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Did the influx of immigrants and refugees in early 2000s benefit Canada?
Canada was on the edge of facing economic collapse in the early 2000s. More than 300 000
people has immigrated to Canada in the early 2000s. Many people came from different countries
to Canada to escape war and prosecution, seeking for new business opportunities as well as a
safe and peaceful home for their children. At the time Canada had a small population, an
economic boom had resulted in many job shortages. The Canada’s economy could not grow
without workers. In addition, Canada had a high unemployment rate due to the lack of
opportunities the country provided. The influx of immigrants and refugees in the early 2000s had
a positive impact on Canadian society. Immigrants from this time period have benefited
Canada’s economy, Canada gained a significant number of skilled workers and Canada became a
more diverse country.
These immigrants and refugees had benefited Canada’s economy greatly in ways such as
boosting the young working age, paying taxes, filing in labour shortages and creating job
opportunities. A study published last year provided conclusive evidence that immigrants
admitted to Canada under all programs are far more likely to start businesses than their Canadian
counterparts, a key component for economic growth. Released in March 2016 and entitled
Immigration, Business Ownership and Employment in Canada, the study concludes that ‘rates of
private business ownership and unincorporated self-employment are higher among immigrants
than among the Canadian-born population’. (Winnick) This will benefit Canada’s economy
greatly as more people would have to pay taxes to the government, these business owners will
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also create job opportunities for the unemployed which is significant to boosting the economy in
Canada. The immigrants and refugees had benefited Canada’s economy greatly, this is evident
through a research by statistics Canada, one in four Canadians were 65 or older, at the same time,
if Canada decided to accept less immigrants or refugees, the working age population could have
decreased by 10%, this can ultimately lead to economic collapse(Senker). From this research by
statistics Canada, it showed that Canada was on the edge of facing economic decline,Canada had
to increase the number of immigrants it takes in, in the absence of high immigration levels,
Canada’s population will shrink, economy will suffer, and standard of living in Canada will
decline. Thus the immigrants and refugees in the early 2000s had benefited Canada greatly as
they were a key component of the economic growth in Canada.
Canada was able to attract and benefited from many new young talents and skilled
workers in the early 2000s. Researches and studies has shown that 51% of the immigrants that
came to Canada between 2001 and 2006 had a university degree, furthermore, many immigrants
were often skilled in trades, medicine or engineering. In addition, there was 140,...