Thank you Justin Trudeau
Abdul and his family boarded a flight from New York to Seattle at the end of February and then took a taxi to the Washington border town Blaine.
Pushing a stroller with their newborn baby inside on that town's A Street, they crossed an unguarded, unfenced park onto 0 Avenue in Surrey, B.C.
The last year has been a whirlwind for Abdul and his family. Their journey started in their home country of Pakistan, where Abdul admits life was good.
"We had good jobs over there, our own house. We had all kinds of happiness," he said.
But the family decided to move to the United States because of political persecution for their liberal beliefs, and say they went through the appropriate channels to obtain American visas.
They settled in Brooklyn, their son started going to school, and soon Abdul's wife had another son; an American citizen.
"American people and America is a good country, I like and respect that country," said Adbul.
However, he says shortly after Donald Trump became president, things changed. Trump signed an executive order
restricting entry to the United States for travellers from seven predominantly Muslim countries in late January, leading to chaos and confusion at airports across North America.
Though Pakistan was not one of the countries, Abdul said his son was bullied at school for being a Muslim and was spat on.
"They said, 'you are Muslim and you are terrorist. You have bombs in your pockets,'" said Abdul, recalling his son's tears.
Seven months after putting down roots in Brooklyn, the family was once again on the move, settling on Canada after hearing a speech by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on television.
"One day, I saw a news channel. The [Prime Minister] of Canada said we will welcome that kind of people who have problem," said Abdul.
"They come here, that's why we decided to move here."
Everyone just come on down thank you juston