Canadian Immigration: One Step Forward Two Steps Back
A long history of Integration
Canada has a long and complex history with immigration policy and the admittance of newcomers. Originally, immigration policy like that under the First National Policy in the late 19th and early 20th century used immigration as a way to bolster the workforce and grow Canadian industry. This would have reduced the independence on the American market, and grow a strong ‘center’ for the Canadian economy. (By center we are referring to the leading Canadian center-cities of Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec.) Under John A. Macdonald, the policy began relatively smoothly, with the east and west provinces being promised an increase in the population they struggled to maintain. His promotion of tariff protection was a uniting force for Macdonalds’ government. Shrouded in the economic prosperity was immigration, as Canada’s population needed a swift and immediate increase to support a domestic market. Prior to the First National Policy, an emphasis on immigration was not a major concern for the Canadian federal government. This may be due in part to Canada’s strong traditional ties to the British monarchy, prompting the British to assist Canada in any struggles it faced.
After the relative granting of sovereignty to Canada by Britian, one event catapulted Canada as a growing ‘settler’ destination. The American Revolution saw hundreds of loyalist Americans (who wanted to remain tied to Britain) fleeing the conflict in exchange for permanent residence in Canada. The English, French, Scottish, Irish, and other European descendants were among the first to move into the newly established Canadian country. Some of these communities were more sympathetic to the American Revolution, and even pushed Canada to break up its territories in a series of land claims that still resonates in Quebec separatism today.
Early immigration, being a majority of European settlers, was not without difficulties and hardships. The diverging of European cultures (as well as Aboriginal tensions) created clash over the role of religion, language, culture and land claims. Unlike the United States that sought to assimilate all newcomers, Canada began by dividing power and accommodating the different needs of incoming immigrants of large amounts. This would shape the provincial boundaries we see today. Despite these internal conflicts, Canada’s earliest political policies would be drafted in these founding years. Early connections to the economy and how Canada should use it’s natural resources were determined by the political governments even before Canada was granted full autonomy over deciding it’s spending and trade relations. (Any major decisions had to be passed by majority in British Parliament.)
Contemporary attitudes about whether immigrants should assimilate or not have recently been recorded in statistical data, and the results are surprisingly un-Canadian. The findings show that Canadians want immigrants to do more to ‘fit into’ to Canadian standards as oppose to Canadians adapting to the needs of immigrants. This may point to Canadians building their national identity not on the idea of diversity and tolerance, but on a history of people coming together from multiple backgrounds and becoming ‘Canadian’ over time. Social attitudes will affect how immigrants are welcomed into communities. Trudeau’s promise to accept 25,000 Syrian refugees has sparked dialogue on who Canadian should be helping more in the fight against social constraints, with the primary comparison being First Nations reserves that have been grossly under-developed for many years now.
There is a connection between immigration attitudes and the state of the economy. The example of the First National Policy brought incentive for the federal government to complete the transcontinental railway that transported natural resources between the provinces. This was a turning point in the prosperity of Canada, and it set a standard in politics for placing an important on infrastructure to keep the provinces connected.
Changes to Immigration by the (Trudeau) Government
A recent development that effect the economy outside of building the workforce or sustaining the population is the increased foreign tax in British Columbia. Increased prices on housing in the region has caused a 15% increase to the tax for foreign buyers. Issued by the local government, the house market in British Columbia had previously been among one of Canada’s highest with a modest, small family home selling in the millions of dollars. The resulting increase in taxation has caused the market to ‘cool off’, with reports of home sales falling by 51% for some retailors. Although, this is not due to the federal level of politics, it was primarily a decision based on the provincial needs to cool down one of Canada’s most expensive housing markets.
Political decisions to restrict or change the way outsiders can enter the market and compete can be examined in issues that arose from decisions such as Brexit. The economy will ultimately be a forethought of certain political decisions, so politicians should be weary of the ways in which they try to intervene and control the variables in the international realm. (For further reading on Brexit see A History of Independence: United Kingdom and Referendums; May’s Case for a Hard Brexit)
Labor Market: Jumping on the Bandwagon
Extensive research on immigration in the context of the United Kingdoms’ labor market has been conducted, and the research suggests that there is little effect on the domestic unemployment levels. The fact that the U.K. is conducting research to understand the impact of the job market as effected by immigration suggests a concern for U.K. born workers. With the growing refugee crisis, social attitudes are in constant tensions between acceptance or rejection. The future of the labor market as impacted by the refugee crisis can go a number of ways given the statistic, but it is something that many European countries need to begin addressing.
As for Canada, developments to immigration suggest a positive future to the acceptance of outsiders. Canada cannot sustain its labor market on domestic births alone, and a need to train more young generations to build up Canada is critical for competing in the world market. However, immigration and training of these communities depends on Canada’s ability to equally set the stage for youth. Issues of the First Nations suggest that Canada is struggling in this already, and we need to begin to take drastic political measures if Canada is to grow its capacity to compete as a key player on the global stage.
