425
Canadian who moved his family to Russia for ‘traditional values’ says he no longer recommends it: permanent residency would require signing a Defense Ministry contract (meduza.io)
submitted 1 month ago by to c/leopardsatemyface@lemmy.world
139 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Canadian farmer Arend Feenstra, who moved to Russia through a streamlined immigration program for citizens of “unfriendly” countries who share “traditional values,” has complained that he cannot get a permanent residence permit. The news outlet Nizhny Novgorod Onlain drew attention to his YouTube video.

Feenstra received a three-year temporary residence permit in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod region in early 2025. He then brought his wife and eight children to Russia and began farming.

But Feenstra has now learned that to replace his temporary residence permit with a permanent one, he must sign a contract with Russia’s Defense Ministry.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 34 points 1 month ago (11 children)

Please, no. Please? This is how we got into this mess in the first place. We were slightly more conservative than the Canadian average 25 years ago and then all the rest of the country dumped their social rejects on us. Our population doubled in like 10 years and now we have Danielle Smith running the province. Please, I'm begging you, stop sending every failed Ontario washout to Alberta.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 11 child comments
    •
  • [–] 10 points 1 month ago (5 children)

    Isn't Alberta where all the best hiking is? I've often thought about where I would want to live in Canada if they ever accepted me and I would prefer to live where there's mountains and hiking. Did they really turn the prettiest province into a dumping ground for their worst people?

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 5 child comments
    •
  • [–] 10 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    It's pretty close to 50/50 population wise. A little over half are right wing mostly in the sticks. A little under half are left-ish, mostly in the cities. But yes, basically anyone who couldn't hold down a job anywhere else was told to grab a shovel and head to Alberta to dig for oil. And they came, by the millions. They bought up the cheap houses in all the little whistle-stop towns and then headed off to work the rigs. We leaned a bit right before they came, but not this far right. Even most of the farmers find them extreme.

    The American oil barons promoted American style culture and a disdain for Albertan history and cultures. Most of the rig pigs and truckers didn't know any better, they weren't from around here. Now 25-30% of the province doesn't even identify as Canadian.

    Don't misread me, it was never a haven for critical thinkers, but we had one of the finest public education systems in North America for nearly 30 years once. You wouldn't know it now. Our public health system was a miracle for how low our population density was. It's still not as bad as some of the truly dystopian parts of the US, but it's certainly a struggle compared to some provinces. The racism and xenophobia always existed, but it was never this widespread, and it certainly wasn't this open. All our independent news orgs are now wholly owned by American hedge funds.

    There's some bright spots though. The arts are still widely celebrated here. Calgary and Edmonton have more stage theatres than you'd find in many cities twice their size, and music festivals are everywhere. Arguably we have more diverse food culture here than most places in North America too. The urban centres are actually pretty cosmopolitan and friendly. If you stick to the urban metro-areas and the national and provincial parks, it's still beautiful.

    And the political situation isn't as hopeless as some people make it out to be. We're outnumbered, but just barely.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] 2 points 1 month ago

    The American oil barons promoted American style culture and a disdain for Albertan history and cultures. Most of the rig pigs and truckers didn’t know any better, they weren’t from around here. Now 25-30% of the province doesn’t even identify as Canadian.

    I call them IRS fugitives who also import their own scum culture and pollute.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 1 point 1 month ago

    I appreciate your thorough response! I'm so used to our red states in the US being absolutely awful and backwards as hell that I think I was projecting that onto Alberta. It can't possibly be as bad as fuckin Idaho, lol.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 7 points 1 month ago (3 children)

    They're not being sent, they're being called to Alberta. Did you know Alberta has been heavily advertising in other provinces to get people to move there? They've been doing this for over ten years now. They have huge multimillion ad campaigns to lure people over.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 3 child comments
    •
  • [–] -2 points 1 month ago (2 children)

    Read it again. Your recency bias is showing. They flooded out west long before there were any ad campaigns.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •