The Age of Migration

Canada's visible minorities are becoming the majority in urban areas, but many immigrants still struggle.

The minority is becoming the majority.

In twenty years, about one third of the people living in Canada will be visible minorities, at least according to one recent projection from Statistics Canada. That means an increase of almost 20 per cent from the time of the latest census. By 2031, The percentage of visible minorities would be 63 per cent in Toronto, 59 per cent in Vancouver, and 31 per cent in Montréal. Even less diverse cities like Halifax, Saskatoon, and Kelowna are expected to see their percentage of minorities double.

Canada is known as being one of the world's most diverse countries, and we pride ourselves on our cultural mosaic. A recent CBC poll of 2,000 Canadians found that people think that all forms of racial discrimination are becoming less prominent all across the country. We see ourselves as an accepting culture, and growing more tolerant.

But despite our view that Canada is an open, inclusive society, many new immigrants still struggle.

This week, host Chris Mitchell speaks with four guests on the experiences and challenges faced by many new Canadians.

This week's guests include:

Ratna Omidvar, president of the Maytree Foundation, on creating sustainable and inclusive cities.

Myer Siemiatycki, political science professor at Ryerson University, on why we need to start letting non-citizen immigrants vote in local elections.

Derek Burleton, associate vice president of TD Bank, on how to break the cycle of poverty that many immigrants find themselves in.

Angelo Dicaro, of the Canadian Autoworkers Union, on how the changing labour landscape is making things tougher for new Canadians.

(Run-time: 28 minutes.)

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