According to the Oxford Dictionary, immigration is the action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country. Another definition is given by Wikipedia, which defines immigration as the international movement of a person/people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they don’t possess citizenship, to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens.
A person who comes to a country from another country to permanently settle there is called an immigrant
There are so many reasons why people {immigrants} will decide to move to a different country that they’re not a native of. Some of these immigrants move in search of better employment, while some are for education purposes, business reasons, or careers, etc.
However, a study has shown that immigration has an adverse as well as a positive effect on the country they move to.
Immigrants Benefit in Canada
Canada is considered to be one of the most popular countries in the world for immigration because it offers great opportunities for employment as well as personal growth. The country is seen as an ideal place for those who are in search of a better life {a good standard of living} and money.
In fact, aside from the good standard of living immigrants enjoy in Canada, the country’s policy (Canada immigration policy) also provides them with skills, training, social services, pathways to citizenship, and orientation programs. There are so many other reasons immigrants reap by moving to Canada, and these reasons have made Canada the most popular country for migrating overseas.
Mind you, this post talks about how immigration negatively affects Canada, it’s also important you know that there are also positive effects of immigration on Canada. One of the positive effects is that immigrants help grow Canada’s economy by filling labor needs, purchasing goods, and paying taxes.
Read also: Canada immigration track record
How Does Immigration Negatively Affect Canada
The current Canadian immigration policy as we stated earlier, failed to strike an immigration balance in the well-being of their citizens’ environmental health, and the desire for growth in their finance-centric model. The reason might be that the government is more interested in building the economy (GDP growth) and collecting taxes (more taxes).
Sometime in 1970, it was documented that the population in Canada was about 28 million. Currently, because of the mass immigration over the past 52 years, Canada now has a population level of 38 million. Only God knows what the population level will be in another 50 years to come.
Fact says the major cause of the issue is considered to be the large annual flow of immigrants. This is because Canadians give birth to few children. Therefore, the problem of population size and growth rate is largely a question of immigration. As a result, this has left Canada in a difficult position.
Although the Canadian government believes in immigration as a way to promote and maintain the economy. Unfortunately, it’s hurting the lives of Canadians and their environment. The next line is the list of how immigration negatively affects Canada
1. Overpopulation
Overpopulation occurs when the number of occupants of a country exceeds the ability of that country to provide for those occupants. In Canada, the level of immigration has caused the country to be overpopulated. The effect of this overpopulation is giving rise to other problems. Problems like; violence, environmental pollution, increased conflict, higher demand for the necessities of life, and more.
Overpopulation has led to widespread environmental issues. The high rate of immigration into Canada has steered to overpopulation, to the point where the resources of Canada can no longer satisfy its population.
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2. Housing
The increasing flow of immigrants generates a surplus demand for shelter. Economists, tell us that “when the demand for a particular commodity increases the price of that commodity tends to increase”. Thus, Immigration has made the cost of shelter higher than usual. Thereby, affecting the cost of living.
3. Unemployment
Because of the high immigration rate in Canada, the number of the labor force is greater than the available employment. Jobs are not enough for the residents of Canada. Sadly, the citizens of Canada are affected more because employers prefer to employ immigrants to work for them. Some commentators even agree that immigrants have a large negative impact on Canada’s employment because they steal jobs from native-born and reduce wages. (You will understand why in the next outline).
4. Reduced Job Quality/Wages
The Quality of many jobs has been lost because of immigration. This happens when the wages of domestic workers are cut low. In Canada today, employers are willing to employ more immigrants because these immigrants are ready to settle for less pay in other to sustain themselves and keep up with living. While the native-born Canadian won’t want such a job because it’s unfair.
5. Demographic Problem
The distribution of a country can lead to low fertility rates, aging problems, and so on. If people move to a particular country, all the aforementioned can happen, let’s take for instance recent statistics from the Fraser Institute, “In Canada, the ratio of people 65 and older to people 15 to 64 (known as the dependency ratio) is projected to increase by more than 20 percent over the next two decades. The assumption is that people 65 years and older are no longer working and must be financially supported by younger people who are working.” Immigration can greatly affect the standard of living of people in the country.
6. Social Cohesion/Immigrants Selection
Social cohesion entails building shared values and in turn reducing disparities in wealth and income. To build social cohesion, you need to first begin by building and maintaining strong partnerships with individuals, community groups, etc. One of the ways immigration affects Canada through social cohesion is that it causes competition for resources. There will be great competition for food, housing, and other basic amenities.
Others include
- Language/communication barrier
- Discrimination/selection
- Difficulty to integrate
7. Excess Labour
Excess labor or surplus labor refers to labor performed more than the labor necessary to produce the means of livelihood of the worker. The more populated a country is, the more work people have to put in to get what they want.
Solutions to the Negative Effect of Immigration on Canada
- The Canadian government should empower the citizens of Canada and provide more means of employment.
- There should be a well-spreading knowledge of family planning.
- The immigration process should be focused on highly educated and skilled immigrants.
Conclusion
The best way to curb the negative effects of immigration in Canada is to strike a balance between immigration and the number of available resources. In pursuit, the Canadian government should respond to more immigrants with short-term purpose, skills, education, and other important reasons that will reduce the negative effects of immigration. In summary, a “selection process” will make things better.
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