Canadian PM Justin Trudeau turns up at the airport to greet refugees as “new Canadians”—and personally hands out winter coats. When the arguments for immigration are so strong, why won’t Britain follow its path?
Steve Bloomfield takes a close look at the similarities and differences between Britian and Canada’s perspective on immigration. Read the full article here.
Excerpt:
Then—and this will be the thorniest difference for many liberals—there is Canada’s comfort, and Britain’s relative discomfort, with multiculturalism. The dominant argument in the British debate, articulated by Prospect’s founding editor David Goodhart, is that much of the population feels deeply uncomfortable when rapid immigration distorts a nation’s culture, values and traditions. Canadians seem to find such an argument unconvincing. “The University of Toronto is a venerable institution—it’s our Oxford,” says Mark Wiseman, the former national pension plan CEO. “It’s less than one-third white. And you know what? No-one cares.”
