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In your first months here, you open accounts and sign up for things quickly, often before you know how the system works. The four steps look at what keeps running after that first month: an account whose free period ends, fees you can avoid, and the first moves on a new credit file. Settling in explains banking in Quebec, where a Desjardins caisse is a cooperative, not a bank.

  1. New to Canada

    What you set up in your first month in Canada keeps running after you stop looking at it.

    Five that keep running.

    Video · 11:36
  2. New to Canada

    A newcomer account’s free period ends on a set date, and cheaper accounts exist after it.

    What happens when the free period ends.

    Video · 17:38
  3. New to Canada

    Each of these five bank fees depends on a choice you can make.

    Five you do not have to pay.

    Video · 18:19
  4. New to Canada

    On a new credit file, asking for a higher limit and applying for a new card are different moves.

    The mistake in the middle.

    Video · 14:42

Settling in

Written by Aman Sabarwal in Winnipeg, Manitoba.