Why Has the Canadian Economy Been Dependent on Both Skilled and Unskilled Immigrant Labour for the Last 150 Years? Essay

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Considering the increased labor market ambiguity, it is vital to enhance the relevance of its allocation between different groups within the political and social context. The immigrants might increase the disproportional load of uncertainty and serve as the reserve stock in case of the employment rate disturbance. Furthermore, immigrant workers may be more inclined to “accept high levels of flexibility, mobility, and overall uncertainty” (Meardi, Artiles, and Berg, 2017, p. 100). The deliberate use of migrants as a minor part of the workforce indicates a high level of integration between immigration policies and employment policies.

Canada is commonly referred to as a prototypical country of immigrants that was dependent on immigrants throughout history to promote economic and population growth. At the same time, Canada was managing immigration controls to maintain the whiteness of the nation. According to Meardi et al. (2017), the Canadian immigration system always had a crucial short-term component, such as absorptive capacity, that the immigrant flows were regularly adjusted to (p. 105).

Apart from this, the immigrant population facilitates a certain level of flexibility to Canadian employment markets, which would not be possible without them. Their professional mobility is higher than the one of the civilian population. Within several immigration policy modifications, the most significant was establishing a Department of Manpower and Immigration by the new liberal government in 1965. This signified the government’s purpose to link immigration more closely to the needs of the Canadian labor market. Moreover, the prominent points-based system was presented in 1967, which formed three classes of immigrants, including sponsored dependents, nominated immigrants, and independent immigrants.

In 1985, a new long-term approach was adopted, which argued that immigration flows, specifically of economic class, had to be considerably increased to strengthen the Canadian population and preserve the favorable age structure. In addition, the formation of the primary vehicle that enabled temporary foreign workers in Canada, the Non-immigrant Employment Authorization Program (NIEAP), in 1973, as well implied the country’s step towards an internationally competitive economy. Such an approach emphasized labor market flexibility and the global competitiveness of Canada. From the very beginning, the Canadian immigration policy was greatly influenced by economic interests.

The relevance of refugees and immigrant families, as well as Canada’s classification as the country of immigrants, led to two unique aspects of Canadian policy development. The first aspect is the organizations that were actively involved in impacting the federal policy-making. The second aspect implies the major federal political parties that fought for the ethnic vote, given that no anti-immigrant parties exist.

As described by Bhuyan et al. (2015), Canada today is seen as exceptional within the countries that host immigrants. This can be explained by a significant number of skilled immigrants, geographically isolated locations, and comparatively high societal and governmental support for immigration. However, one can argue that the impact of immigration on the economy, in general, is marginal. Knowles (2016) suggests that migration facilitates “creating scale efficiencies in the domestic market” (p. 284). Although the benefits are moderate as those pursued within a broader sharing of taxes to cover social security and medical expenses. With that said, the overall effect of the immigration flows on the economy is not as substantial as it used to be considered. Despite the immigration, the natural increase fostered the growth of Canada’s populace throughout most of its history.

References

Bhuyan, R., Jeyapal, D., Ku, J., Sakamoto, I., & Chou, E. (2015). . Journal of International Migration and Integration, 18(1), 47-62. Web.

Knowles, V. (2016). Strangers at our gates: Canadian immigration and immigration policy, 1540–2015 (4th ed.). Toronto, Canada: Dundurn.

Meardi, G., Artiles, A., & Berg, A. (2017). A Canadian immigration model for Europe? Labour marketing uncertainty and migration policy in Canada, Germany, and Spain. In J. Dølvik & L. Eldring (Eds.), Labour Mobility in the enlarged single European market (pp. 99-124). Bingley, United Kingdom: Emerald Group Publishing.

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