While many countries are trying to limit immigration, Canada is welcoming newcomers.

That’s according to this intriguing New York Times article: “Defying Trend, Canada Lures More Migrants:”

…Rancorous debates over immigration have erupted from Australia to Sweden, but there is no such thing in Canada as an anti-immigrant politician. Few nations take more immigrants per capita, and perhaps none with less fuss….

The article goes on to explain that:

Canada has long sought immigrants to populate the world’s second largest land mass, but two developments in the 1960s shaped the modern age.

One created a point system that favors the highly skilled. The other abolished provisions that screened out nonwhites. Millions of minorities followed, with Chinese, Indians and Filipinos in the lead.

When we moved to Canada from the U.S., I was struck by Canada’s notably more welcoming attitude toward newcomers, which the Times article also notes:

Relative to its population, Canada takes more than twice as many legal immigrants as the United States. Why no hullabaloo?

With one-ninth of the United States’ population, Canada is keener for growth, and the point system helps persuade the public it is getting the newcomers it needs. The children of immigrants typically do well. The economic downturn has been mild. Plus the absence of large-scale illegal immigration removes a dominant source of the conflict in the United States.

I was also surprised at the contrast between the U.S. “melting pot” philosophy — where successful immigrants are expected to assimilate into the great melting pot of American society — and Canada’s belief in itself as a multicultural country.

The majority of Canadians seem to feel that multiple ethnic groups can live side by side, and immigrants don’t have to give up their traditional culture to become part of their new Canadian community. As the Times put it:

French and English from the start, Canada also has a more accommodating political culture — one that accepts more pluribus and demands less unum.

The Times article gave lots of coverage to Canada’s Provincial Nominee Programs, particularly in Manitoba, which has accepted approximately 50,000 new immigrants over the last ten years:

While the federal (immigration) system favors those with college degrees, Manitoba takes the semi-skilled, like truck drivers, and focuses on people with local relatives…

The Provincial Nominee Programs are designed to attract immigrants who have particular skills that the various provinces require. Applications for Provincial Nominees are often approved much faster than Federal Skilled Worker Applications.

To learn more about Canada’s provincial nominee programs, follow the links from the Provincial nominees: Who can apply page on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website.

And you can read the full New York Times article here.

What do you think? Is Canada more welcoming to immigrants than other countries? Leave a comment and let us know.

Photo by Michael Francis McCarthy (flickr)