How to make friends in British Columbia

Hello,

I have lived in many different parts of Canada, the maritimes, prairies etc and BC.  I find that in BC and in particular Vancouver, meeting and making friends can be a bit more challenging.  The people in Vancouver are very nice but seem a bit more cautious and introverted when meeting newcomers compared to other parts of Canada

Two great ways to make friends are the social networking website www.Meetup.com and a culture immersions program like Culture Connections.

Meetup is great for anyone who is interested in making friends with people with the same interest locally. The people running the various meetup clubs are usually very friendly but you may need to shop around from club to club until you find one that suits you best. This can be helpful for people from another country, or city or someone going through a change in their life.

Culture Connections is specifically suited for Newcomers (immigrants and refugees) from other countries. Newcomers are matched with a Canadian for two hours a week, once a week for three months.  This one to one practice with a native English speaker can be very helpful for someone learning English. The partnership is very supportive for someone who may have a lot of questions about Canadian culture and history.  It is also a great way to learn the nuances of making friends in a new country because each country has a slightly different method for meeting and making friends.

The program is free to Newcomers who speak some English (ELSA Level 3 or equivalent), has been in Canada for less than three years and is over 18 years old.

You can apply at culture@mosaicbc.com to join

Hi!

I just joined this site a couple of days ago. I'm originally from the Philippines. I'd been in Canada for 3 years now and I am currently living in Victoria, the provincial capital of BC. I agree with Naomi and BillyM, it certainly is a lot harder to make friends in Canada, particularly in a small city like Victoria where everybody knows each other and have established friendships. It kind of creates a feeling like "I have my friends already, I don't need new ones" or something like that.

Don't get me wrong, Canadians are generally very nice, polite and friendly, certainly easy to get along with and strike up a conversation with. However, socially they are also a little bit reserved, distant and cliquish. There seems to be a compartmentalization of interaction i.e. you interact with them because they are part of your work life or school life or you play golf at the same club, go to the same gym but that's about it. Your interaction does not go beyond those boundaries or if they ever do, it can be awkward because your interaction has been removed from the common ground and transported some place else. Sorry I make them sound so dull and stiff but really they are not, they're fun and very egalitarian.

So the best places to meet people in Canada, particularly in BC will be in organized and compartmentalized interactions like work, school, church and any leisure type of activities like the golf course for example. I've met most of my friends and acquintances that way.