Image via WikipediaThe Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies poll found a slim majority of Canadians think that Canada's population (34 million) is just right.
Size does matter! Our population is comparable to California's, yet we have the world's second-largest land mass.
Immigration must be a priority - you can't run a country this size without it. The United States prospered because it opened its gates - now it's 10 times our size.
Canadians love Canada's space, but Canada needs at least 150 million more people - preferably more. Sixty per cent of our population live within a few hundred miles of the U.S. border. A large part of Canada remains unused.
Many think our north can't be populated. It can with investment and new technologies. Switzerland fits inside Algonquin Park! France and England take up Ontario (with room left over Liechtenstein). We're definitely under-populated.
People want Canada's postcard look, but don't want anyone else to live here. If Canada doesn't increase its population the quality of life for will fall exponentially. There's a definite and important correlation between a country's population size and the health of the economy.
Canada needs a 'Statue of Liberty" effect - more assertive and industrious attitudes to attract hard-work-ing immigrants. Canada has been called the largest hotel in the world - that should be changed to one of the largest houses in the world. People should be enticed, so they can work hard, build a good life and adopt enviable Canadian values of dignity, tolerance, and fairness.
Canada is not "just right" with only 34 million people. If this attitude persists, taxes will increase, and some otherwise needless social programs will prosper.
A land mass of almost 10 million square kilometres with only 34 million people will carry that burden.
Bring me your hardworking, your ambitious, your visionaries.
Let the immigration revolution begin.
DOUGLAS CORNISH, Ottawa
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Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/country+needs+more+people/5111790/story.html#ixzz1SH5kt1l0
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