Filling out a Canadian visa application form.The Associated Press
The statement "Canada is a nation of immigrants" is a truism, and a new Statistics Canada report on the country's demographic make-up in 2031 demonstrates the extent to which that is indeed the case.
The study predicts that in 2031, more than half of Canadians in cities (including 78 per cent of Torontonians and 70 per cent of Vancouverites) will be first- or second-generation immigrants. Canada's South Asian and Chinese populations, and Canada's non-Christian population, will more than double. In all, Canada will have between 11.4-million and 14.4-million visible minority individuals, making the very term obsolete.
Canadians should recognize this as part of the on-going experiment of their country while articulating the reciprocal obligations it places on governments and citizens.
Canadian immigrants, even those highly skilled and educated, suffer from an income gap that is unacceptably wide and slow to close. Although some progress has been made by both the federal and by provincial governments, they, together with professional colleges and other associations must do more to recognize foreign credentials.
It should not be left to government and institutions, however. All Canadians can be more proactive in welcoming immigrants into the informal social networks that lead to job opportunities. This may be the host society's biggest challenge.
The challenge of successful integration, of course, applies to immigrants as well. The obligations include the need for proficiency in at least one of Canada's official languages. Newcomers need to continue to accept that tolerance and this country's political system and civic virtues are the very qualities that make Canada such an inviting place in which to live.
Establishing ethnic enclaves is an understandable impulse, one that earlier migrant communities also followed. However, vastly-expanding ethnic communities are not in anyone's long-term interests.
The rate of immigration poses challenges, echoed by the discussion in Quebec around reasonable accommodation. It is a matter that has substantial public policy implications.
Embedded in this great challenge is a hope: That Canada can continue to serve as a model of immigrant integration. Immigrants have been, and continue to be, a source of dynamism and economic growth. But we need to be clear about what we expect from each other.