Immigration Policy: Canada vs the United States

How does immigration policy differ between the U.S. and Canada?

 Canada actively works to attract immigrants and has public support for ongoing immigration. Many Canadians are interested in ensuring that foreign credentials are recognized and put to use to avoid what they refer to as "brain waste." 11% of those elected to parliament in 2011 were not born in Canada with 20% of all Canadians being born abroad.

According to Jeffrey Reitz, a sociologist at the University of Toronto,  Canadian public opinion on immigration differs from their southern neighbor for two main reasons: economic benefits and interest in multiculturalism.

Canadians believe that the positive economic benefits of immigration outweigh the negative. Many struggling towns turn towards immigration to create jobs and stimulate their local economy. Unlike the U.S., immigrants are not usually blamed for "taking away our jobs" because Canadian immigrants work under a point system. This system authorizes them for specific jobs dependent on their credentials. In 2008 21.2 percent of Canada's labor force was made up of foreign-born residents, compared to 16.5 percent in the United States

Canadian attitudes towards multiculturalism are very different from U.S. attitudes. Canada was part of the British commonwealth and severed its last ties with the British Parliament as recently as 1982, although Queen Elizabeth remains as sovereign. When the time came for Canada to develop its own national identity apart from the Commonwealth, there great involvement from the Francophone and first people minorities. As a result, Canada has a commitment to bilingualism and multiculturalism. 

Unlike the United States, Canada doesn't have a significant concern with illegal immigration. The U.S. acts as a large barrier between Canada and those attempting to gain entry from central and south america. Also, Canada is about 136,390 square miles larger than the U.S., its population is about 9 times smaller. This thinner population density combined with a lower birth rate than the U.S. leaves Canada reliant on immigration for population growth.

While Canada has the entire continental U.S. as a buffer zone to those trying to immigrate from central and south america, the U.S. has only areas of shallow water or empty desert, and therefore Canada does not have to deal with illegal immigration to the extent that the U.S. must deal with it. This leaves the government (and the public) free to see immigrants as those they want to attract, rather than those 
who must dealt with or protected against. 

The U.S. does not accept or employ immigrants based on a point system. Canada's point system gives preference to immigrants with French and English proficiency, a higher-level of education, and job qualifications. Applicants under or over a certain age receive less points, and those without a certain level of wealth or health problems are ineligible for immigration. While this attracts many educated and skilled applicants, it excludes the majority of interested parties.

The United States prides itself on being a so-called "melting pot" of cultures, but proponents of looser immigration policies rarely advocate for immigration because it improves diversity and promotes multiculturalism. Interestingly, the U.S. has no official language, but is less welcoming of other languages in schools, government, etc. While obviously a diverse nation of immigrants (in comparison to other nations), the U.S. wants the country to remain "American."