Recent Chinese Migration to Canada

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Professor
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Recent Chinese Migration to Canada
Introduction
The movement of people across borders has an influence on international economic and social relations (Zhang). In recent times, the migration of Chinese to Canada has become diverse and complex due to the economic and social changes that China and Canada are undergoing (Zhang). According to Zhang, China recently became the leading source of immigrants to Canada. China has also beco7me Canada’s largest source of students and tourists (Zhang). Migration denotes the movement of people in various directions with multiple journeys during their lifetime (Yu). The Chinese migration to Canada is characterized by the notion of making a fortune and returning home to make various investments (Yu).
History of Chinese Immigration to Canada
Census carried out in 2001 revealed that Canada has an ethnoculturally diverse population (Guo and DeVoretz). According to the report by Statistics Canada of 2003, 18.4% of Canada’s total population was made up of foreigners with Chinese being the largest visible minority group (Guo and DeVoretz). According to Guo and DeVoretz findings, the Chinese population has been continuously increasing in Canada. To support the claim of the Chinese increasing population in Canada, Zhang states that the Canadian census in 2006 indicated that over 1.3 million people claimed their origin was Chinese. According to the census, the Chinese community is the eighth largest in Canada basing on ethnic origin (Zhang). In the area of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan the Chinese comprise of the largest population of minorities with a proportion of 44%, 30% and 29% respectively (Guo and DeVoretz). Some of the Chinese, who migrate in Canada settle there, however, some return to their original home places such as Mainland China, Hong Kong or Taiwan.
The entry criteria in Canada changes over time and the only immigrant entry gate available for the Chinese is the separate immigrant class. The reason being there are no existing relatives to sponsor the migrating Chinese. Canada can predict the impact on socio-demography and human capital theory by the selection system. New arrivals from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and mainland China are supposed to meet the entry criteria as outlined by Canada’s point grid (Guo and DeVoretz).
After the Second World War ended, most of the Chinese immigrants who came to Canada were from Hong Kong ( Guo and DeVoretz). Guo and DeVoretz research on Chinese immigrants in Vancouver identifies three major immigration waves from Hong Kong as follows:
* The first wave was between 1958 and 1961 as a result of huge changes in the Hong Kong agricultural sector.
* The second wave in 1966-1976 due to political instability that led to the emigration of an elite group headed to the United States and Canada.
* The third wave was in the 1980s as a result of the Sino-British Agreement that put Hong Kong under special administrative rule by China.
Massive emigration from China to Canada started in the 1980s with the pro-democracy student movement of 1989 being the primary catalyst ( Guo and DeVoretz). The event led the Canadian government to issue permanent residency to many Chinese students and scholars seeking education in Canada at the time. In contrast, the government of China employed rules that limited people mobility, but eventually in the 1990s the rule was abolished leading to a massive emigration to Canada. The migration resulted in an economic boom in China with a new middle-income class. After that, China embraced fewer restrictions to acquire Chinese passports making China enter the emigration phase CITATION Guo07 \l 1033 ( Guo and DeVoretz). Chinese immigrants from Taiwan are mainly as a result of political instability, resulting from its relations with the Mainland China. Additionally, immigration from Taiwan can be attributed to the discomfort of the middle-class because of the problems brought about by the quality of life under prompt industrialization (Guo and DeVoretz). Zhang notes that the number of migrants from the Peoples Republic of China has tripled each year since 1989 from about 10,000 to a peak of 40,000 in 2005.
Modern trends in the migration of Chinese to Canada
From 1998 to 2008 it is there were about 363,760 Chinese citizens immigrated to Canada, making up a portion of 14 percent of all new immigrants during that period (Zhang). The Tiananmen Square incident of 1989 where the Canadian government allowed Chinese citizens in Canada to land immigrant status resulted in an increase in immigration from China. Further increase in immigration was experienced in the mid-1990s when the Canadian government accepted applications from individuals who had various work skills in the Peoples Republic of China through the Point System (Zhang).
The growing rate of immigration was reduced when the Canadian government amended its Immigration Act to tighten security measures as a result of the terrorist attack in the United States on September 11, 2001. Slowed down processing of new applications led to decreased number of arrivals between 2002 and 2004 (Zhang).
Lowering the pass-mark in the federal skilled worker program from 75 to 67 points increased the number of visitors to a peak of 42,292 in 2005 (Zhang). However, since 2005 there has been an accumulation of applications yet to be processed leading to fewer applications. This is as a result of long waiting times for processing and increased employment opportunities in China (Zhang).
In 2008, the Canadian government made attempts to enhance the processing system. The reforms made involved elimination of the countries obligation to process every application of citizenship and immigration. The country settled on issuing the minister for immigration the power to command the department in charge of immigration to process or not process ...