5Q: Brian Wruk, the American in Canada (and vice versa) expert

Brian Wruk doesn’t sound Canadian but he doesn’t quite sound American. When he says “you all” it rolls together, but in a slightly manufactured way, like a second language speaker mirroring the cadence of a new homeland.

But to be completely honest, the financial planner and Edmonton native probably wouldn’t be offended if you called him out on his ’murican stylings, he’s been enamored with the United States of America since he took a high school band trip as a teenager.

“In grade twelve I went again down through Vegas to L.A. and we did Knott's Berry Farm and Disneyland and all that and I just fell in love with the oceans and the warm weather and the lack of bugs,” recalls Wruk.

That same fascination with the subtle nuances between Canadians and Americans inspired him to launch Transition Financial Advisors Group – which specializes in navigating cross-border finances.

It also stirred an inkling to pen two books, The Canadian in America: Real-Life Tax and Financial Insights Into Moving and Living in the U.S and The American in Canada: Real-Life Tax and Financial Insights Into Moving and Living in Canada.

We sat down with Wruk to chat a bit about cross-border culture shock, bringing guns into grocery stores and why he’s more afraid of the CRA then the IRS.

I guess the glaring question is, if you’re the American in Canada why am I calling you in Arizona?

Because there’s not a whole lot of people that do what we do. It's kind of a very unique niche and we are licensed to manage money on both sides of the border, which is exceptionally rare.

Oh, you’re based in the US then. Are you a dual citizen?

After high school I decided I wanted to live in the U.S. some day and kind of made it my mission. I applied and got accepted at University of Arizona, I met my wife there. We moved to Calgary for four years and then back to the U.S. for good in 1996. I applied for citizenship in 1999 and that was it.

And then you started working with cross-border financial planning in 2000?

1997 actually, that’s when I first started in the business.

It must have been mindboggling moving from Edmonton to Arizona.

Well, working as a financial advisor, it was a culture shock to see how more entrepreneurial Americans are and how comfortable with debt. They’re very bold and brash and risk taking and there comfort level with debt and lack of savings was way different, at least back in ‘96 compared to Canadians. Now that has actually changed, the savings rate in Canada and the debt levels are going past the Americans.

Was it the recession?

Part of it is. When the downturn happened here a lot of people learned their lessons about getting over-extended in debt with houses and things like that, so they’ve kind of retrenched. From a Canadian standpoint, I know that the minister of finance up there – I think it was Flaherty at the time – changed some of the rules with regards to mortgages. He came out publicly and said: “look, we need to be saving before we take on more debt.”

You probably found it different culturally too.

What’s interesting is Canadians are mostly first, second or third generation, so everybody kind of talks about “Oh, I’m of German descent.” When my wife first met my parents they said, “Oh, what nationality are you?” she said, “Well, I'm American.” We're big on our heritage up there, down here not so much. It was also shocking to me how the military is everywhere down here, they're very patriotic, there's American flags around, when they’re singing the national anthem people cover their hearts. You see people in the grocery store and when somebody from the military walks in you always thank them for their service. There’s military bases and jets overhead. I didn’t see a lot of that in Canada and it’s one of the things I mentioned in my book – I think Canada has a lesson to be learned with regards to being a bit more patriotic, you know?

Oh, I don’t know about that. I mean, aren't we kind of patriotic in a different way? We’re not army nerds like the Americans but if you pay attention you see a lot of Canadian flag waving.

That has definitely grown. I'm kind of looking at it from when I came down what were my initial shocks. And I would absolutely say that. I'm finding far more patriotism in Canada now. When I left it just wasn’t the case.

We also have a different relationship with guns.

It's so different. Like Arizona now you don’t even need a concealed permit to carry a gun. I mean you're in the Wild West here.

Do you ever find people from Arizona you’ve helped make the move, struggle with the fact they can’t wander around Safeway getting groceries with a gun in their belt loop?

One of the things about Americans is their life kind of ends at the 49th parallel – they really don’t know much about Canada. They're just like “ah, yeah, friendly neighbours for the north, their known for sending nurses and bandages not war machines and bullets.” So it’s interesting from that perspective.

So why are your clients making the move north then?

The primary reason we got started was Canadians moving to the U.S. back in 2000 before the tech bubble. Recently it’s Americans moving up from Texas to the Calgary and the oil patch. But the reasons people come to us vary, Canadians returning back home, people who have found love cross border. There was a bit of an impetus when Canada permitted gay marriage. I don’t have an explanation; it isn't like there is a theme or a trend.

When you wrote the books you touched down on the cultural elements but your main focus is the financial differences – what adjustments do Americans face there when moving to Canada?

I think the socialist policies in Canada are a pretty big shocker for them. They just can’t believe how restricted things are, there's a rule for this and that and it just kind of tends to be more of the Wild West particularly in the southern states. Then there’s the Canada Revenue Agency. I am far more scared of them then the IRS. They go over those returns with a fine toothcomb. With the IRS, you file electronically and then you hear nothing. Your refund will get deposited in your account or you move your money and that’s it. You don’t get a follow up notice or a notice of assessment. The CRA is far more diligent.

Really?

For example, I take foreign tax credits on a U.S. return, I need no justification for that. In Canada they want to see the return, they want to see the withholding slips, they want you to prove that you had foreign tax credits in the U.S. One of the big pills they have to swallow is getting used to a 50 per cent tax rate once you’re a little over $100,000 in income. That’s where this socialism in income comes in. The GST and HST as well, they haven’t really experienced national sales tax. There’s also the idea of free health care – the Canadian medical system has a very poor reputation.

No way, I don’t believe that.

Right or wrong, I don’t know but some Americans don’t want to leave the healthcare here, with all these stories of people dying in a hallway on a stretcher. People waiting months and months to get a knee replacement. I mean down here as expensive as it is, when you need a knee replacement, you can get it next week. They’re just more patient-oriented, generally because there are profits on the line.

It sounds a bit like you’ve drunk the Kool-Aid, Brian.

In some ways I have and that happened back in high school. I was determined to live in the States. To me it was just a better fit. That’s a really important point. If you're looking at making a move, it’s got to be for personal lifestyle reasons. You can’t do it for taxes or to save money or make more money. I mean we get a ton of clients who get a great opportunity to go to Canada and make some money and really accelerate their retirement plan and then they'll look at moving back and vice versa, which is fine – but it has to be in the context of your overall plan. I just never recommend people move down to the U.S. because you can save taxes or move to Canada because you can get universal healthcare. It's gotta be a lifestyle decision and that’s where true financial planning starts. What are you trying to achieve? What’s the desire?