came in search of a better quality of life—a better land, a land of opportunities, a land flowing with milk and honey. Some came for business, and others to work at the highest levels of their profession. While some have achieved these, others still struggle after years of living here to achieve it.

I am writing this book to my younger self, the twenty-nine-year-old who came from Nigeria in search of the Canadian dream. I was young and determined. I wanted it all. However, there was no one to guide and point me in the direction I wanted to go. As such, I began to experiment and study. I have engaged the credit system to the fullest and borrowed foolishly and wisely. I have been in substantial debt, and I have seen what freedom from debt feels like, and I still borrow. I have invested in all the different types of investments covered in this book, and I still invest. I have bought and sold several houses and still do so. I spent five years as a banker and sixteen years as a financial planner. This profession has allowed me to meet several people from various walks of life who are born Canadians or immigrants and multiple generations of them. I hear their incredible stories and see what they have done to achieve their dream, and it is with this perspective that I am writing this book.

In reflection of the country and my children being born and raised here, I noticed that my teenagers learned all they know about the financial system and how it works from me. Many of my clients bring their children to me to have a Money Talk when they start asking questions that the parent cannot answer. I looked at myself, an immigrant, and where I am, where I have been, and the number of mistakes I have made. When I taught classes to a primarily immigrant community, I took great pleasure when some had taken that knowledge and went on to do well in the system. When someone tells me they were able to buy or rent their first home, or they made money on an investment, made a contribution to their retirement plan, or started a business, it brings great joy to me.

I desire to ensure that all young adults and newcomers to Canada have the chance to understand how the Canadian financial system works. This book will help you navigate the system freely and avoid common pitfalls on your way to achieving your Canadian dream.

The first thing to know is that part of our charter of rights says that every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national origin, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability. So we accept people of all races and cultures. (www.justice.ca.gc)

Every immigrant who fulfills the time spent in Canada requirement can become a citizen, pursue their dream, and achieve whatever they desire. Once you become a citizen, you can vote or be voted for; you can become the prime minister, the governor-general, a businessperson, or city councillor. There are absolutely no restrictions on where you can live, work, or play. Therefore, it is important that you understand the system, especially the financial system, before you start using it.

This book addresses certain economic/financial terms and explains how it works in our society. It’s not just a guide to the newcomer; anyone who seeks to learn about our financial and economic systems can benefit from this book.

While I have identified and discussed a few important topics, the book itself is in no way exhaustive, nor does it describe everything in detail. The intent is to help give you some understanding and the whys behind some of these things to engage them properly. If you require more knowledge of specific topics, I have included websites and other resources that can help you. Remember, you can always ask Google about the subject, and I am sure you will find a plethora of information.

How to Use This Book?

Though it’s one book, I have divided it into three parts and used a lot of personal and client examples to buttress the points. The examples are all over the book in shaded boxes for you to follow easily. At the end of each chapter, I have also asked questions for you to use to check your understanding. The reason for this is that most people don’t just pick up a finance book for no reason, and while money matters are important to all, some of the terms used in the world of finance can quickly be lost on even a keen learner. I have, therefore, tried to simplify the topic and content in as much everyday language as possible.

Part 1

Build your credit, buy your first car, and buy your first home.

The first three things a new immigrant or youth must grasp in their pursuit of the Canadian dream is the credit system (How to build it, how it affects them now and, in the future), how to purchase their first car if they need one, and how to buy their first home. The first three chapters delve right into these topics and will save you a lot of trial and error.

Part 2

Education, retirement, taxes and charitable giving, life insurance, wills and POA, death, and the lottery.

The next six chapters give you the bolts and nuts required in a proper financial plan, like how do you plan for children’s education? What you need to know about the income tax system, Why do you need life insurance and what types do we have? Then we look at wills and powers of attorney, and the things to consider before death. The big lottery question is, Can I just win the lottery and fulfill the dream in one swoop?

Part 3

Real estate investing, investment landscape, and starting a business.

Perhaps, you are a little seasoned and would like to know about how you can own multiple real estate or other investment types like mutual funds, ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) stocks, bonds, cryptocurrency, or forex trading, or how to start a business. What do you need to do? In Part 3, we review these topics and it serves as a guide for you to understand the rules of how it’s done in Canada so that you can make informed decisions.

The chapters on risk, faith, and my conclusions are bonus chapters for you to get an insight into what I have observed and practised and let you know the source of my inspiration to see every new immigrant or youth fulfill their Canadian dream.

I hope you enjoy reading it like I enjoyed sharing it with you.

The Canadian Dream and the System

The Canadian dream is not a specific dream or limited to one thing or the other; it is whatever you dream of doing. You need to set a goal for yourself. What do you hope to accomplish in Canada? When you think about your life five, ten, or fifteen years into the future, what will be different? Some of us dream about career advancement, a big house, multiple real estate investments, cars, business ownership, stock portfolio, other investments assets, where and how to spend retirement, and more.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom (1982) shows the individual rights and freedoms we all have access to. Aside from that, I believe your dream is your dream and yours alone. There is nothing in life you dream of doing that you cannot achieve if you set your mind to do it, get the skills required, and patiently wait for it. Your Canadian dream can be anything you want it to be. However, hard work is not the only solution. You need to work smart and learn how to invest. You also need determination and patience. Our socio-capitalist nation teaches us that if you don’t possess the skill you need, you should enrol in a college or school to learn it. There is governmental funding for immigrants to train or retrain in most post-secondary institutions; some are online, some are in-person—whatever your preference. You can also achieve it without school, but there’s likely to be a lot of trial and error. Education is not limited to the four walls of a classroom or a certificate from studying and passing exams; it is what you have learnt, understood, and can apply.

So, try other forms of learning, like listening to podcasts or reading books on different subjects; you will be surprised at what you will gain, and somehow, as a life principle, opportunities always come your way when you are ready for it. Also, the harder you work, the luckier you get in life and the more successful you become. Someone once wrote that it takes 10,000 hours of practice on anything for you to become an expert at it. That would mean, it could take anywhere from four years of full-time to eight to ten years of part-time study to achieve proficiency in your field. People who go to a university can get a bachelor’s degree in a subject. If they spend more time in the university, they get a master’s and even a PhD.

I’ve met many highly educated immigrants who find it difficult to achieve their dreams. They talk about a roadblock called the lack of Canadian experience. When I first heard the term Canadian experience, my question was, Is one plus one different in Canada than in Nigeria? Just laugh it off and move on to the next person. Don’t let anything or anyone steer you away from the dream you have imagined for yourself in this life or in this country. For those who are young or just returning to work after a prolonged absence to raise children, or any other reason, the recruiters have several responses for it: You don’t have good work experience, enough work experience, or recent work experience. Once you meet people like these, do them and yourself a great favour—move on. I have a friend who