Ranbir

The Population Balm

3 min read

  • Immigration was meant to ease our demographic problems, but it’s not serving to fracture us
    • The consensus around it it breaking
  • There was a fear of overpopulation, but it’s since been dispelled. Now we need to find a way to keep ourselves growing
  • Immigration is the hot topic in Canada
  • The scarcity vs growth mindset
    • Driven by what’s available
    • The Century Initiative details how we took in 5% of population in 1913, why can’t we do it now?
      • Takes much longer to build anything
      • No industrial base
      • Where are workers going?
    • Immigration sources by year: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-630-x/11-630-x2016006-eng.htm
      • Back around the height in 1913, Canada gave homesteads to immigrants to settle
        • 1891–1914 The first major wave of Ukrainian immigration, with tens of thousands of immigrants arriving from the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Most settled in the western provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The Canadian government offered free land to immigrants to settle the Canadian steppes.
      • The Dominion Lands Act ended in 1930.
      • Now immigration isn’t going to unsettled parts of the country to turn it into ‘productive’ land, it’s going to crowded city centres to
  • Nagasaki grew from the horror of the bomb, but is now the fastest declining city in the world
    • Japan’s population woes are many. Now with recent signals towards immigration, they are finding what the west found ages ago
  • CDA overall birth rate:
    • but pop going up
  • Canada’s native born birth rate is
  • Canada’s immigrant born birth rate is
  • Real time model of Cda population change: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/71-607-x/71-607-x2018005-eng.htm
  • The Century Initiative: Century Initiative
    • Stated goal: 100m pop by 2100
    • We’ve set an aspirational, bold target of 100 Million Canadians by 2100. More than just a number, this target is intended to challenge Canada, and Canadians to believe in and spark conversation about what a bigger, better, bolder future for our country could look like.
    • Why? Because the world is changing at a rapid pace, and Canada is falling behind. Our population is aging and we’re having fewer children. If we stay the course, this would result in fewer taxpayers, limiting the ability to fund essential public services like healthcare, education, and infrastructure. Labour shortages in key industries such as healthcare, agriculture, and technology would worsen, slowing economic growth, driving up prices and reducing our competitiveness.
    • Canada has a role to play on the global stage in both advancing climate and human rights commitments and upholding national security. But when it comes to global activities, being an influential player depends on a strong economy and international reputation. A growth mindset is a necessity for Canada’s long-term prosperity, resilience and national security.
    • Their own scorecard only shows us leading ‘global rep’, PR admissions, two more while their Falling Behind includes productivity, housing affordability, youth well-being, household debt

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