July 1st, 2024 | Grant Johnson

Immigration Will Not Destroy Canada

Multiculturalism isn't the evil many conservatives think it is.

Immigration is becoming a bigger and bigger issue for Canadians, especially folks in Ontario and Vancouver. Trudeau has decided to embrace the Century Initiative and aim for a Canadian population of 100 million by the year 2100. The growing pains of increasing the population to that extent in less than 80 years, especially at a time when our birthrates have cratered, will be severe. The European stock of immigrants has mostly dried up and the new sources of immigration comes mostly from south-Asia and other non-Western, and non-traditional countries. This has led to a lot of friction and a growing sense of unease amongst those of traditional, basically white, heritage.

Conservatives, and Canadians in general, are hand-wringing about the situation, but they are afraid of being called racists if any opposition to this development is voiced. I know of many conservative-minded folks in Canada against these developments, and I don’t disagree. If it were up to me, I would restrict immigration to a total of zero for the next twenty years. Twenty years of zero immigration is perfect.

Nevertheless, we are in a state of mass immigration and we need to look toward the positives.

First of all, Canada is an almost empty country. The amount of land that is undeveloped is truly shocking to anyone who ventures beyond their city limits.

Yes, I know, most immigrants aren’t pioneering in the hinterlands, they’re moving to the big cities. But Canada’s biggest cities aren’t really that big. Toronto ranks just #63 on the world list for city size. We aren’t even close to being in the big leagues when it comes to urban development.

Secondly, most immigrants spread out after arriving in Canada. They realize that all the opportunities aren’t in Toronto and Vancouver and as a second step, find themselves in Saskatoon or Halifax or Prince George once they realize there is a lot of stuff happening outside of the big centres. Frankly, many of Canada’s secondary cities would benefit from some population pressure and the development that goes with it.

Thirdly, even with high rates of immigration, assimilation still takes place at a fast clip. Sure, the nation changes with the influence of newcomers in the same way that newcomers change with the influence of the nation, but it hasn’t hurt us in the past. Nobody in Yorkton, Saskatchewan is lamenting “too many perogies” in stores in 2024, because the wave of Ukrainians 100 years ago changed the cultural landscape of Saskatchewan’s northwest. If you’re born and raised in Yorkton, it doesn’t much matter if your last name is Haranchak or Smith.

Fourthly, the immigrants today aren’t from Europe like they were in the past and this worries conservatives because of questions about race and religion. In the past, however, people were hyper-sensitive regarding “what type” of European or “what type” of Christian was let into the country. My great-grandmother refused to go to my English Protestant Grandfather’s wedding because he had the audacity to get married to a German Catholic girl.

Imagine anyone caring about this today?

Tribalism will exist in whatever form it takes. Race and religion are just easier markers and, despite woke attempts, people are less zealous about both of these things as time goes on. The same assimilation patterns will likely happen with Hindus and Muslims and Africans and Arabs just as it did in the past with Ukrainians and Germans and the laundry list of Christian branches that people used to agonize over. New lands breed new citizens and old country problems fade away with time and distance.

Lastly, young people aren’t threatened by non-traditional immigration the way that older folks are. Here’s an anecdotal story for you...

I recently had a backyard birthday party for my daughters. They invited their friends from school as well as a variety of family friends that we’ve known for years. I have to admit, I was a little surprised by the actual turnout.

It was the United Nations of backyard parties.

We had a girl from Ukraine whose father is currently being held prisoner by the Russians. She’s been here since January and her English is roughly equivalent to that of a four-year-old. (She’s about eight). We had a variety of Indians, both Hindi and Sikh. A dreadlocked Black girl. A variety of Canadian born White girls. A Mexican group of two brothers and a little girl. Last, but not least, we had a duo of brothers that were part Metis, part Maritimers.

As a Gen Xer, I grew up in a time when everyone I went to school with was basically third-generation White. Sure, there was the odd Black or Asian or Aboriginal Indian, but the majority was obviously White and many generations of capital C - Canadian. We still found ways to divide ourselves. Fat kids, nerds, jocks, smart/dumb, rich/poor; it’s human nature.

What I saw in our backyard, however, was a motley crew of children far more disparate than what I experienced growing up. And you know what?

Nobody gave a shit.

They played in the playhouse. They swang on the swings. They drew on the drawing table. They jumped in the bouncy house. They ate pizza. They had fun.

The dissident right spends a lot of time worrying about the Whiteness of Western nations. There’s a constant worry that a multicultural country will lead to racial tribalism and the White majority will be tyrannized by the non-White majority.

I doubt it.

I think multicultural nations can thrive. Frankly, North and South America in particular have been multicultural nations for 500 years and have done just fine. Worrying endlessly about the importation of foreigners to our continents has been the pastime of people for centuries. Despite all the worry, life goes on. My kids aren’t lamenting their lives because all their birthday friends aren’t White. They’re just having fun and living their experience as it unfolds.

Conservatives should push for lower immigration, both for the benefit of Canadians who are already here and the immigrants who are arriving. Pouring more people into the country than we can absorb, creates hardship for both those who are here and those who newly arrived. Life is hard enough for ordinary people without engineering short-term pain in the form of firehose immigration.

Nevertheless, Conservatives should focus their priorities on issues other than our current immigration situation. The Conservative priorities of today should revolve around issues of taxation and freedom and culture. There’s no point right now to picking a wedge issue like immigration and allowing your political enemies to beat you with allegations of racism from which you must constantly defend.

The Liberals think that immigration can be used as a replacement for voters who are resisting progressive values, but in the long run they are banking on the wrong gambit. Immigrants are diverse in the truest sense and democracy, although flawed, is not a slam-dunk for Liberalism. The next generation of Canadians are going to be used to wild multi-culturalism in a way that those of us who are older are mystified by. They are going to deviate along lines that those of us today can not even relate to.

There are a lot of aspects of life that lead to unintended consequences, and mass immigration is no different. Liberals think that everyone is a blank slate and will naturally vote Liberal, but the messiness of real life and the weird unfolding of events, may lead us in new and unexpected directions.

My kid’s birthday party is a prime example. For one Saturday afternoon, I watched as kids, wildly different, played together with no problems whatsoever. What the future may hold, may be different from what we middle-aged Canadians today take for granted, but will it be worse or better? Who knows. It is what it is.

And what it is, is not something to worry so much about.

Related: This Is A Disastrous Plan To Fix Canada | Immigration Is Officially A Problem