I got a few emails from members of the Dynamics Community who wish to relocate to Canada. Many others have asked similar questions on various internet forums and Quora. For those of you that wish to come to the Great White North, read on!

Immigration

In order to work in Canada, you need to have authorization to work in Canada. Here are the various options that exist. I am not an immigration lawyer and please verify all information on your own. If you wish to consult an immigration lawyer, you can go on Citizenship and Immigration Canada's website.

Youth Mobility Visa

If you are up to 30 years old (up to 35 years old for some countries) and you are a citizen of a country that has a Youth Mobility Visa agreement with Canada, you can get an open work visa that lasts 2 years. You can learn more on Citizenship and Immigration Canada's website.

Global Skills Strategy

If you have a bachelor's degree and have a job offer from a Canadian company as a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Analyst or Microsoft Dynamics 365 developer, you are eligible for a work visa under this scheme. Since these are considered to be high-skilled professions, the government guarantees a processing time of 2 weeks. Getting sponsored under this visa will make you eligible to apply for permanent residency under Express Entry. You can learn more on Citizenship and Immigration Canada's website.

TN Visa (for citizens of the United States of America and Mexico)

If you are a citizen of the United States of America or Mexico and have an offer of employment from a Canadian company as an Information System Analyst or Consultant (National Occupation Code 2171), you are eligible for a TN visa. You can apply at a Canadian Port of Entry. You can learn more on Citizenship and Immigration Canada's website.

Express Entry

The Express Entry program invites foreign nationals to invite for Canadian permanent residency based on language skills, education and work experience. You can learn more about the program on Citizenship and Immigration Canada's website.

Please note that every province has their own express entry stream, so you might want to look into that.

If you have further questions on Canadian immigration law, I encourage you to ask a Canadian immigration lawyer.

National Occupation Code (NOC)

Someone asked me in the comments of this article what is the National Occupation Code for a Microsoft Dynamics 365 professional. I later learned that this information is required on many application forms to immigrate to Canada, so here is what you need to know.

• If you are on the functional side (Functional Consultant, Business Analyst, Systems Analyst or Administrator), you would fall under the category of Information Systems Analysts and Consultants (2171). This would also include Solution Architects.
• If you are on the technical side (Developer or Technical Consultant), you would fall under the category of Computer Programmers and Interactive Media Developers (2174).
• The National Occupation Code does not make the distinction between a specialization in Microsoft Dynamics 365 for Customer Engagement, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Finance, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Operations or Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.

How Much Can I Earn as a Microsoft Dynamics 365 Professional in Canada? Do you have any information about salaries in the industry?

The best place to get salary information for a Microsoft Dynamics 365 role is from the Nigel Frank International Salary Survey. You can see last year's survey here and fill out this year's survey here.

Where Can I Go?

Canada is the second largest country in the world by land surface. This country is so massive that it takes more time to fly from Montreal to Vancouver than it takes to fly from Montreal to Paris. Here are the various options. A particularity of the Canadian market is that salaries are almost the same across the country, even if the cost of living can vary dramatically between cities. Salaries that are publicly available vary from $50,000 for a new graduate with no experience to $150,000 for a Solutions Architect.

Toronto, Ontario

Toronto is Canada's largest city and the provincial capital of Ontario, Canada's most populous province. It is the largest market in the country, with approximately 30% of jobs in the country. The weather is relatively mild compared to the rest of the country. Here are some companies where you could work.

Partners

There are a lot of Microsoft Dynamics 365 partners in Toronto. All major international and national players have a presence in Toronto (Avanade, PowerObjects, Hitachi Solutions, BDO, MNP, CGI, Endeavour Solutions, KPMG Adoxio) and several local players as well.

ISV (Independent Software Vendors)

There are a few ISVs in Toronto. Of course, it is impossible not to mention KingswaySoft, lead by MVP Daniel Cai! It is a leading data transfer tool that allows seamless data transfer between systems. Canada has two distinct specialties in the ISV space: non-profits and field service.

End-Users

There are many end-users in Toronto in a ton of different industries. There are 2 of the Big 5 banks (RBC and CIBC), insurance companies (Munich RE and Empire Life, among others), entertainment (Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors and Toronto FC) and new technologies (The Herjavec Group, owned by Robert Herjavec, who is a Shark on ABC's Shark Tank).

Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver is Canada's third largest city and (arguably) the most beautiful city in Canada. Another massive benefit of living in Vancouver is its very mild climate by Canadian standards which has similar weather patterns to England.

The job market differs in Vancouver compared to the rest of the country. Approximately 15% of jobs are in Vancouver. There is no end-user heavyweight, but a lot of Microsoft Partners and even Microsoft themselves have a large presence in Vancouver due to its proximity to Microsoft's global headquarters in the Seattle area (only 230 kilometres away) and Canada's immigration friendly policies. Most CRM projects in Vancouver are either for American companies or for the provincial government of British Columbia.

If you get a job offer as a Microsoft Dynamics 365 professional and meet eligibility criteria, you could get permanent residency in a few months.

Montreal, Quebec

I could write an entire blog post on my amazing home town, Montreal! It is the perfect blend of North America and Europe and by far the best city to eat in Canada (unless you are a fan of Asian cuisines, where Toronto and Vancouver have much better options). Another benefit of Montreal is that it has by far the lowest cost of living of the Big 3 cities. To give you an idea, for the same price of a 42 square meters studio in Toronto or Vancouver ($475,000 as of January 2019), you can get a 96 square meters 3 bedroom condo in Montreal.

What's the catch, you ask? The language barrier. Every employer in Montreal will require fluency in French, Canada's second official language. Moreover, income taxes are higher than in the rest of the country. However, this is compensated by the lowest car insurance premiums in the country, lowest child care cost and lowest university tuition fees. If you already speak French or you are willing to learn the language, Montreal might be the perfect place for you.

With approximately 25% of the job market, Montreal has one global partner with an office (Avanade) and the global headquarters of CGI are located in Montreal. Due to the language barrier, most national Microsoft Partners do not have a presence in Montreal. However, there are several local heavyweights including Gestisoft, XRM Vision, Jovaco and Cloud GenX Solutions.

Ottawa, Ontario

Our nation capital is not the ideal place for newcomers. However, with approximately 10% of the job market, I need to mention Ottawa to give you a complete picture of Canada. Most of the postings are for government contractors, the Canadian government or related entities. Therefore, the majority of postings here will require a security clearance. However, in order to get such a clearance, Canadian citizenship is highly recommended and you must be a Canadian resident for the last 5 years. Many positions will require Canadian citizenship and residency in Canada for the last 10 years (top secret). Moreover, if you know French, you will have a distinct advantage.

However, after a few years in Canada, our nation's capital has some unique perks. If you are a museum buff, you have an easy access to national museums. If you need a weekend gate-away, you are almost halfway between Montreal and Toronto. If you love nature, you can opt to go to the Algonquin Provincial Park. Moreover, it is much more affordable than Toronto and Vancouver (but slightly more expensive than Montreal).

Calgary, Alberta

It is truly a shame that I did not mention Calgary in the first version of this blog post. Calgary is by far Canada's best bargain and hidden gem. You have a surrounding natural beauty similar to Vancouver for a fraction of the cost (condos are about 50% cheaper, townhomes are 67% cheaper and single family homes are 75% cheaper). An added perk is to have the lowest tax burden in Canada.

Calgary has some the presence of some strong national players (Hitachi Solutions has a massive office in Calgary, along with BDO and Avanade) as well as some regional players (such as Betach Solutions and Frequency Foundry, specialized in public sector solutions).

Calgary also has among the worst labour shortage of Microsoft Dynamics 365 professionals in Canada because many professionals left during the oil crash of 2014-15 and went to Toronto or Vancouver. The economy has picked up since then and the government is investing heavily in diversification programs (most notably in engineering and technology) to not be reliant on oil and gas.

If you are looking to immigrate to Canada, Alberta is known to have significantly lower processing times than Ontario and British Columbia.

However, one major catch of Calgary is that not many positions are advertised publicly. Instead, firms decide to rely on recruiters or word of mouth. If you are willing to contact companies directly, you would be surprised by the response you will get.

What Skills Are In Demand in Canada?

The most useful examination in Canada is by far MB-230 (Dynamics 365 for Customer Service). It is mentioned in Request for Proposals (RFP) by the Canadian government and almost all provincial governments (Quebec being the notable exception). If you are eligible for a Canadian Secret Clearance and are a Functional Consultant Associate and passed MB-230, you will almost never be out of work. This skill is in much higher demand in Canada compared to other countries around the world.

Like many other countries, developers are in very high demand. This demand for developers will only grow in the coming years. This is because many US-based partners are establishing their presence in Canada or expanding because of the visa restrictions currently in place in the United States of America. There is a bigger labour shortage for Microsoft Dynamics 365 developers than Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Analysts. You can become a certified Dynamics 365 developer by passing the related certification.

A Word About "Canadian Experience"

If you go on internet forums, you will read that many newcomers complain about Canadian employers requiring "Canadian Experience", which is a catch-22 problem. Let me explain you what "Canadian Experience" actually means.

Canadian employers are relatively risk averse. Even if someone is by far the most qualified candidate, they may hire the second best applicant because they are perceived to be less risky. It can be that either they might stay longer at the company, they have a diploma from a  Canadian university that the hiring manager knows about or worked for a company known by the hiring manager.

The only way to break this cycle is to ensure that you diminish your perceived risk. A great way to do this is to get the Functional Consultant Associate certification, since the employer will know that you have solid knowledge of Microsoft Dynamics 365. Another way to do this (if you are a developer) is to participate to open source projects (XRM Tool Box or Sparkle XRM) and show a portfolio of projects you have participated in.

Conclusion

If you want to move to Canada, your first step should be to figure out your legal option to come here. Since I have virtually zero knowledge of this domain, I highly encourage you to contact an immigration lawyer. No employer or headhunter will be willing to discuss opportunities with you unless you have proper authorization.

Finally, if you have any question about life in Canada or the Microsoft Dynamics 365 market, feel free to ask questions! I also started a YouTube channel to give you more information about life in Canada.

Disclaimer: I am not an immigration lawyer, attorney or consultant. Please verify the information I provided regarding immigration law independently or with an immigration lawyer approved by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.