Canada has recently faced a major economic gap caused by an aging workforce. Many of the country’s workforce are leaving work due to retirement and old age.
The Canadian government has decided to make a large and long-term investment in immigrants. But the issue is that not all Canadian citizens agree with this issue.
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In early November 2022, the Canadian government announced that it plans to accept 500,000 immigrants annually over the next three years. This causes Canada to accept 8 times more immigrants than its own population, and some people are worried about welcoming so many immigrants.
Canada’s big risk, win or lose?
Every year, Canada tries to accept a number of permanent residents who are not Canadian citizens in order to maintain population growth and help the country’s economy.
The country accepted 405 thousand permanent residents in 2021, which is the highest number in the history of this country. The reason for this policy is that if Canada wants to experience population growth instead of shrinking, it must accept immigrants from other countries. Because the birth and population growth rate of this country is very low.
Currently, immigration provides the growth of Canada’s labor force, and it is predicted that until 2032, the entire growth of the country’s labor force will be provided through immigrants.
In early November of this year, the Canadian government announced that it hopes to accept 500,000 immigrants annually by 2025, and if this is achieved, the country will experience a 25% increase in immigration compared to 2021.
Canada, the most unique country in terms of immigration
Today, 25% of Canada’s population is made up of immigrants, which is the highest figure among the G7 countries. The amount of immigrants in the United States of America and the United Kingdom is 14% of the population of these countries.
Madeleine Sumption, director of the Oxford University Migration Observatory, said in relation to these figures: “This does not mean that the UK is lagging behind in terms of immigration, but it is Canada that has gone a little too far in this area.”
England is a small island with twice the population of Canada and currently has a very high population density. But on the other hand, Canada is one of the largest countries in the world with only 38 million people and has a lot of space for population growth and development.
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One in four Canadians came to this country as an immigrant
If we want to examine this issue in general, we must say that England did not have the same goal as Canada to increase its population.
Jeffrey Cameron, a political science expert at McMaster University, said Canada has a low birth rate and an aging population.
If the government of this country wants to be successful in its immigration policies, it must have the support of the people. He also added that the public opinion of the people of every country is their limiting factor.
In the United States of America, the number of immigrants entering the country from the southern border has reached its highest level, and concerns about the labor force becoming more than the available job positions are increasing day by day.
Before the Brexit program, the immigrants who entered England from Eastern Europe caused a negative wave in the public opinion of this country. But after Brexit, public opinion about immigration improved, because people thought they had more control over immigrants.
Compared to all these cases, Canada has historically been very supportive of immigrants. Mr. Cameron says: “Most of this support and the positive thoughts of the public mind is that people think that the Canadian government has the full ability to manage this issue and that the entry of immigrants into Canada is in the interest of this country.”
Of course, this does not mean that there is no concern for immigrants in this country. People in different regions of Canada have different attitudes towards the phenomenon of immigration.
When the Canadian federal government raised the issue of accepting 500,000 immigrants a year, the province of Quebec announced that it would not accept more than 50,000 immigrants a year.
This is because the Canadian province of Quebec houses something close to 23% of the country’s population, and according to the laws of this country, the province of Quebec can determine its own immigration limits. This figure is only 10% of the total amount set by the Canadian government.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault said he is concerned that more immigration to the province will weaken the French language in the province. He also added: “Currently, even with these 50,000 immigrants, it is difficult to prevent the decline of the French language.”
It is true that Canada has a lot of room for growth, but provinces like Vancouver and Toronto are currently facing an affordable housing crisis. Residents of these two provinces include nearly 10% of Canada’s population, and some provinces feel threatened by this issue.
According to a recent survey conducted by Leger of 1,537 Canadian citizens, 49% of them thought that 500,000 immigrants per year was too high, and only 31% of them said that this number was correct.
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Canadian immigration policy
One of the aspects that has distinguished Canada in the western world is that it has accepted immigrants mostly for their economic benefits and not for family reunification.
The Canadian government has expressed hope that this figure will reach 60% by 2025.
Mr. Cameron said this is mostly due to the way the country’s immigration system is designed. In the 1960s, Canada gave each country a specific quota based on which people could immigrate to this country.
But after that, a system based on scoring candidates was formed, according to which immigrants with expertise could immigrate to Canada more easily.
He also added: “Today, similar laws manage this system.”
If we want to examine this issue at the global level, we must say that this method is completely unique. Although Australia and New Zealand have such a similar system.
In England, only 25% of permanent residents are accepted for economic reasons, and in the United States, 20% of green cards are issued for economic reasons.
Officials of both countries have expressed hope to increase the ratio of immigration with economic benefits, but the challenge they are facing in the meantime is that economic migrants must be financially supported by the employers of both countries.
In the Canadian immigration system, having a job offer can be counted in one’s overall points, but it is not necessary. Recently, the UK has changed its immigration system to a points system.
Ms. Sumption said that the new UK immigration system will be based on the old system and priority will be given to people who have a job offer.
Read more: Canadian immigration lawyer
Can Canada meet its immigration goals?
Canada not only accepts more economic immigrants than other countries, but it has also been one of the leading countries in resettlement of immigrants and accepted 20,428 refugees last year.
Although these goals are somewhat ambitious for Canada, we must say that this country has not always been successful in its goals. For example, in 2021, it planned to resettle 59,000 refugees, but in practice it only accepted a third of this number of immigrants.
Canada’s immigration minister, Sean Fraser, said that this vacuum was due to the corona virus epidemic, and that the country plans to resettle 76,000 refugees by 2023.
Source: BBC website
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