I Would Be...

My ancestors can be traced back to numerous countries like America and Scotland but the one I can connect most to is England. For this project I will be studying the history of my grandmother and her life in England as a child and why she chose to immigrate to Canada with my Grandfather. If I had of been born and raised in England my life would have been like it is now in Canada with a few changes.

Wisbeeh, England

My grandmother had lived in England for a majority of her life. Born in Wisbeeh, Cambridgeshire and raised in little village called Long Sutton she attended a private school called church of England parochial up until the age of 11 then went onto high school where she graduated at the age of 16. After graduation she got a job at a bank and worked their up until she met my grandfather. Two years after they met they got married and had two children. As the years went on around 1974 economy in England was plummeting and wages and jobs started to decrease, “England was sinking fast” (Grandma Cole). England was also joined the  European Common Market, a organization where countries in Europe ban together to assist sister countries in debt. With this act more immigrants started to enter England, making it harder to get a job.They did not want their children growing up in this type of environment. My grandparents applied to two countries, Canada and Australia. They chose these two because they apart of the British colony and would be easier for them to get into. At the time Canada was the first to respond to them and allowed them to start the paperwork to enter the country. It took them six months to get the paperwork finalized and it was the Humber nurseries, a company that offered my grandfather a job for when he entered the country that contacted the Ontario Immigration to speed up the paperwork and allow my grandparents to enter the country. At the time my grandfather was 44 and the age limit for workers entering the country was 45. A few weeks later my grandparents, father and aunt flew into the country on June 19 1975, and landed in Toronto. For the next few years they lived on a farm in East Caledon  provided by the Humber nursery and both worked for the company while my aunt and father attended a local school. Three years later they applied for their Canadian citizenship and officially became citizens.

My grandmother, grandfather, father and aunt three years before moving to Canada

My father as a child in England

My fathers first winter in Canada

My father's Canadian citizenship

If I was still living in England my life would remain mostly the same as it would in Canada. Health care would be free. I would attend school up until the age of 18, which would also be free. While in high school I would have to take the General Certificate of Secondary Education Exams at the age of 16,this is an exam I have the option of taking in courses that I find best fitting for my future career. Once I finish the exams I can continue my last two years of high school and then go off to college or university. For an undergraduate degree in England one year's tuition would cost me around $8,950 a year while in Canada we pay $5,959. While in university I would most likely be getting a degree in a service industry job because “about 75% of British jobs” (Trading Economics) are in this industry. Once I find a job in this field of work, which I would because it's the largest and fastest growing industry in England,I would work the same amount of hours and day as I would here in Canada. But I would make an extra $0.07 per pay due to the slightly higher minimum wage rate. Another thing that is different in England and in Canada is the cost of living. In Ontario, our premier has risen electricity rates once again to 13.2 cents per kWh, meanwhile in England the cost of electricity is  20 cents per kWh. The cost of buying a car, house, and clothing are also more expensive in England then it would be here in Canada. Even though all these things are more expensive the cost of groceries is less in England then in Canada. As you can see that even though I would get paid more in England the cost of living would suck up my entire  paycheck. My life would also be very different because I would be involved in the huge argument about Brexit, Britain's way of leaving the European Union. The government and citizens are facing a huge divide between wanting to leave to European Union or staying. This issue is causing people to leave government jobs, and lowering the economy.

The cost of living in England compared to Canada

The impact of Brexit on the United Kingdom

In conclusion, my life would be around the same as it is now in Canada. The major differences being pricing, job opportunities, and the Brexit issues. I’m happy that my grandparents immigrated over to Canada so that my father was able to have a better life as a child, and so have I.

Works Cited

Barrow, Mandy. "Teenagers Life In Britain." Project Britain, Nov. 2002, projectbritain.com/ 

     teenagediary.htm. Accessed 6 Dec. 2016. 

British Council. "Education System in England." British Council, eal.britishcouncil.org/parents/ 

     education-system-england. Accessed 6 Dec. 2016. 

---. "Summative Assessment in Four Nations." British Council, eal.britishcouncil.org/teachers/ 

     summative-assessment-four-nations. Accessed 6 Dec. 2016. 

Cole, Brian. Simon Cole age 2. 

---. Simon's first winter in Canada. 

Cole, Marie. Telephone interview. 5 Jan. 2017. 

Cole Family Photo. 1972. 

"Cost of living comparison between Canada and United Kingdom." Jan. 2007, www.numbeo.com/ 

     cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=Canada&country2=United+Kingdom. Accessed 5 

     Jan. 2017. 

"Cost of living Comparison between Canada and United Kingdom." Numbeo, Jan. 2017, www.numbeo.com/ 

     cost-of-living/compare_countries_result.jsp?country1=Canada&country2=United+Kingdom. Accessed 5 

     Jan. 2017. 

"Gas & Electricity Tariff Prices per kWh." UK Power, www.ukpower.co.uk/home_energy/ 

     tariffs-per-unit-kwh. 

Hunt, Alex, and Brian Wheeler. "Brexit: All you need to know about the UK leaving the EU." BBC, 12 

     Dec. 2016, www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-32810887. Accessed 5 Jan. 2017. 

Loney, Heather. "Here's where you'll pay the lowest (and highest) tuition in Canada." Global News, 

     11 Sept. 2014, globalnews.ca/news/1558161/ 

     heres-where-youll-pay-the-lowest-and-highest-tuition-in-canada/. Accessed 5 Jan. 2017. 

Mamdouh, Ahmed. "Impact of Brexit." 19 Apr. 2016, www.fxcomment.com/en/2016/04/19/ 

     infographic-impact-of-brexit/. Accessed 5 Jan. 2017. 

"Map of England." UFO Blog, blog.ufo-blog.com/2008/02/ufo-reported-wisbech-cambridgeshire.html. Map. 

Playdon, Jane. "How much does it cost to study in the UK?" Top Universities, 2 Apr. 2015, 

     www.topuniversities.com/student-info/student-finance/how-much-does-it-cost-study-uk. Accessed 5 

     Jan. 2017. 

Simon Cole Canadian citizenship. 1978. 

Trading Economics. "UK Unemployment Rate." Trading Economics, 2016, www.tradingeconomics.com/ 

     united-kingdom/unemployment-rate. Chart.