OK, first of all, I am not crowing. Like I mentioned, I hated Edmonton at first, thought it was a redneck city (it still can be, you just have to ignore parts of it). I loved living in the UK. I adored the Wirral, where we used to live and I constantly miss it.
However, I kid you not, but it took us five whole years before we were accepted into the local community. I shopped at the local grocers almost everyday and was never acknowledged. There is a hierachy in small town UK that itsvery difficult for newcomers to break into. It doesn't matter if you were planning to live there forever, you'll always be 'foreigners' to them. I have never felt like that here. In fact, we've had the neighbours over with fresh produce from their garden the weekend we moved in. DD had a playdate with the neighbour's kids three day afterwards. Another neighbour found out that we didn't have a lawnmower and mowed the lawn for us for almost close to a month this summer. I am just contrasting this to where I lived previously, it took us almost 5 months to say hello to the woman who lived upstairs. Again, I am sure this is not true of the whole of the UK, but this is how it was when I first moved there.
I do not mean to imply that people living back in the UK are in any way worse off than me. However, even with a dual income we still depended on basic benefits like CTC and CB. To have to live without them would have been a huge adjustment. I am sure we would have made it, and lived with it, but I am glad we don't have to do that.
Yup, Canada can be boring. But we're boring people. We lived in London, and realised that we hadn't been to Central London in months at one point. I do miss the vibrancy of Liverpool though and wish I could transplant that here. So, yup some Canadian cities are not for everyone. But that's a personal choice.
To address some other points... yes its cold as heck here. But they know how to deal with it. I remember very well London being paralysed by a little snow. Personally, I would have loved to move somewhere warmer. However, DH's job meant we have to move somewhere where he can used his specialised environmental science degree (what better place than AB, with all the concerns about oil sands!!) I tend not to go out when its -40 though :) DD however, adores the snow. Bah!!!
Riven, I had never heard of that particular case. And I am frankly appalled if it is true. I hope its overturned on appeal. I believe, however, that cases are processed individually. However, you do need a significant sum of 'starter money' if you see what I mean? Enough to support you and your family for 6 months, without having to depend on social benefits. If you had that, then I honestly cannot see any reason why you shouldn't be able to move with your DD. However, if you or your DH got a job in Canada, then its worth moving as family class, as opposed to skilled worker, as there are not as many health restrictions. You also don't need the starter money if there is a job involved and CIC process these applications faster.
Emy, best way to start is to start the immigration process. It takes a while, and you can apply for jobs in the meantime. If you do get a job during the assessment process you inform the CIC and they speed up the process so you can take up the job within a few months. CIC is the best place to look for the starting points. Good luck!!
And finally, I am not fully up to date with Canadian economics as yet, but my impression is that they avoided the worst of the downturn thanks to a heavily regulated banking industry which limited their exposure to the US sub-prime crisis. I don't believe their social welfare system is at risk at the moment like what's happening in the UK. And thankfully for us, house prices are fairly stable, which means a heck of a lot at the moment.