Canada in 2060
The Future of Our Country
45 Years into the Future?
The most important ways we can help Canada's economy and workforce are often the solutions that are ignored. These solutions include immigration and First Nations. Stick around for a few minutes, where I'll be discussing demography, immigration, and the First Nations situation.
Most importantly, I will be discussing the question everyone is is wondering about: "What will Canada REALLY look like in 2060?"
Immigration
THE CURRENT SITUATION
Currently, and for approximately 23 years, Canada accepts (on average) 250 000 immigrants per year (If you're into math - that's 28 per hour) . That's nearly 0.7% of Canada's total population! In fact, Canada's immigrant intake is higher than any other country in the world.
This is a good thing, right? We are accepting people who are seeking a better lifestyle, more opportunities, or brighter futures for their children. Some of these immigrants are even refugees, people who have fled from their home country escaping prosecution, torture, etc.
On the other hand, because Canada accepts this many immigrants per year, citizens born and raised in Canada may have a harder time rising economically, due to immigrants who have more skills, coming from different countries with different levels of education.
The graph below illustrates Canada's immigration intake from 1860-2010. The highest, most distinct peak of immigration took place at the beginning of the 20th century, and settled down at around 1912 (fun fact - the Titanic also sunk in 1912).
IN THE FUTURE?
As shown in the graph above, immigration in the past was very unstable, and there was no distinct trend seen. But, for the past 50 or so years, immigration rates are much more stable. There aren't many particularly high or low points.
Judging by this, unless there is a World War III or The Great Depression part two, I think that immigration to Canada will stay stable, around 250 000 immigrants per year. It is important for Canada to accept an ample amount of immigrants, as the baby boomers will be retiring in the next few decades.
Other predictions about immigration:
- Country of Origin, Push, and Pull Factors: As of now, Canada attracts the most immigrants from The Philippines, India, and China (as shown in the graph below). I believe that Canada will still attract most immigrants from these countries in 2060, as they are fairly/over populated countries. On top of this, Canada is a free land, where these immigrants don't have to face harsh laws and strict governments. As they say, Canada is the land of opportunity! Canada can offer these immigrants' children brighter, safer futures.
- Province of Settlement: Ontario is currently the province of choice for most immigrants to settle in - Ontario bringing in about half of all immigrants immigrating to Canada. Since Ontario has this reputation of being so multicultural, in the future, many immigrants will want to come to a province where they feel safe, where they can communicate with others like them.
Demographics
THE CURRENT SITUATION
Currently, Canada's birth AND death rates are considerably low. This means the natural increase rate is also a small number, as the natural increase rate shows the difference between the birth rate and death rate. The higher the birth rate is compared to the death rate, the higher the natural increase rate.
As shown in the population pyramid video you just watched, population pyramids can help us predict the future of countries in regards to population. In the video, population pyramids were explained and the pyramids of various countries were compared.
If you were to look at Canada's population pyramid, Canada's population is contradicting. This means that the birth rate is getting lower every year. On the demographic transition model, Canada is in Stage 4. Every country is at a different stage, but most countries have/will go through all the stages.
Canada's population pyramid is showing a trend. The birth rate is getting lower each and every year. Right now, Canada's population is steady due to immigration. This is good, as we are not adding more people to the dependency load, instead we are receiving people who can contribute to the workforce.
The only thing is, immigration does not contribute to the natural increase rate. Because of the birth and death rates being so low CURRENTLY, I think they will only continue to decrease. This means that the rate of natural increase will decrease as well in 2060. Although it may seem like our population is increasing, most of it is an increase in immigration, rather than a higher natural increase rate.
If we look at the big picture, and we include immigration/emigration, we can look at the population growth rate. This is the change in the size of population over a select number of years, including natural increase and net migration.
The graph above displays the population growth rate over the years, and it also extends to 2060. You can see that the growth rate is slowly decreasing, now being lower than ever before. Because of this, I believe that the population rate may keep going down, but not anywhere around 2060. The changes are subtle and slow, and it may take centuries for the rate to have a SIGNIFICANT decrease.
First Nations
Currently, Aboriginals are not being treated the same way as Non-Aboriginal people. Aboriginal people in Canada have the highest rate of suicide than any other cultural group in the world, which may have to do with the rights they are (not) receiving.
The video below highlights some key facts about the Aboriginal population in Canada. It shows how valuable First Nations people are to our society, and why we NEED them.
The hopeful response: By 2060, Aboriginals will have the same rights as everyone, and they will be seen as normal citizens. They will be allowed to take on any career path they desire, and go to any university/college they want to.
The realistic response: By 2060, this problem will probably not be solved. Many people are unaware of the First Nations situation, or they do not care about the situation. People like Wab Kinew are helping the situation to get better, but we know this problem will not go away overnight.
I believe that Canada is headed in the right direction in terms of helping Aboriginals. People are MORE aware of the value of First Nations, and how they can help our economy in many more ways than one. I believe that this problem WILL most definitely be solved, but it could take decades to make everyone aware of the problem.
In 2060, I know that Aboriginals will have a voice, people will know more about them. I think that the First Nations have a very bright future ahead of them. But do I think the problem will be SOLVED by 2060? No. I believe that when we all learn to work as a team, team CANADA, we can overcome these differences, these barriers that separate us.
My Life Versus my Parents' Life
That's the end!
bibliography
"Chart 4 Births, Canada, 1921 to 2008." Births: Chart 4 — Births, Canada, 1921 to 2008. 20 Dec. 2012. Web. 6 Mar. 2015. <http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/84f0210x/2008000/ct004-eng.htm>.
"Immigration Watch Canada." Immigration Watch Canada. Web. 6 Mar. 2015. <http://www.immigrationwatchcanada.org/>.
"Canadians in Context - Population Size and Growth." / Indicators of Well-being in Canada. Web. 13 Mar. 2015. <http://www4.hrsdc.gc.ca/.3ndic.1t.4r@-eng.jsp?iid=35>.
Mehta, Mansi. "My Life in 2060." SoundCloud. 13 Mar. 2015. Web. <https://soundcloud.com/user098-3/my-life-in-2060>.