How accessible is Canada for an american
Whitetail Deer
Contributors to this thread:
How accessible is Saskatchewan or Alberta for an american citizen to move up there and buy a farm to live/hunt? What are the differences in cost(s) plus the way of living? The widwest is high very high cost wise. Is there a value in moving north? Im very conservative, politically but i could give a little to own a big piece of ground and chase world class whitetails. Yall's thoughts?
Keep the concept of hunting in perspective. It’s not worth it. Visit and enjoy Canada frequently. Great people and Place. Not the US as a country though.
Never been to Canada but when I seen Ambushes bucket full of resident tags for all kinds of iconic animals, it made me wish I liked Canadian whiskey a little more than I do!
The metric system is enough to keep me out.
I just heard that it's gonna be the 51st state so it might get easier. Ha
Agree with Bou Bound. Lots of freedoms here that don’t exist north of the border, thanks to our constitution.
Been there MANY times over the years. Stay in USA & VISIT..
Have a daughter and son-in-law there. No way I’d want to live there.
Liberal govt with a lot of overreach. No thanks.
Not only a Liberal govt, but Liberal citizens too...
Interesting. I am a Canadian so maybe I can offer a little more insight. I live in Manitoba. As I'm sure you are well aware, Canada is a big country. Saskatchewan and Alberta are very different places to live than Ontario or Quebec, and certainly different than the East Coast or West coast. Comparing Alberta to British Columbia even would be like comparing California to Iowa.
When it comes to Conservative vs Liberal places to live Alberta and Sask are staunchly conservative. Is our country as a whole more liberal? Yes. For sure. Alberta is the most conservative and also the most expensive for land value. Alberta you are looking at literally world class whitetails, mule deer, elk, moose, sheep, and some pronghorn hunting. Sask as a resident you are looking at world class whitetail, world class mulies, but limited tags and animals, world class elk and moose. No pronghorn. Oh I forgot both have world class black bears as well. I think both may have caribou in the northern regions. Sask is mainly flat with world class freshwater fishing. Alberta way more limited in the fishing regard.
I have hunted areas of both provinces and wish I was born there as opposed to Manitoba! lol.
Honestly I think you could check all your boxes easily in Canada. You'll have to leave your AR at the border though. I don't think it's difficult to move here but never been through those hoops. And sounds like we need more of your kind so come on up. Our next Prime Minister will be Conservative as even the liberals have had enough of the liberal nonsense of the past number of years.
Maybe APauls can answer this... Don't know how true it is but heard 80% of the Canadian population lives within a hundred miles of the U.S, border?
I don't even want to visit Canada...but I will no doubt take my wife to the Banff area someday .....
Born and raised in the U.S. a mile from the Canadian border.Their dollar is worth $.70 to the U.S.dollar and their cost of living thru the roof;taxes are very high(to pay for health care).Our stores are over-run we "over-homers",there must be a reason. Nice place to visit other than Quebec(they even hate the other Canadians) let alone the people from the U.S.
yes Zbone you are correct. Drive a little north and it's wild. In Manitoba for example the top half is almost completely public land. Even in the bottom half if you enter towards the east you can probably walk the full 750 mile length of Manitoba south to North in completely public ground. Start by dodging black bears and whitetails and end up in tundra grizzlies, polar bears and caribou.
Move to the top half of one of these provinces and you'll find extremely low population densities, very cheap dirt, and extremely large, unpressured animals. Where you start to buy tracts of lands by the hundreds when it comes to acres. Saskatchewan almost has the population dynamics of Alaska and its farmed ground almost half way up.
When it comes to game variation potential and size potential I don't think there is a place in the world that has Alberta beat. It's literally the land of milk and honey.
Yeah, leave your AR at the border. The Liberals "assault rifle" term they blatantly apply to any firearm that offends them.
I know of several folks who lived there with curable diseases that were told they exhausted their governmental medical program allowances. As my doctor who survived cancer put it; "If I was living up there with relatives, I wouldn't even be here".
Plenty of stories about fisherman having coolers inspected for any trace of alcohol, wrong kinds of snacks, or bait.
Enough said about them.
Great fishing and hunting to be sure but that's if you are allowed to live with an illness and use a reasonable weapon of your choice.
If you want to go someplace more reasonable with plenty of game, great fishing and no bugs wanting to eat you alive all summer maybe try New Zealand??
Saskatchewan is about the size of 1/4 of continental USA without Alaska and has 1.2 million people. Half of those live in two cities. That leaves like 600,000 people in an area the size of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Montana put together. Just for sake of reference lol. Alberta and Manitoba are bigger yet.
Look at the Canadian Government website under “immigration to Canada”. You’ll find out if you qualify to get in. Tougher to get into Canada than coming in to the US from the Mexico side. They have a point system based on age, education, job skills, etc.
Cross border taxes are complicated. As a dual citizen living in Canada for 15 years, we still use a tax accountant to do them. Reciprocity makes the burden reasonable.
We retired up in BC in the area I worked, (mining) that elects all conservative politicians….provincial and federal. But BC has a large lower mainland population (Vancouver etc) that over-rides the rest of the province and elects NDP governments.
We have 15 of the 29 big game species in BC that you can hunt. Grizzly hunting is closed now, not for lack of bears, rather political reasons or it would be 16. And our coastal grizzlies would be called brown bears in nearby Alaska. And our southern moose, Shiras if not above the US lborder. And northwest moose are Alaska Yukon moose when they cross into Alaska or the Yukon! So we probably have 19/29 species but only get credit for 15 huntable.
lol. I like this Mike guy. He sounds kinda dirty. Maybe I even like him in a ghey way...
I see quite a bit of whining on Bowsite about how the big liberal cities in many states out vote and run that state. Its the same here. Outside of the little southwest corner of BC, it's almost all conservative but we to are subject to the whims of politicians pandering to where the votes are. Isn't that how Colorado got wolves?
But Canada's land mass is bigger than the US with one tenth the population, so you can easily find a quiet place away from the madness. Tags are cheap and the animals plentiful.
Your best bet is Manitoba or BC. Saskatchewan is a terrible place. Nothing to see here.
Whatthefoc - you're specifically talking about down town PA? Lol
Tony - PA is terrible, as we all know. But I was referring to the entire province, which is a wasteland not worthy of attention from potential hunting immigrants. I am trying to build a wall of sorts - and it would help if you would delete a few of your trophy pictures, because it’s not helping my case.
Lol I'm in Alberta now. I left because the hunting was poor
My second favorite National Anthem. Canada is the only country I’ll visit. I have Conservative bow hunting friends in most every Province. Big bears out west. Looking forward to May in Saskatchewan.
Agree w everything APauls has said. My parents emigrated from Germany in 1953 to Manitoba. They moved to Wisconsin when I was three.
I moved to Alberta in 87 when my 7 year maintenance job came to an end because of automation and down sizing.
Hunting here has been a dream for sure. When I lived in the northern Bow zone permission to hunt was easier to get. A bit tougher in the Calgary Bow zone but if your persistent still available. Eight species OTC tags for Bow.
Manitoba ,provincial government, going to put restrictions on having machetes and long knives. Now taking knives from citizens!! Think twice before moving North of the Border.
Your best bet would be Northern Saskatchewan where you can bait and do food plots. But you would still need to buy at least a full section of land, 640 acres, maybe more, to have any chance of keeping a daylight walking buck alive. With our low deer densities our bucks travel long distances. If he steps off your place he will get killed with a month long, November rut rifle season surrounding you. In Alberta with no baiting and food plots a grey area you would need to buy even more land to hold deer.
A full section of land is probably worth $600,000 to $800,000 CAD? It would be in Northern Alberta at least. So is that cheaper than a small piece of land in the Midwest that will hold deer?
My in-laws are near Edmonton. Visit there yearly. You'd be FAR better off moving to Northern Montana, Northern Idaho, or Northern North Dakota, Followed by U.P. Michigan, and lastly Northwestern Washington, Northern Wisconsin, Northern Minnesota.
Just to let you know how bad it is under the leftist govt, during covid my brother in law was driving on the highway alone, without a mask on, a mountie coming in opposite direction saw him, turned around pulled him over and he was given a hefty fine.
Your best route would ante up $500,000 for a lifetime of hunting with Mike Ukrainetz in Alberta.
Haha, you nailed it Huntcell! I’ll take care of the details, make your money in the good ole USA and come hunt with me!!
You can’t beat the outdoor opportunities here, but politically you guys have us beat by a long shot. Not that I’d say you have it all figured out, but for sure vastly different. Gun rights especially.
Right now your dollar compared to ours is quite strong so you’d be at an advantage buying. But your investment then lies in the Canadian dollar.
When you say ‘buy a farm’, not sure if you mean to both hunt and farm or just hunt. If farming is a consideration, I think you’re far better off south of the border. Land is our unfair advantage, but I think you guys have us beat in every other way. Sell prices on livestock especially seems to be way better down in the states. Equipment is way cheaper down there. Example, I need a manure spreader right now and we’re headed to MN for a vacation anyways in Feb so figured I’d make a deal. Found two Meyer Vmax spreaders in Canada at 11k Canadian, went on marketplace and within an hour had one in nice shape bought for (after exchange) $5800 Canadian close to where we’ll be. Being a first generation farmer trying to make a go of it, I often wish I was in the states.
But I guess the flip side is right now land is still cheap in Canada, and with demand, that likely won’t always be, so it could also be the best investment you’ll ever make buying land here.
I would like to buy/invest in Canada land/farm but would I even be allowed to hunt my own farm if I live south of the border?
In Sasky for big game, you must either be a Canadian resident - or go thru an outfitter. Owning land here wouldn’t allow you to hunt.
Oh ya - and outfitters aren’t allowed to outfit in the farmland (with some minor exceptions along the forest fringe) - so there’s no loophole there. Also - other than a few moose tags in remote northern zones, moose, elk, mule deer and antelope are off limits to non residents. That leaves whitetails and bears - but again, that’s thru an outfitter if you’re not a Canadian resident.
Most places in Canada have their hunting to NRs on lockdown. I know BC has a few road blocks in place that make it difficult for even residents of CA.
As M. Pauls mentioned above, right now the dollar is strong, it gives you some leverage, but that money will be tough to transfer back unless we see another 08-09 when the two currencies were almost at par. I'm actually going through this right now.
I think they real eye opener here are the winters! What does that tell you when a guy from Canada is taking a vacation to Minnesota? Ha "heading Sowt"
In Alberta you can’t buy farmland unless you are a permanent resident of Canada. An American can buy it in Saskatchewan, maybe Manitoba or B.C. but as Trevor/whatthefoc says owning land doesn’t give you any hunting rights. You would have to move to Canada and have a certain province as your primary residence for that. And funny enough in Alberta as a resident you could only draw a mule deer or moose tag every 5-10 years. If you buy a hunt from an outfitter you can hunt them every year in Canada!
I do think most Americans that would move from the Conservative, hunting culture, inexpensive living, nicer weather, of the Midwest would have a tough time adjusting to life in the sparsely populated, frozen northern parts of Alberta/Sask/Manitoba where the best deer hunting is to be had. Heck most Canadians don’t want to live in the north, most live near the USA border.
@ Mike not mention the brutal cold just to kill a deer! Flipping guys from CA hunting in Iowa or KS in November would be wearing pants and flipflops with a fan in the tree cooling them down.
Nice that yall can come buy here and hunt on your land or just come and hunt on public. Not nice that we cannot do the same going north....... Unfair trade agreement Im out
I was lucky to be born in the USA, which I defended, and love. Canada is beautiful, but I would never give up my citizenship.
"As a Canadian, if you could get rid of one province, which province would it be and why Quebec?"
Hahaha Ambush! That’s great
When Trump made that joke about Canada being the next state bla bla, many don’t realize essentially what you would be doing in that fairytale would be nothing more than sealing the fate for conservatives.
It’s hard to “give up your US citizenship “. They want your tax $$ for ever. Can be done with the right lawyer. But you can become a dual citizen of both countries, but you always have to be a resident of one state or province in one country or the other respectively. No double dipping on dual residency's for hunting purposes or otherwise.
Some great comments posted above guys! Has me laughing in the 76* F heat in AZ!!!
I would say Kurt is in the know here. Two questions for Kurt.
Did becoming a BC resident have an impact on becoming a Super Slammer?
And are you riding your vintage two wheeled toy around the Arizona countryside?
Rod, BC had everything to do with becoming a super slammer. I moved up at 19 species 15 years ago. Access to grizzlies, Stone sheep, Canada moose and mountain caribou here for low cost licenses (plus Roosevelt Elk and Blacktails, even though I’d already gotten the species in OR) was key.
That combined with a good job in my field, double dipping with my US retirement made the other out of province species “affordable: Dall sheep, musk ox, brown bear, polar bear, Tule elk, and Central Canada Barren Ground Caribou.
The 2-wheeler stayed home. Wish I had it at times. Always hike from the truck camper which limits my range. Didn’t have the heart to stick the little thing on a front rack on the truck and abuse it with mag chloride, road salt, road sand, for 5,000 miles (RT with my running around) etc. The past 3 weeks were bike riding weather though.
Steam coming off a moving creek in the frigid temps
Steam coming off a moving creek in the frigid temps
That is definitely something to think about. What I see Midwest guys complaining about in their “bitter cold worst of the year” January hunts is what we call an average day rut hunt.
My buddy Tyler and I went for a late November one day tag filling mission and sat for 4 hours in temps of -33 and wind chill in -40’s.
Bike riding is a little brisk around here this week. I’m driving home from hunting elk today … -38 with the wind chill.
Haha - great minds think alike. Adam beat me to it.
I spent one winter in ND, that’s as far North I’m ever gonna go ! Yep, I’m a wuss !
Early season in northern BC. After that it gets cold. But it’s only eleven hour days. That is of course unless you let your pee steam hit the metal treestand. Gotta be careful how you break that icicle!
APauls - Picture of that buck reminds me of the old school "Monarchs of Alberta" video...
How far north is the range of whitetails up there? I remember seeing a picture years ago of a couple does standing in snow over their backs...
Many of us want to buy land or move to a magical hunting land that we fell in love with. I’ve done it half a dozen times out west. With plans of retirement homes and hunting. The reality always turned out to be. It wasn’t worth the money outlay for the little hunting time spent per year. Luckily I bought on the upswings and sold all but one piece for gains.
Stay where you are making the money to allow these luxuries and travel a week or two weeks or months to hunt those locations. And keep them special in your mind.
For instance buying a section of land in northern CatScratchewan to kill one whitetail. That amount of money would fund a world hunt and fishing agenda done on the cheap for 20 years. And have 100 species in the bag.
Do what you currently do to afford the luxury of travel hunting. And continue to do that.
But the dream is more fun. Plus why do to Canadians what we complain about when people flood our hunting states. Fleeing the dystopia they created :>))))
I’m with Altitude!! Hunted with Mike this past fall and headed to NWT this coming fall. I dream of these places, but home is special!! I love to go away and hunt and I love to go home!!
Exactly. It’s the same as people who say they want their career to be hunting or outdoors related so they can hunt more.
Forget it. Get a great job. Have a great career where you can make disposable income. Not one where you scratch by.
Then pay to hunt what you want when you want where you want with who you want. Don’t be teathered to a marginal job or place for the one dimensional activity of hunting.
Disposable income is key in my opinion. I work more, not less.
I’m with altitude sickness. That’s what I do.
When I see the YouTube videos of guys hunting the Midwest with these big, free range bucks just casually walking around in broad daylight I can’t believe it. Then when the hunter says he saw 15-20 bucks in a day in a good pinch point, or just feeding in a food plot that’s really unbelievable. Canada doesn’t have anything like that.
But what we do have is huge bucks that you can get on camera that no one else has on camera, maybe no one else has ever seen the deer. Maybe you haven’t either. So it becomes an addictive obsession to kill one of them, tough with a rifle, nearly impossible with a bow. In Alberta anyway. I’m confident that I was the only guy who had trail camera pics of either of these deer, public land. 185 and 200 I’ll estimate. Found just one shed antler and killed the one buck when he was 174 typical. It took 4 years to kill him with a rifle.
Thanks to all that took their time to reply. That's a ton of information. Gives me some new perspectives. Thanks again.