Marilyn Gladu Fails on Immigration

Conservative Party leadership hopeful Marilyn Gladu recently announced her immigration policy. She has pledged to bring an end to illegal immigration, an issue Prime Minister Trudeau has failed to address, and keep the status quo. She has not indicated whether this means the augmentation or reduction of current numbers. 

While Gladu’s agenda contains laudable policies, specifically her commitment on the military, her immigration plan is a failure. It upholds the legacy of Canada’s conservative politicians neglecting the popular sentiment on a delicate matter. Immigration isn’t a right, it is a privilege that should only be accommodated if it serves, and is supported by, the majority of the nation’s inhabitants. 

The truth 

In 2019, both the CBC and Global News reported on a Leger Poll that conclusively found that a vast majority of Canadians want fewer immigrants, citing their concern over the government’s ability to integrate them into Canadian society. 

63 percent of respondents wanted fewer immigrants, whereas 37 percent believed the federal government should increase current levels. 

The number in favour of reducing current immigration levels has increased from 2018. Two years ago, iPolitics’ Anna Desmarais discussed an Angus Reid poll that asked 1,500 Canadian adults to complete an online survey asking their opinions on immigration. The study found 49% of respondents, marginally less than half, wanted to reduce immigration. Migrant families were especially unpopular amongst those surveyed as they have a lower probability of contributing to Canada’s economy. 

Assimilation is another cause for concern amongst Canadians. In the advent of the Syrian migrant crisis, the Globe and Mail reported that in 2018, over 50% of Canadians held concerns over the assimilation of immigrants. While some have demonized this outlook, it is inorganic for a national government to enforce mass immigration upon the population and expect indifference, let alone a idyllic unanimously utopic response. Gladu’s proposal fails to address this concern, further widening the disparity between CPC and popular opinion. 

In the next 15 years, immigration will account for 80% of population growth. Nations, which Aristotle argues in his Politics is a reflection of the family. Just as anyone would be skeptical of unrestricted influx of newcomers into the family, such is the resounding sentiment on immigration. 

The Conservative Party will either stand for its ideological principle and call for a reduction in immigration or it will remain nominally tory and continue to operate as a liberal entity.