To not want my 19 year old moving to Canada alone?

Yes, all parents worry a little bit when their offspring travel or move away for the first time as teenagers but ‘shitting ourselves’? I think not.
We know our DC are resourceful and capable and we want them to experience even more of the world than we did.

I say this as someone who also grew up in a mining town in the East Midlands where the boys mostly went to work in the local mine and the girls went to work in the local sewing/knitwear factories. My mum was bright but marrying my dad so young was her biggest regret as she never got to fulfil her own ambitions. Thankfully, she had a different mindset from my friends’ parents and didn’t want her children to stay stuck in that small town, so we all moved away.

I lived in different parts of the U.K. and I now live abroad and all my adult DC live in different countries. I expect my youngest will travel and live somewhere else when he’s grown up too.

Wow how wonderful. I Have never heard of this. I'd love my dc to do something like this but I will probably prefer cookie cutter uni. As she isn't going to uni yet this is a great thing for her to do to be independent and grown up. What better time than now to do this?

I barely travelled post uni but I have done some. Your dd needs wider horizons and as Boris and Co have buggered up Europe for our dc she may as well take advantage of the commonwealth.

She’ll have a marvellous time!

BUNAC has been in existence forever, it’s not some fly by night hussle. She’s researched her options and sounds a practical and sensible young woman.

If her father wants a loving and healthy relationship with her as an adult he’d better think hard about how he responds to her plans and ambitions.

She will have an amazing time and learn so much about herself, other cultures and Canada! In a ski resort there will be lots of people her own age working there, so she should have an amazing time.

I would be very impressed with her if she was my DD, especially that she's researched and organised it all herself. (I'd obviously be worried about her going, but I wouldn't stop her or tell her!) She's obviously one of life's go getters It will also be looked at positively by future employers..

Your DH needs to have a think about what he wants his future relationship with her to be. If he continues to be so negative about her trying new things and spreading her wings, he could ruin their relationship for a long time. He may not like it and it may not be something he would choose to do, but he needs to respect her choices and believe that the two of your have brought her up to be a sensible, responsible adult.

@tcjotm haha i have onky been able to visit cities/ live on my own for the last 5ish years since childhood so maybe 😂

shame, i love Australians

I hope your dh doesn't put her off, though, OP, with his negativity. I know one girl who did a year in Australia and absolutely loved it. She was about to extend her visa but her dad persuaded her not to, as he "couldn't bear her being so far away". The poor girl cancelled it all, came back home to a dull job and when I met her a couple of years later, she still hugely regretted not having stayed there longer, and was pretty depressed about being stuck in her home town forever or having to disappoint her dad.

I wonder if your dh is also actually just afraid of his little girl growing up and not being as close?

As a Canadian employer, why would you bother with the immigration process when you can just hire a 21 year old Canadian

As long as she has enough for a return ticket and some emergency money and the proper health insurance, there is no reason for her not to go. Your DH needs to be more supportive and stop trying to clip her wings.

Wow - what a fabulous opportunity for her - of course she should go and do this!
We raise our kids to leave the nest - not to hold them back. The more you try and keep her home the more resentful she'll become and more determined to go. Of course you'll miss her, and she may get homesick at times, but she should go for it.
I'd be planning one of those coast to coast train holidays to meet up with her somewhere next year !

Brilliant film... And a good example of men clipping women's wings....husband felt like a horror story... (I avoided many such men from my home town... Sadly some my pals didn't!)

See also Educating Rita - (Rita's husband😁)

I went off travelling at 17 on my own. I get that it's scary from parent's POV but it's Canada and as long as she's sensible and has researched things then it should be fine. It's also easier than when I did it as with google maps on your phone it's hard to get lost anywhere.

This will be a great experience for your daughter- but the only comment I would make is that I’m not sure how fast visas are being issued. I know that the ski area that we own at is really short on staff and local news articles have employers saying that even people with job offers may not get out in time for season start, because they can’t get their visa. Maybe applying via an organisation wasn’t such a waste of money this year if they have been able to help get the visa processed.

OP I don't blame you for being a bit concerned about safety but I think the main reason is that you will miss her and that's understandable but if you try to discourage her it will sour your relationship. If she is adventurous and loves working in hospitality then she could have a wonderful career working in amazing hotels around the world. You should be very proud of her and start saving for some interesting holidays when you can go and visit.

All these people telling you not to worry wouldn't be breezy if it were their own teenager moving across the planet. They'd be shitting themselves too
My son did "work and travel" in New Zealand at age 20 and I have to say I did not feel even mildly worried at any point. He sorted it all out, showed me that it was a reputable company (though not as huge as Bunac). He'd already been on holidays abroad on his own at 17/18, and managed to sort things out really well, e.g. getting himself and a load of friends home when their coach was cancelled late at night in Italy. New Zealand actually requires these young people (who come every year in their thousands) to have enough money to get home again, so that was all sorted. I don't think I'm particularly heartless, but at no point did it feel any more concerning than if he'd been gallivanting around closer to home. Possibly as I did the same thing when I was in my 20s and it just felt like a really cool adventure :)

Let her do it, it sounds like a brilliant idea. Research the company if you’re worried - look on trust pilot etc, but it will be a great experience for her.

It’s lovely to hear of young people this age making their own way in the world and starting with something so exciting too.

You seem to have raised and independent and resourceful young adult which is ace!

This is standard gap year territory - if you think of it that way would it make you feel better?

2. Most people consider cultural differences to be one of the main positive things about foreign travel, not a negative. If everywhere were culturally similar, why bother to travel at all?

3. So Canada isn't 100% perfect? No shit sherlock! The UK also doesn't have an amazing record if you look at some of the things that have gone on here in the recent past. Forcible adoptions, shipping children to Australia, endemic racism in many instutions.... but the country is much more than those things (as will be the case for Canada).

I can't think of many better places to do what she's lined up, TBH: Canada is safe, affluent, has good public services etc.

I did BUNAC at 18, albeit to the US and just for a summer and then a couple of months travelling. That was years ago (90s) and it was safe and well organised. I'd imagine it's only got better since then.
Your daughter sounds proactive, ambitious, organised and sensible. Hospitality is a tough industry but if you're good at it, which it sounds like she is, it can offer a lot of opportunity. I know people for whom jobs/careers in hospitality have allowed them to live in North America, the Caribbean, Oceania…

So, good for her!
And tell your DH to give his head a wobble.
(I spent some of my childhood in a stereotypical ex-mining area –village not town – and his views sound depressingly familiar).

What a wonderful daughter she sounds

I would be very proud of her

Oh, OP, be proud of your Dd, having vision of a horizon beyond that she has grown up with.

As it happens, your DH’s stream of rain on her parade will almost certainly strengthen her spirit to give it a try.

Young people make friends quickly, especially working together in hospitality.

I won’t lie: I would miss my Dc like crazy (but would be changing at the bit to visit for a holiday) but us missing our children is NEVER a reason to clip their wings. They are not our pets.

A relative of mine did the Bunac thing (quite a while ago) before going to uni, so when she was 18, and it was a good experience for her. Her best friend went with her and they made their way from East to West, sometimes sticking together, sometimes doing their own thing, working in shops and cafes in different places (including a ski resort where she learnt to ski in her time off!). They had a great time. Canada is very safe country (just watch out for bears) so I think you've probably got off lightly. And a great place to visit too, so you can pop over and see her whilst she's there!

I appreciate your concerns but if your DH continues to sneer and criticise his adult daughter's choices he will drive her away.
She sounds smart and sensible and I bet if she were male he'd be fine with it. But what he's actually saying is he expects his daughter to stay at home and be a housewife/make the same choices her family have made because he feels threatened that she's confident and sensible enough to make different choices. It's an attempt to disempower her and to rationalise his own lifestyle. He needs to understand that this isn't about him.

Your DD is heading off on a well planned adventure. The risks of her choosing to stay away are greater the more unpleasant and unsupportive you are

I think the OP is talking about the visa requirements

Who is to say that the DD won't get a permanent job offer while she's out there, with a company willing to sponsor her visa? Marriage is not the only way of getting to live abroad.