Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - March 2010
If Quebec has any hopes of protecting its culture and language in the years to come, it will have to do a lot more to attract new arrivals, say some analysts.
As Canada welcomes more and more immigrants while its birth rate stalls, the populations of visible minorities are soaring in major metropolitans across the country. While Montreal has long been counted among Canada’s top three cities for attracting new immigrants, its growth is now relatively stalled, especially when compared to Alberta.
In 2006, Calgary had a visible minority population of 22 percent, placing it third among Canadian cities, behind Toronto (43 per cent) and Vancouver (42 per cent). Edmonton has moved up in terms of minority population to now match Montreal at 17 per cent.
One of the major challenges facing Quebec is the power it holds over its own immigration policy. As the only majority-French province, Quebec has been able to establish its own policies in immigration, which has resulted in a system that favours French-speaking immigrants in a time when the majority of new (and most skilled) arrivals to Canada come from the more English-speaking nations of China and India.
A change of mindset is in order, some argue. Whereas protective immigration policies were once viewed as the best method of preserving Quebec’s language and culture, the reverse may now be true – Quebec will have to learn how to accept – and effectively integrate – new arrivals if it wishes to compete with the rest of Canada in the coming years.
Source: The Globe and Mail
