Benefits of Immigration

Benefits of Immigration

Introduction

According to (), Canada has () immigrants from different corners of the world. Most of the immigrants are from the Asian, American, and African continents, and they relocate to Canada in search of green pastures or for educational purposes. Policymakers need to examine this issue with the seriousness it deserves since the number of immigrants continues to increase year after year. Furthermore, this subject has intensified debates with critics asserting that immigrants invade Canada and take jobs that Canadians can do. They also argue that it increases the cost of living by giving immigrants services that they do not deserve or pay for. Another argument is that immigration is bad for the sending countries since it leads to brain-drain. While these views are backed with well-crafted logic, migration is beneficial to Canada as well as the sending countries. For this reason, this essay supports the argument that immigration is beneficial.

Benefits of Immigration

Before examining how Canada and the sending nations benefit from immigration, it is essential to investigate one of the counter-arguments that are advanced by critics. Critics argue that immigration increases crime rates and enhances terrorism. Proponents of this claim support their argument by stating that most of the terrorist acts in different parts of the world have been committed by an immigrant who was either legally or illegally in the country. However, this is not necessarily true. Research by Nowrasteh (2016) suggests that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born citizens. This implies that immigration does not pose a severe threat to the country’s security. Furthermore, the report provides evidence that neighborhoods inhabited by immigrants have fewer crime rates than those occupied by natives. Besides, the terrorist attack on 9/11 was led and initiated by individuals on a tourist visa. Nowrasteh (2016, p. 1) further maintains that “the chance of an American being murdered in a terrorist attack caused by a refugee is 1 in 3.64 billion per year while the chance of being murdered in an attack committed by an illegal immigrant is an astronomical 1 in 10.9 billion per year”.

Immigration fills a significant labor gap in the country. The Canadian population is aging very first. A research conducted by () reveals that by the end of 2035, 25% of the Canadian population will be aged. Besides, the fertility rate is also meager compared to the labor demands in the economy. This has a direct effect on the population’s ability to provide labor, which is a vital element of production and economic growth. Although Canadians can fill most of the existing job opportunities, there are several semi and lower-skilled occupations which do not attract any Canadian citizen. Take the example of the agricultural harvesting industry. Apart from the demographic changes in the country, technology and globalization have led to shifts in the labor market, where individuals compete for particular job categories and avoid others, which are deemed to be lowly-waged. Furthermore, workers continue to shift from one region or even country, to another in search of better wages and living standards. As a result, employers struggle and face challenges while matching the available workers with human resource needs in their organization. Take the example of a skilled worker in the oil industry in Calgary, who is deployed due to labor mobility. If that individual earned an annual salary of $850,000, he might not be willing to shift to a remote place in the Northern parts of the country to take a job in a tannery or a mining site. It is estimated that Canada will have a labor shortage of over 2 million workers by 2030. This will hurt the economy and the ability of the government to provide essential services to its citizenry. Immigration can take care of this challenge, ensuring that the employment gap is filled and that production is not affected in any way. An increase in labor supply increases the productive capacity as well as investment in the economy. Therefore, immigration is beneficial to the country.

Apart from filling labor gaps in the country, immigration also grows the economy by increasing the consumption of essential goods and services. Immigrants increase the population in the country, and this implies that there are more consumers of products and services. As a result, these people pay taxes to the government when they make purchases or pay taxes from their payrolls. Every Canadian benefit from these taxes and the money that immigrants use in consumption. Furthermore, () notes that increasing the demand for goods and services increases the productive capacity and creates more employment opportunities. Besides, paying the same taxes that the Canadians pay means that the federal and provincial governments have more revenue sources to provide essential services for Canadians. Hence, immigration is beneficial for the economy and all Canadians in general.

Additionally, immigration promotes entrepreneurship in Canada. According to (), immigrants are very innovative and tend to spot entrepreneurial opportunities faster than the residents of the country. On the same note, a report by () indicates that immigrants are more likely to become entrepreneurs than those born in the country. Whether they are the Indians that own the spice stores downtown, or the Nigerians selling African wear on a busy street, they have more entrepreneurial activities, which have been attributed to their cross-cultural experiences. These people are exposed to different experiences and cultural scenarios that make it easy for them to realize challenges that may need new products or strategies. Furthermore, they may use the business ideas that they have seen in their motherland to create new companies. Immigrants, too, face a variety of challenges in trying to settle and integrate into Canadian culture. Vandor & Franke (2016, para. 3) adds that “discrimination against immigrants in labor markets may exert pressure on them to seek self-employment”. Therefore, they adopt the skills and competencies required to succeed in the business world. Research indicates that firms established by immigrants tend to survive longer and remain competitive in the long-run. An increase in entrepreneurs means more employment opportunities for Canadians. It also implies the availability of a wide range of products and services that may increase or improve living conditions. For this reason, immigration contributes immensely to the Canadian economy.

Besides, immigration expands Canadian culture by advancing new notions and conventions. Critics have always advanced an argument that immigrants corrupt and change a community’s culture. While there might be some elements of truth in this, () indicates that this is not necessarily the case in every situation. Just like new technologies and globalization, immigration presents new changes in a society’s culture but in a positive way. This is because they introduce new ways of doing things that help in making Canada a better place for every citizen. Hirschman (2013, p.2) notes that “immigrants, and especially the children and grandchildren of immigrants, have played a disproportionate role in the development of the American performing arts.” Canada is famous for its multicultural aspect, where people from diverse ethnic, racial, religious, political, and social backgrounds live door to door without any fear or insecurity. As a result, Canadians learn new practices, norms, arts, and talents that enrich their cultural experiences. It is also vital to note that immigration contributes immensely to the national identity. Therefore, immigration is beneficial for not only the economic implications but also the cultural elements.

The sending country also benefits when immigrants send remittances back to their home countries. In most cases, immigrants send money to their relatives and friends, and this is a valuable source of income for many low-income families. Although they may use the money for consumption or in investment projects, these remittances improve the receiver’s living standards. On the same note, the government benefits from an increase in taxes.

Moreover, immigration helps the sending country in alleviating the degrees of unemployment. Most of the immigrants originate from regions that are either politically or economically insecure. This has a direct effect on people’s ability to secure employment either in the private or public sectors. Immigration increases the prospects of securing high-paying jobs in Canada, especially in some of the categories that have shortages of labor. This, in turn, lowers the degree of unemployment in the home country. On the same note, the immigrants are able to acquire new skills and qualifications that they can use in different fields when they return to their home countries.

Conclusion

While critics have advanced an argument that immigration is costly for Canada and unhelpful to the sending country, this essay has discussed that it is beneficial both for the sending and receiving countries. This is because Canada has a labor shortage that is adequately filled by immigrants. Besides, immigration creates employment opportunities through entrepreneurship and enhances Canada’s national identity. The country also benefits from an increase in consumption and taxes that help in strengthening the economy. Apart from Canada, the receiving nations also benefit by reducing the degrees of unemployment and through remittances that help in enhancing economic growth. For these reasons, the government should create and implement measures aimed at increasing immigration in the country.