Stereotypes Of Immigrants In Canada

Lured by the Promise of Jobs and a Better Life

“In 2011, Canada had a foreign-born population of approximately 20.6%, which is the highest proportion among the G8 countries” (Statistics Canada, 2011). It is likely that immigrants will have developed their own perception of what it means to be Canadian after they have lived and experienced this country for a few years. As I watched the Molson “I am Canadian” (Molson Canadian, 2012) ad, I was inspired to feel pride and patriotism. The ad presents one side of what it means to be Canadian by rejecting stereotypes and emphasizing differences between Canada and the USA (I am Canadian Lyrics, 2017). However, being Canadian will mean different things to different people depending on their experiences

For example, some are highly educated but they lack English skills; some recent immigrants are desperate to become contributing members of our economy but the resources available to them are not convenient enough to make it happen as fast as they would hope. Consequently, many of the immigrants end up taking low-paying jobs, or find themselves jobless after a few years of trying because their credentials are not recognized and they lack Canadian experience. The Canadian and Provincial governments offer services to support immigrants, but the services offered are quite cumbersome and therefore inefficient. Because of that, newcomers, who do not know how the system works, are left in a state of confusion and desperation. Due to the many employment barriers faced by newcomers, the Canadian government should provide a streamlined program to support effective immigrant settlement and integration through recognized English training, efficient credential evaluation services, and providing immigrants with Canadian

The government offers newcomers free self-assessment tests based on the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) to assess their level of English as a Second Language (ESL) and based on the results of their test, they are placed in free Language Instructions for Newcomers to Canada (LINC) courses. Although the Government of Canada (2013) encourages immigrants to “make an effort to improve [their] English or French if neither of these are [their] first language” (p. 12), immigrants are not strongly persuaded to stay until they complete the program. As Guo (2013) acknowledged in her “Language Policies and Programs for Adult Immigrants in Canada,” the “LINC is meant to provide immigrants with basic communication skills” through eight levels of training; however, “in most provinces, students exit at LINC level 4 for speaking and listening and level 3 for reading and writing” (p.