Are We Misunderstanding the Story of Immigration and Settlement in Canada?
In recent months, Ton Immigration Consulting has received many familiar questions from clients:
- “Has Canada become too difficult? Is it no longer welcoming immigrants?”
- “Are Canadians turning away from newcomers?”
- “Immigration used to be easier — is Canada no longer what it once was?”
These concerns are understandable. Immigration policies are adjusting, living costs are rising, and public debate has become increasingly emotional.
However, as Sharon Hayes insightfully argues, when conversations are driven by feelings and nostalgia, they often lose sight of history and facts.
To answer these questions fairly, we need to slow the conversation down and ask different ones:
What has actually changed? When did it change? Why? And does the story being told reflect reality?
Canada Has Always Been a Country of Immigration
A common misconception is that Canada has only recently become multicultural. In reality, multiculturalism has been embedded in Canada’s national framework for decades.
Unlike the American “melting pot” model—built on assimilation and uniform identity—Canada deliberately chose a different path: the cultural mosaic. This approach allows individuals to become Canadian without erasing where they come from. Language, culture, religion, and customs are not barriers to belonging; they are part of it.
This was not accidental. It was a defining distinction from the United States.
Policies that are now often labeled as “woke”—such as universal healthcare, same-sex marriage, reproductive rights, and official multiculturalism—are not recent imports or fringe ideas. They reflect long-standing Canadian choices that were debated, adopted, and normalized decades ago.
In short, Canada has not abandoned its values. It has continued to act in line with them.
What Has Actually Changed?
What has changed is not Canada’s core philosophy, but its economic and demographic reality.
Canada is aging rapidly. Birth rates have remained below replacement levels for decades. Retirements are accelerating, while labour shortages persist across essential sectors. At the same time, housing affordability, wage stagnation, and pressure on public services have created widespread insecurity.
In periods of instability, people do not revolt against values — they revolt against uncertainty. Immigration becomes the most visible variable, even when it is not the causal one.
As Hayes notes, much of what people remember as “Canada before immigrants” was actually Canada before volatility.
Immigration Is Not a Cultural Experiment — It Is System Maintenance
An uncomfortable but necessary truth is this:
Canada cannot opt out of demographics.
Healthcare systems, pensions, education, infrastructure, and public services do not operate on memory or nostalgia. They operate on people — particularly working-age individuals and taxpayers.
Without immigration, the alternatives are clear: a shrinking workforce, higher taxes, weaker services, and accelerated regional decline.
For this reason, immigration is not an act of generosity, nor a social experiment.
It is system maintenance — how Canada sustains the commitments it has already made to its citizens.
Why Policies Are Being Tightened — Not Closed
Clients often ask:
“If Canada needs immigrants, why are more applications being refused?”
The answer is not that Canada needs fewer immigrants, but that it is recalibrating toward smarter immigration — aligning intake with labour market needs, capacity, and long-term sustainability.
There is less tolerance today for speculative, poorly prepared, or misaligned applications. Preparation, clarity, and credibility matter more than ever.
A Note to Those Considering Immigration to Canada
Canada is not closing its doors.
But it is asking for greater seriousness, responsibility, and alignment from those who seek to build a future here.
Immigration is no longer about finding an “easy” destination. It is about understanding the country you are entering — and the role you are prepared to play within it.
Conclusion
Canada is not becoming something foreign.
It is becoming more fully itself.
What has changed is not the country’s values, but who is visibly included, who is expected to contribute, and how much preparation is required to belong.
Those who understand this reality — and prepare accordingly — continue to have a place in Canada’s future.
Ton Immigration Consulting
Supporting informed, responsible, and sustainable pathways to Canada.
Acknowledgement
This article is informed by and adapted from a post by Sharon Hayes (Montreal, Quebec) published on January 27, 2026, whose analysis emphasizes the importance of history, demographic reality, and structural context in today’s immigration debates.