Immigration into Sask. communities increasing

By Pamela Cowan, Leader-PostJune 29, 2009

REGINA — What a difference three years can make to the diversity of a province.

Rural Saskatchewan used to have difficulty attracting and retaining immigrants but small communities around the province are now becoming increasingly cosmopolitan.

The Rural and Small Town Canada Analysis Bulletin released by Statistics Canada on Monday provides a snapshot of Canada's rural and small town areas in 2006 — a time when immigrants accounted for 5.3 per cent of the nation's population. In Saskatchewan, immigrants accounted for 2.6 per cent of the total population — 0.3 per cent were new immigrants.

Between 2001 and 2006, 15,000 people left Saskatchewan — the highest net migration in the country, said Roland Beshiri, co-author of the Statistics Canada report.

"The migration of people in general looked very bad at that time for Saskatchewan," he said. "It sounds as though things are much better now."

That's the case in Whitewood — a community of 1,000 people who are benefiting by the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region's January trip to the Philippines, which resulted in 72 registered nurses hired for hard-to-recruit positions.

Thirty nurses — expected to arrive in late August — will be working in rural hospitals, health centres and long-term care facilities in Whitewood, Balcarres, Broadview, Grenfell, Imperial, Indian Head, Lestock, Montmarte, Moosomin, Raymore, Fort Qu'Appelle and Wolseley.

Mayor Malcolm Green said Whitewood will put out the welcome mat for two Filipino registered nurses when they arrive.

"Our goal is to make sure they're very comfortable so they want to stay here," Green said. "These positions aren't getting treated any different than if a nurse wanted to come here from any province in Canada. The incentive is exactly the same."

The nurses will join several other Filipino women who are working in the area as a senior's companion and as nannys.

"Like anybody who moves to your community, they add value and become part of the community," Green said.

Rob Norris, the minister responsible for immigration in the province, said in his government's first year, more than 1,400 newcomers settled in communities outside of Regina and Saskatoon. He expects that will increase with the launch of a new immigration strategy.

"We will be bringing in 10,000 newcomers from around the world over the next 18 months," Norris said.

His goal is to create more diverse, dynamic and cosmopolitan communities right across the province.

"The good news today is that newcomers are settling in more than 160 communities in Saskatchewan — 30 per cent are locating outside of Regina and Saskatoon and while there is still a significant focus on Regina and Saskatoon, we are seeing a greater geographic distribution and that's very healthy," he said.

A significant number of newcomers to the province are welders, truck drivers, farm supervisors and specialized livestock workers, registered nurses and carpenters.

Manitoba's population jumps by a record 14,007

Source: CBC News

Manitoba experienced record population growth in the last 12 months, growing by 14,007, according to Statistics Canada.

Since the current record-keeping system began in 1971, Manitoba's population has never increased so much in a 12-month period. The previous record year was 1983-84 when the population grew by 13,615.

Andrew Swan, training and trade minister, said Wednesday that international immigrants are behind the population boost. Manitoba welcomed more than 12,000 immigrants between April 2008 and April 2009, another modern-day record.

"All Manitobans should be very pleased that more people are choosing this province as a great place to live and work," Swan said. "We are all looking forward to further strong population growth in the coming years."

The population growth is a direct result of Manitoba's provincial nominee program, which helps facilitate immigration to Manitoba for skilled and eager workers, he said.

"In the first year following the launch of the provincial nominee program in 1998, only 11.2 per cent of immigrants were provincial nominees," he said. "Now, they constitute more than 70 per cent of all the immigrants coming to Manitoba."

According to Statistics Canada data released Tuesday, Manitoba's population stood at 1,217,200 people as of April 1.

The fortune in our future

Yuen Pau Woo and Wang Huiyao

Special to Globe and Mail Update, Monday, Jun. 22, 2009 05:58PM EDT

Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi's visit to Canada this week is a sign that recent Canadian overtures, including trips to China by Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon and Trade Minister Stockwell Day, are bearing fruit.

It is too early to declare that the period of “cool politics, warm economics” is over. But it is not too early to think about what a new phase of Canada-China relations should look like. Most analysts agree that Prime Minister Stephen Harper needs to visit Beijing, and he has said he will. What then?

It would be tempting to rewind bilateral relations to 2005, when President Hu Jintao and prime minister Paul Martin announced a “strategic partnership.” Some even advocate a return to the heady days of the Team Canada missions of the 1990s. The current context for Canada-China relations, however, is vastly different from four years ago, let alone the previous decade.

First, the U.S.-China relationship has become the primary lens through which many global issues are addressed. From the reform of the Bretton Woods institutions to the conclusion of the Doha round, from the denuclearization of North Korea to a new global deal on climate change, solutions will have to be found in both Washington and Beijing. In the absence of a formal G2, new and old multilateral channels will continue to be important, especially the G20, which has solid Canadian pedigree.

Second, China has gone global. In both hard power and soft power, China's global presence will become more apparent, even as, ironically, its export products - especially of the cheaper mass-produced variety - become less dominant. China's global footprint will increasingly be defined not so much by the ubiquitous “Made in China” label, but by the more amorphous notion of “Made by China.”

Third, two-way people movements between China and Canada will become more important than simply one-way inflows to Canada. There is already a robust return flow of recent Chinese immigrants to Canada, many of whom are taking influential positions in their native country. Talent from many countries is starting to flock to China for professional and economic advancement.

Fourth, China's response to the current downturn will likely result in a profound restructuring of global demand, with China - and Asia more broadly - reducing its reliance on exports as a source of growth, and turning increasingly to domestic spending on infrastructure, social welfare, health and private consumption.

Some of these changes, such as a more assertive Chinese foreign policy and competition from Beijing for the attention of U.S. policy-makers, will be uncomfortable for many Canadians and challenging for Ottawa. But other features of China's globalization present Canadians with exciting new opportunities.

Chinese outward investment is set to increase in the years ahead. According to a recent Asia Pacific Foundation survey of more than 1,100 Chinese enterprises, Canada was perceived as the second-most open market for Chinese investment, behind the United States and ahead of Australia. Contrary to popular commentary here, Chinese enterprises do not believe that the Canadian government or public will react negatively to Chinese investment. Ottawa should put the attraction of Chinese investment at the top of a bilateral economic agenda, and address any residual concern about discrimination against Chinese enterprises, including state-owned companies.

Facilitating two-way people movements should also be given top priority. Aside from immigration, tourism and education flows, special attention should be placed on the growing number of “binationals” who have extensive personal and professional attachments to both Canada and China. Research by the Centre for China & Globalization suggests that the return flow of overseas talent will be a major factor in China's development in the years ahead, and that many of these returnees will re-enter China as citizens of other countries, including Canada. To take just one example, the head of Zhongguanchun, China's equivalent to Silicon Valley, has strong ties to Canada.

It is in the interest of both China and Canada to embrace this highly mobile talent pool by acknowledging their attachments to both countries. Recognizing that the quest for global talent has implications for citizenship policy, Beijing is looking at creative new ways to attract the world's best to China, including less stringent visa requirements and dual citizenship for former nationals who have immigrated to selected destinations. In this respect, Canada is one of China's most important partner countries, not only because of the number of Chinese nationals who have settled in Canada, but because of the substantial flow of returnees who carry Canadian passports.

A comprehensive human-capital agreement could clarify a number of thorny citizenship, extradition and rights issues, while advancing two-way people flows through scholarships, student and faculty exchanges, and mobility of temporary labour. Such an agreement would unlock the hidden potential of Canada-China people linkages and pave the way for deeper economic and political relations. On the eve of the 40th anniversary of bilateral relations, the need for new thinking along these lines is greater than ever.