Immigration is Important for Canada’s Growth (Research Paper Sample)

Name Professor Course Date Immigration is Important for Canada’s Growth Immigration, since time immemorial has been a trend in communities where people of all ethnicity and ages leave their mother land in order to look for greener pastures in other foreign countries and territories. Immigrants leave their birth places to search for better lives than the ones they had. Some of the reasons that influence immigration include: escaping war and famine, gaining an education in a developed country, looking for better paying jobs, farming and gaining the freedom to practice one’s religion freely (Pekkala and Kerr 2). These are some of the reasons that might influence immigration to another country. Canada, like most countries, has set up policies and rules that allow immigrants to enter their country where they could pursue their desired objectives. Immigration has gone along way in shaping Canada to the prosperous nation it is today. The main benefits of immigration in Canada include economic growth, social cohesion and positive impacts on the demography. These positive influences on the country have been observed from a long term perspective after the immigrants have settled and acclimatized. When Canada’s population is booming, growth in the economy and other sectors has always followed (Milroy 2016). Therefore, immigration is an integral aspect to Canada’s growth Economic Growth Immigration is one of the contributors to Canada’s growing economy. In fact, the effects of immigration are immeasurable on the economic aspect as far back as the European settlement days where people immigrated to Canada for farming reasons which led to growth of the nation (Green and Worswick 3). Immigrants of different generations have brought talents that have contributed to Canada’s stability over the years. The talents that are brought by the immigrants are utilized to accomplish economic problems through their diverse skills which increase productivity and also fills that market gaps that are experienced in terms of labor. Increase of immigrants will therefore foster a boost in the GDP since the growth in population will increase the working force of the country. Additionally, the increase in population would also mean that more people are spending more money, hence an increase in the GDP. Currently, Canada experiences a GDP growth of about 1.85 per cent each year. An increase of approximately 500,000 immigrants per year until 2025 would increase the GDP by 2.05 per cent each year (Sweetman 280). With the current aging population, such an increase in the GDP will not be realized without an influx of immigrants. Promoting Social Cohesion Immigration influences on the social lives of the residents and also those immigrating into Canada. Social cohesion is basically the sense of having participation, belonging,recognition and inclusion in a society (Ferguson et al.15). Immigrants help their host countries experience different cultures and practices which impacts on the value of togetherness despite varying physical appearances and cultures. Canada has always had diversity in its midst with its founding members consisting of French and English settlers. Today’s immigration helps to shape societies in many ways. Some of these ways include shaping the religion construct by allowing freedom of religion, facilitating protection of minority groups’ rights and legislation on anti-discrimination policies. Demographic Impact The size of the population in Canada will be impacted by immigration. This refers to the diversity of the ethnic composition, age distribution, and educational attainment. Canada’s dependency ratio is on the rise where they will soon experience a shortage of able working people in their economy (Edo et al. 3). This problem is only rectifiable through immigration where a diversity in the population will go along way to ensure the economy doesn’t experience future problems due to shortage of labor. Opposing View Although immigration wields the ability to transform Canada’s economy positively, there are some shortcomings if the process is not done in the right way. Excessive influx on immigrants to the county might lead to negative effects on the wages of the residents. This is because the high number of immigrants will lead to high competition for the available jobs (Grubel 127). Moreover, some of these immigrants might not get employment which will lead to gove...