A 35% reduction in the number of permits granted to foreign students, imposition of an entry visa for Mexican travelers, questioning of the “massive” regularization of hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants… Under pressure from a public increasingly wary of migratory flows, the Canadian government has, since the beginning of the year, stepped up measures designed to show that it does not intend to be “overwhelmed.” These measures are at odds with the image of a country traditionally open to immigration (mainly economic, i.e. selective) and to a welcoming policy that Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau considers necessary “to ensure the country’s long-term growth.” Some 985,000 new permanent immigrants are expected by 2025.
Sociologist and professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa, Christian Bergeron, works on models for integrating minorities into society and has observed changes in public opinion regarding migration. Here, he explains how the nature of the immigration debate has changed in Canada, to the point of challenging one of the country’s founding principles: multiculturalism.
The debate about Multiculturalism is over. It is settled, it sucks.
In the wee hours of the night, Shahzeb Ahia and his wife often pace the floors of their living room, walking back and forth with their newborn daughter and hoping the movement or the city lights outside will quiet her wails.