Population of ON, Quebec and Heartland

Question 1

Canada stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and has a unique position with respect to bordering other continents. The country has a long history of immigration starting from the time of the Irish famine and even earlier. People trying to move to the US from Europe often used the Canadian shores as their entry point before they could reach the highly guarded US borders. Today, the mechanisms of immigration have changed, and Canada accepts more immigrants than its American counterparts. It can be attributed to the fact that the Canadian government has finally realized the importance of having immigrants as a part of the system. After many centuries of anti-immigrant attitude, the Canadian society is finally coming to terms with the presence of the immigrants and their impact on the country as discussed below.

Unlike the previous years, the Canadian authorities have come to the realization that the immigrants greatly contribute to the national economy. In 1996, the population of Canada was 29.7 million and about 20 years later, it is at approximately 35 million (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, n.d.). It means that the Canadian population has only grown by around 15.1% in 20 years (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, n.d.). Within this time, the number of immigrants moving to Canada was also significantly great. Moreover, while the nation was experiencing some unique challenges with its own population growth curve, the immigrants considerably influenced the issue. The immigrants have a felt impact on the Canadian economy since they form a major part of the nation’s workforce. Initially, immigrants were mostly unskilled laborers but today, most of them are well-trained and thus, able to work in quite lucrative positions.

The Canadian population consists of a large number of elderly individuals and due to their low fertility rates, it is unlikely that the issue will be solved soon. Thus, the immigrants have become the country’s only hope as far as their labor force is concerned. In the past 20 years, there were more than 2 million immigrants in Ontario with most of them being skilled workers and students seeking higher education and future work (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, n.d.). It means that the country has always had the potential to improve and develop its economy with the help of favorable immigrant policies.

Another considerable impact of the immigrants on Canada is the diversity that they have brought to a country that was constituted mainly by the aboriginal communities. Today, the native Canadians only account for 32% of the country’s total population with the rest comprising of the English, Irish, Scottish, Chinese, Dutch, Ukrainian, South Asian, and African American people (Citizenship and Immigration Canada, n.d.). The national diversity of this country is impressive. It is almost as great as the American, even though Canada is a much smaller nation and is rather new to the immigration politics compared to the US.

In addition, the immigrants considerably influence Canadian laws and policies on internal security. Initially, Canada had quite high rate of criminal activities, and its streets were thought to be unsafe. The immigrants were often the main suspects, and the nation was able to formulate strict laws against the crime. Today, the country has some of the safest streets despite the criticisms that it spends too much of the government revenue on fighting nonexistent crime. The large population with a majority of unemployed immigrants played a significant role in making this nation as safe as it is today.

Question 2

The James Bay Project is a general name given to a Canadian governmental construction project involving establishing a series of hydroelectric power stations on the La Grande River in Quebec. The project was extremely large, and it covered an area wider than an average hydroelectric power plant. It is estimated to be the same in size as the state of New York. The James Bay Project cost the Canadian government over $20 billion. Today, it is credited with the ability to generate up to 16,530 megawatts of electricity (Grand Council of the Crees, 2014).

This project is significant to Québec since it has enabled generating hydroelectric power (HEP) that makes the area rather independent in terms of electric power. The James Bay Project is currently expanding and aims to deliver over 27,000 megawatts of electricity to the people of Québec and Canada as a whole (Grand Council of the Crees, 2014). It means that the project has a major impact on the area’s economy. It does not only attract revenue from the buyers of the electricity but also offers many jobs to the Québec communities. |It makes the project considerably relevant to the people of Québec.

The project is important for Canada as a whole as it is obvious that having a reliable source of such immense power enables significant country’s development. The project has not reached its full potential yet due to the fact that there is still a number of dams that should be constructed. However, the power produced by the James Bay Project is sufficiently sustainable for industrialized Canada. It implies that the nation does not have to buy electricity or deal with the disrupting power outages that result from relying on small scale power plants scattered all over the nation’s terrain.

On the one hand, concentrating the nation’s power source in one area is argued to be a rather risky venture. However, on the other hand, it allows the nation to consolidate and thus, effectively manage its manufacturing challenges related to hydroelectric power. Rather than having many hotspots that would endanger the country’s ecosystems, it only has one, which is greatly secured and controlled. It ensures that the rest of the nation is safe and allows the other regions to focus on their development as Québec takes care of their power needs (Grand Council of the Crees, 2014).

Question 3

Ontario is the most populous Canadian province accounting for more than 40% of the nation’s total populace (Statistics Canada, 2012). It means that there must be something lucrative about the eastern central location of this province that is attracting most of the Canadian people. Ontario borders several provinces and states including Manitoba, James Bay, Hudson Bay, Québec, and the US states of Minnesota, Michigan, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. To Canada, Ontario is one of the border locations that connects the country to the US, which is convenient for business.

Since Ontario borders five US states, it is one of the most connected provinces in North America. It means that it is makes Canada closer to the US or vice versa depending on the interested party in question. It significantly improves the trade relations between the two countries.

Due to the dropping rates of population growth in Canada, the proximity of this province to the borders implies that it can easily import labor force. American nation is overloaded with unemployed individuals who are willing to work in Canada even for less compensation. It makes it easy for Canada to actually take advantage of them and boost their own national economy.

Furthermore, the location of Ontario implies that any planned smuggling will have to occur within the specific parameters of the province. It enables more effective security measures to be taken by the authorities in the region. Nevertheless, more often, the criminals find an alternative route once the one they have used previously is discovered by the authorities. Due to the high rates of crime in the US, Canadian government would want to defend its citizens by preventing the bad influence.

In addition, having a province that is close to the neighboring country implies that there are more opportunities for business. For some reason, border points are always busy and while this may seem far-fetched, the 40% population of Ontario should attest to it (Government of Canada, 2013). 40% of a country’s populace finding their way to one province should tell a lot about that province (Statistics Canada, 2012). In Ontario, international business is quite common and therefore, many people seek to relax and be entertained as they wait to do their business in the neighboring country. Regardless of how it may appear, the fact that Ontario is a border province implies that it can have both Americans and Canadians without much of a problem. Integration in this sense helps to boost the chances of success in business.

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