Introduction
Immigration has played a key role in the development of Canadian history and society. However, despite the modern stance on multiculturalism, Canada has had a difficult history with immigration, with some issues reflecting to this day. Canada is a nation of immigrants, the value of which it has begun to recognize only a few decades ago, but despite the official stance, there are challenging barriers in social co-existence, immigrant rights, and multiculturalism that have to be addressed before the country can truly become a welcoming place for immigration.
Past
Historically, Canada’s stance and policy on immigration has been mixed, with several highly negative instances. Starting with 1879 National Policy, when immigration surged, the key role of immigration in Canada was for labor and expansion of settlements. Most of the immigration policy in the 19th and early 20th century was highly discriminatory. For example, the government required payment from Chinese immigrants to enter the country while everyone else did for free, eventually banning Chinese immigrants completely by the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923. Early immigration policy in Canada was highly discriminatory, often demonstrating blatant racism in the Immigration Act of 1869 as well as local legislation in regard to detention, elections, and employment. Canada’s government demonstrated preference towards Caucasian ethnicity in immigration, turning away immigrants (refugees) in examples where they were in dire need of refuge, such as the Komagata Maru Incident of 1914 or Jewish immigrants fleeing Nazi Germany during WWII. Internal discriminations continued into the mid-20th century such as the internment of Japanese immigrants and residents in the country during WWII as well (Cochrane et al. 126).
After WWII, Canada began to shift its stance towards immigration, gradually becoming more open and inclusive. It began with the Citizenship Act of 1947 that allowed to apply for Canadian citizenship regardless of the country of origin. By 1963, the national government began to adopt the stance of multiculturalism with the Official Language Bill and officially recognizing the diverse cultures and languages of Canada, which continued with the Multiculturalism Act of 1988. Changes to the Immigration Act in the 1960s and the Royal Commission recommendations that led to the bilingual framework and multiculturalism stance of the Canadian government signified the significant shift for the country from being a discriminatory and relatively closed-off country to one that was welcoming to immigration (Cochrane et al. 127).
Present
Since the 1970s, Canada’s government policy has been largely to promote multiculturalism and equity among immigrant minorities such as with the 1986 Employment Equity Act. The Temporary Foreign Worker program is meant to regulate immigration for hundreds of thousands of temporary workers who enter Canada and stay for years, some continuing to reside illegally after working, with others having precarious immigration statuses. Many industries in Canada rely on foreign workers and rules to immigration in 2012 gave significant power to employers and local governments in regulation immigration processes. Data suggests that immigrants do not fare well financially and socially, living below the poverty line and unable to adequately integrate into Canada’s secular society due to cultural or linguistic differences in addition to experiencing discrimination (Cochrane et al. 131).
The majority of Canadians expect immigrants to conform to the values of the country and learn the local language and culture. There a number of ethnocultural issues that continue to be a matter of debate in Canada, ranging from Muslim and Arab traditional head coverings to the concept of immigrant workers taking jobs from Canadians. The Canadian government does support immigration and multiculturalism but attempts to maintain a secular society while also supporting religious or cultural diversity. Therefore, responses have varied, giving some leniency but drawing a line to protect Canadian society. With face coverings, individuals must remove them when dealing with government entities, while with employment, policy has passed aimed at prioritizing Canadian-born hires but still allowing for immigrant labor (Cochrane et al. 130).
Discussion
Immigration is an inherently complex and arguably highly divisive aspect of politics. Immigration has played an undoubtedly significant role in Canada’s history and modern economic and sociocultural growth. Official government policy also supports immigration of various types and given that almost one-fifth of the country’s population is foreign-born (one of the highest immigrant ratios in the industrialized world), it is difficult to argue against the concept that Canada is not welcoming to immigration. While there are a number of issues that are yet to be addressed such as ethnocultural discrimination, illegal immigration, and increased requirements for residency or citizenship, government policy is attempting to strike a balance. Unfortunately, the neoliberalism format where immigrants are viewed as cheap labor and benefit to the economy while not provided the social support or political rights despite economic contributions, is a significant challenge to overcome. Nevertheless, in the modern context when many industrialized nations such as the U.S., the UK, Germany, and others are adopting a protectionism stance, Canada has become a leading example in welcoming immigrants and multiculturalism.
Conclusion
It is evident that Canada’s past is not demonstrative of welcoming immigrant policies, wrought with racism and discrimination. However, as a country, Canada evolved to take on a stance that is more welcoming and inclusive of immigration. Similar to other large industrialized nations that has a large influx of immigrants, there are still issues to address regarding a legitimate and equitable manner in which immigrants and existing multicultural residents can adapt in the country and receive full rights.
Work Cited
Cochrane, Christopher, et al. Canadian Politics: Critical Approaches Eight Edition. Nelson Education, 2017.