Separating truth from malicious lies on immigrants

Alberta wants to deny people who move here a broad range of basic rights

Albertans are being asked to vote on a variety of demands this fall that are meant to address grievances western Canadians have with those evil people in Ottawa. Among the most vexing questions are the ones that deal with the question of immigration.

Separatists, apparently, hate immigration and don’t care much for the people we let into this province. If you have any doubt about that, just look at the photo that appears with this column.

Screen capture from recent Western Standard home page.

Hence, the first five of the planned 10 (and growing) referendum questions are directly or indirectly related to the issue of immigrants. For your convenience, I am reproducing them here (with highlighting to add emphasis):

1. Do you support the Government of Alberta taking increased control over immigration for the purposes of decreasing immigration to more sustainable levels, prioritizing economic migration and giving Albertans first priority on new employment opportunities?

2. Do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law mandating that only Canadian citizens, permanent residents and individuals with an Alberta-approved immigration status will be eligible for provincially funded programs, such as health care, education and other social services?

3. Assuming that all Canadian citizens and permanent residents continue to qualify for social support programs as they do now, do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law requiring all individuals with a non-permanent legal immigration status to reside in Alberta for at least 12 months before qualifying for any provincially funded social support programs?

4. Assuming that all Canadian citizens and permanent residents continue to qualify for public health care and education as they do now, do you support the Government of Alberta charging a reasonable fee or premium to individuals with a non-permanent immigration status living in Alberta for their and their family’s use of the health care and education systems?

5. Do you support the Government of Alberta introducing a law requiring individuals to provide proof of citizenship, such as a passport, birth certificate, or citizenship card, to vote in an Alberta provincial election?

Now, if you are one of those who blame immigrants for every social ill the province is experiencing, you might be tempted to vote yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. This, in spite of the fact such problems as our overburdened health care system, which is faltering not because of a sudden flood of immigrants but rather because of our incompetent provincial government. Rather than funding innovations that would make the system more efficient, the government regularly blows the system apart at great expense.

It’s not just health care that worries separatists. It’s “foreigners” coming in here and robbing Albertans of jobs. You know, like working the kitchen at Tim Hortons or driving trucks that no one else seems interested in doing.

Then there’s housing. No question, Alberta’s population has grown at a breathtaking pace. Data in Alberta’s 2023/24 Annual Population Report shows the province recorded the country’s largest net gain in interprovincial migration in 2023. Immigrants accounted for roughly 24 per cent of Alberta’s population in the 2021 census, up from about 17 per cent in 2001. The province’s population in 2001 was just a notch under three million; today, there are more that five million.

New housing starts have struggled to keep up. And, of course, every new housing development brings with it a whole range of other expenses, ranging from the construction of roads and sewers to the provision of garbage pickup and police and fire protection.

And who do the separatists blame for that growth? Justin Trudeau, of course. But they don’t blame a prosperous Alberta economy or a UCP advertising campaign that invited people from other provinces to move here! Remember 2022-23’s Alberta is Calling campaign, that beckoned people from Atlantic Canada and Ontario to move here? Damn it! They came.

And yet, Alberta is hardly suffering. An economic outlook released this past week by Alberta Treasury Branch projects the province’s economy will grow by 2.6 per cent this year, three times the average growth rate in the country. And the province’s labour market is one of the strongest in Canada, housing is more affordable than in major cities elsewhere, and the province does not rely exclusively on oil and gas for growth. Instead, there has been growth in the aviation, food, technology and tourism sectors.

So, where, you might reasonably ask, is all the harm immigration is bringing down on the province?

The evidence suggests that opposition to immigration is rooted more in a desire to keep Alberta white than it is in legitimate economic concerns.

Now, there is no question that former prime minister Justin Trudeau badly fumbled the ball on immigration, and several regions of the country are suffering as a result. During his 10 lost years in office, Trudeau took a workable immigration system and tore it apart, virtually throwing the doors wide open following the COVID-19 pandemic. The resulting population surge far outpaced housing construction, driving up prices while choking availability. Meanwhile, temporary immigration streams – think international student visas and temporary foreign workers – ballooned without proper oversight. As a result, it is estimated as many as 500,000 undocumented immigrations are in Canada, with tens of thousands in Alberta.

It was a hot mess, only now being set straight by the much more conservative Liberal government of Mark Carney.

So, it is easy to see why young people, not just in Alberta but across the country, feel resentment towards “foreigners” taking Canadian jobs. What is unusual in Alberta’s case, however, is how this has become a key driver of separatism sentiment. Never has a cure been more demonstrably worse than the ailment.

Governments make mistakes all the time and sometimes – not always – are held accountable by the electorate. The federal government made a huge mistake on the immigration file. It could easily be argued that the Liberals deserve to be tossed out of office for that and other fiascos. The reality, however, is that, in Carney, the Liberals have reinvented themselves and are righting many of the wrongs committed under the previous regime. Had the Conservatives chosen a better leader, chances are they would be doing similar work today.

What makes no sense, however, is for one province to try to seize entire control over what is now a shared responsibility. Alberta already decides who can be nominated for permanent residence through its Alberta Advantage Immigration Program (although the final decision rests with the feds). That’s really all the power the province needs.

The province doesn’t need to deny immigrant access to basic health care, education, voting rights and social programs. The claim that immigrants are sucking away too many taxpayer dollars is not supported by the evidence. In fact, there is evidence of a net positive benefit, through the taxes immigrants pay, and by helping to fill labour shortages in health care, construction, and agriculture. The province’s move to deny immigrants rights the rest of us enjoy is a solution to a largely imaginary problem.

Let’s call the anti-immigration attitude what it is: a reactionary, even racist, rebellion against a changing world. Properly managed, a smart immigration strategy will strengthen the province and the country. That’s why Albertans need to vote no on all five of those referendum questions.

* * *

CHIPSHOT: The U.S. president is once again committing outrage against Canada by using the delayed opening of the new Gordie Howe Bridge, which connects Windsor, ON, and Detroit, Mich., as a means of playing havoc with our once smooth trade relationship. Even though Canada paid the entire $6.4-billion cost of construction (to be recouped over a number of years through tolls), Donald Trump is blocking the opening of the bridge because he wants the U.S. government to have a bigger slice of a pie it didn’t bake. Bring on the midterms!

EDITOR’S NOTE: Do you love Canada? Check out Crosswinds: A cross-country bike ride that revealed why Canada is worth fighting for. Available in paperback and Kindle formats on Amazon.ca.

©DougFirbyUnfiltered

Reprint with credit to dougfirby.substack.com