Time For Common Sense On Immigration

Contrary to allegations from my esteemed critics, I do not write about mass immigration because I am obsessed with it. I write about mass immigration because Canada’s elites are obsessed with it, fanatically jacking up the numbers despite serious negative consequences and widespread public opposition.

According to an Abacus poll, 67% of Canadians think Trudeau’s annual immigration target of 500,000 permanent residents is too high. That includes 68% of native-born Canadians, and 62% of immigrants.

A sincere question for the woke folk: are 62% of immigrants racist against themselves? Or could it be that they too have realized that sky-high population growth might be good for bankers and developers, but does no favours for the little guy?

Let us put aside for the moment the soaring rent, overwhelmed emergency departments, crowded classrooms, stifling congestion, declining social cohesion, and rising home prices. Let us consider a simple issue: the Century Initiative immigration lobby wants to raise Canada’s population to 100 million – is this geographically possible?

When we were kids, our teachers bolstered us against the inferiority complex that arises when a Canuck looks south beyond the 49^th parallel. The Americans might have Hollywood, New York and 10,000 varieties of chocolate bars – but, we were told, Canada has the second most land in the world. And thank the good Lord for it – because He ain’t making any more of it.

But what kind of land? As June Callwood put it in ‘Portrait of Canada’ (1981): “…two million square miles of lunar rock, some treeless tundra, and a thin strip of arable land…”. Or, as the French Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire succinctly described it: “a few acres of snow”.

Just 4.3% of Canada is arable, and 90% of Canadians live in a winding line of settlements within 160KM of the U.S. border. Most immigrants settle in this same strip, which drives urban expansion: 15 million acres of farmland have been paved since 1976. Ontario loses 319 acres of farmland every day. Since 2001, Canada has lost the equivalent of seven small farms per day.

Water is another concern. Canada technically has 20% of the world’s fresh water, but it is inconveniently located. Only 2.6% of the world’s fresh water is available to southern Canada – where most citizens live.

Because of the low snowpack this year, 51 river basins in Alberta are suffering critical water shortages, and the St. Mary reservoir near Lethbridge is just 11% full. Alberta’s population skyrocketed by 184,400 in 2023 – mainly from international migration. Population booms and droughts do not mix well.

In terms of water and farmland alone, Canada does not have the right geography for the Century Initiative’s plan to raise the population to 100 million. But even if we could, why would we turn a land of lakes and loons into one giant strip mall stretching from Victoria to St. John’s?

It is time to send the corporate immigration lobby packing, and start making life better for our 40 million citizens, instead of importing another 60 million.

Editor’s note: My bi-monthly Counter Current column is originally published in Salt Spring’s Islands Marketplace paper (islandsmarketplace.com/issue.pdf). This piece was published on February 23rd, 2024.