Immigrating North: Leen Li
Head of Finance, Wealthsimple · Canadian from Baishan, China
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Karel: Tell me about your early years and where you come from.
Leen: I grew up with my family in a Baishan, a small town in the Jilin province in China. Life wasn’t easy growing up but we were still happy. A couple of my sisters didn’t get the opportunity to go to college or university. Not because they weren’t capable, but because they needed to work after high school to support the rest of the family. Being the youngest of 5 girls, I was fortunate and was able to go to university in China. It was through these challenges that we all faced that taught me the importance of family and of being supportive to one another. After university, I worked at one of big banks in China for a few years before moving to Canada. Fortunately, the climate here is similar to the climate in Baishan so the adjustment wasn’t all that bad.
K: Why did you or your family decide to move to Canada?
L: I came to Canada by myself in my mid-twenties as an international student. I was first inspired to move abroad when I worked at the bank in China. A few senior managers at my company that had been educated abroad came back to China to introduce some foreign management strategies to the bank. While they weren’t all successful, hearing about their experiences and the new things they learned while abroad had really piqued my curiosity and interest to learn more about it myself. It also helped that I had always wanted to live in a different country.
K: How long did the immigration process take for you?
L: It took me over three years to get my student visa in the late 1990’s. Nowadays, the process is much faster and is one of reasons why I’m proud to be Canadian. We constantly seek improvement and to try and move in the right direction.
K: Do you still have family at home? How do you and your family feel about the separation?
L: Yes, my parents and my sisters are all still at home. I miss them, but I can talk and see them as often as I want thanks to technology. They’re happy to hear that I have made Canada my home. Many of them also visited me a few years ago. My friends are always joking that I’m running ‘Hotel Beijing’ in the summer. But seriously, my family loves Canada! When they visit, we try to travel and explore as much as possible. Canada is such a beautiful country and I think a lot of us take it for granted sometimes.
K: What’s your favourite place to take your friends or family when they visit you in Canada?
L: Definitely the east coast! I spent over four years in Halifax attending St. Mary’s University. I love the region, the people, and everything about it. It’s great to show my family the place that made me first fall in love with Canada.
In Ontario, I’d say Niagara Falls is another must visit destination.
“Canada is such a beautiful country and I think a lot of us take it for granted sometimes.”
K: How often do you go back?
L: I visit home every 2 or 3 years to catch up with friends and my extended family. Being very independent since childhood has helped me deal with the separation well. Over the years, I have been able to make tons of friends in Canada which helps a lot whenever I start feeling homesick during the Chinese holidays.
K: You said “home” earlier when you referred to China. Do you consider Canada to be home as well?
L: Of course. My mom also commented on this a few years ago when I was visiting China. The night before my flight to Canada, I was packing and talking to my family. Around 10pm, I said to everyone, “Good night! I’m going home tomorrow and need to be in bed early.”
K: How do you define your Canadian identity?
L: I’ve called Canada my home for over 15 years now and have been identifying myself as a Canadian whenever I travel internationally. So that says a lot. I enjoy visiting China; however, I am just as happy when I get on an Air Canada plane coming back to Toronto. Canada is home for me now and I am so proud of that. To me, being Canadian is about being open minded, independent, and supportive.
K: When and how did you get into technology?
L: I started my career in technology about 10 years ago when I joined Eloqua. Working at a startup, it was very exciting to be in the middle of all the action and experience its growth first-hand. I am always motivated by learning and there is nowhere better than a startup to offer that level of learning opportunity. Prior to that, I held different roles in finance and operations at a few different software and financial services companies. Honestly, once you get your first taste of startups, you’ll never want to go back to a large organization anymore.
Currently, I am leading the finance function at Wealthsimple, the largest robo-advisor in Canada. I joined the company about four months ago and have seen it grow tremendously. My short tenure at Wealthsimple so far summarizes everything I like about startups: being able to make immediate and meaningful impact, learn and grow constantly, and be accountable for my own success and failure.
K: How does being an immigrant affect who you are now and what you do?
L: There is no free lunch or magic formula. Back in China, I was taught that you needed to work hard to have a good life. Plain and simple. To be successful in a different country where I had to learn a new language, I worked harder. And my strong work ethics have served me well in my career.
“Back in China, I was taught that you needed to work hard to have a good life. Plain and simple. To be successful in a different country where I had to learn a new language, I worked harder.”
Coming from a totally different culture, I tend to look at things from different perspectives. Sometimes my views might not be popular but I think they are valuable to raise as they challenge people to consider other options.
Being a first generation immigrant, I believe I am resourceful and can understand the beauty of delivering more with less. This comes very handy in my role and especially working at a startup. I have been very fortunate that people respect this about me.
K: What steps can Canada take to become more inclusive to immigrants?
L: Canada is moving in the right direction. It took me three years to get a student visa coming to Canada in late 1990’s while it only took my niece 9 months to get her student visa four years ago. But I think there are still a few areas for improvement.
For starters, Canada can let the world know that we are welcoming immigrants by increasing the annual quota. 2017’s immigration quota is 300,000 which is at the same level as 2016. That’s less than 1% of the Canada’s total population. That is not enough.
“There is a huge pool of talent outside of Canada that we can tap into. Keeping these people waiting for months is not what we want or need.”
Let’s also simplify the application processes and reduce waiting times for both the immigration and working visa applications. Recruiting top talent is almost a daily conversation at every company I have worked at. There is a huge pool of talent outside of Canada that we can tap into. Keeping these people waiting for months is not what we want or need.
Finally, governments can work more closely with local businesses and communities to develop better immigrant internship programs. Many immigrants are very capable and have a career in their own countries. Due to their lack of Canadian working experience however, the majority of them have a very difficult time finding their first job after moving to Canada. These programs can help new immigrants better transition to Canadian society. And I bet there are countless local businesses dying to get some resources and expertise that just don’t know where to look or that these people even exist. Our government should be the agency facilitating this process.
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