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Preface
Regionalization
When we released the first edition of the tool box in 2005, Canadians throughout the country were already beginning to discuss and debate the importance of regionalization of immigration. Since then, that dialogue has grown stronger, and awareness of Canada's looming labour shortage—not to mention its significant drop in birth rates—has reached the mainstream, appearing regularly on the cover of publications and on television and radio airwaves.
Why are we so concerned about immigration and regionalization? In June 2007, analysts at Statistics Canada released a feature
article entitled “Labour Force Projections for Canada, 2006-2031”, which contains some sobering predictions about the combined
impact of a low birth rate and aging population on Canada's labour force as well as its overall economy.
http://www.statcan.ca/english/ads/11-010-XPB/pdf/jun07.pdf
Many smaller communities have already felt the force of this demographic change, experiencing population decline; stagnation or
minimal growth. At the same time, other places are experiencing remarkable growth rates and attracting the majority of Canada's
immigrants. We believe it would be desirable to spread the benefits of immigration more evenly across Canada, a sentiment that has been voiced unanimously by Canada's federal, provincial and territorial ministers of immigration.
This is of course more easily said than done, for people can move freely within Canada, and there is a natural tendency for people from abroad to settle where they have friends and compatriots, or where they believe there are job and career options. There is also a century-old population trend that has people moving away from rural and smaller places and toward larger urban ones. We see this trend across the world as people migrate to its cities.
At the same time, Canada's largest metropolitan centres still see the desirability of continuing the growth that has been fueling their prosperity and quality of life, and although they are undoubtedly large in the Canadian context, they are not so large on the world's stage. Their civic agendas are focused upon gaining more financial resources to meet the expanding demands upon them as theycontinue to welcome newcomers.
Thus there are—and will continue to be—competing population goals and strategies in Canada. The federal government's immigration strategy is an even-handed one for the whole country, which leaves it up to individual regions to consider what their own population strategies should be, and then put them into effect. The purpose of this tool box, therefore, is to offer ideas and make suggestions in the context that exists, so that smaller centres, if they so desire, can develop their own unique and appropriate population strategies.
An immigration introduction
The fields of immigration and immigrant settlement are complex. Each has a long history in Canada, and they continue to be subjects of discussion, even argument. They will continue to change and adapt. A general knowledge of immigration and settlement is essential if a smaller centre is to plan its own strategy.
This tool box provides an overview of these fields as an introduction for those unfamiliar with immigration and settlement practices and issues. It is not intended for those experienced and professional in the fields already. The information presented was correct at the time of publication, but the fields are in constant change.
We hope you will find this tool box helpful, both in informing you about a complex area of Canadian policy, and in stimulating your own ideas.
The National Working Group on Small Centre Strategies
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| A Toolbox of Ideas for Smaller Centres.pdf | 3.05 MB |
This project is made possible through funding from the
Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.
