Immigration: The more the merrier--and what the effects will be

The Globe's John Ibbitson--who lusts for an ever more cosmopolitan, multicultural and postnational Canada (that Canada clearly will not include Quebec)--wants ever more immigrants to keep the major cities growing: Canada's future rests with open-door immigration (full text not online).
...
With these same variables, by mid-century the Golden Horseshoe, Windsor, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa and Vancouver will still be growing. Every other city in the country will be losing population...

But certain issues are, or should be, settled. The future of this country resides primarily in its major cities. In those cities, Europeans will soon be visible minorities, since almost all immigrants come from the developing world. The only hope to sustain the population at its current level is to defend and promote the immigration ethos...

David Frum wonders about the effects of this type of immigration on the US.
...
In other words, the decision today not to enforce the immigration laws is guaranteeing that the US of the second half of the 21st century will cease to be a country predominantly populated by people of European descent. Isn't that sort of a big deal? Oh well, I suppose we should be glad the item made a newspaper at all...

"In some suburban communities, government officials face a cultural generation gap as they weigh demands from older white residents for senior citizen centers, transportation and other aid against requests from younger, mainly minority residents for translation assistance, preschools and other services."

Yes, that certainly sounds like a formula for tolerance and mutual accommodation ....

Update: Some thoughts on, and analysis of, immigration from Angry in the Great White North.

Mark C.

Posted by markc at May 11, 2006 04:33 PM