Advice on moving to Canada for work

I recently had an exchange with a Mexican software engineer about moving to Canada for work. J'ai eu récemment un échange avec un ingénieur logiciel mexicain qui regardait pour déménager quelque part au Canada.

I will like to move to Toronto and make my life there), and he told me to get in touch with you. I will just like to talk to you and please ask you to give me some advice about my intentions of moving there. [...] Cities I do have considered also are in Alberta, since I have a friend in Edmonton that keeps telling me that it is really nice there and that I should go there.

My own impression from Alberta wasn't so positive. I have some family over there but it didn't feel as culturally interesting. Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver are good because culturally diversified. I know Edmonton/Calgary are also changing and it really depends on your own taste. Weather in Vancouver is also much better in winter, something to consider if you cannot stand the idea of -30 celcius winters ;-).

As for Quebec, I would have thought learning French wouldn't have been so difficult for Spanish speaker but I guess you would need to want to add another language to your skills. It is perfectly feasible to survive in Montreal with minimal French speaking/reading skills (there is still a sizable English-speaking only community and you can be serviced in English most of the time). Culture is more "latin" in Montreal, so I figure easier to adapt to.

Cold winters should be a huge factor in your decision; you shouldn't make a final decision before you've lived through one ;-). My wife is originally from Taiwan and she strongly disliked the cold winters. I don't want to scare you however; if you dress for the weather (warm, multiple layers), you can survive it as 33 millions Canadians do every year ;-). Personally, I would go for Vancouver.

Learning (some) French is only really necessary if you decide to move to the province of Quebec. I would recommend it if you have a good aptitude at learning languages as it would open additional doors in your future.

In terms of IT industries, I think all three cities have lots to offer. I would have to place Toronto first, especially as the number one software engineering university (Waterloo) is closer to Toronto and it is the financial center. I guess it depends on what kind of companies you are looking at. There are many game studios (Ubisoft, EA) established in Montreal which is more recognized for creative stuff. Vancouver is good too, especially considering that it is really close to Seattle (home of Microsoft).

For jobs, I would look at Jobboom, although that website is Quebec-centric it seems...