New Faces in the Crowd Economic and Social Impacts of Immigration

This publication summarizes findings on the effects of immigration on the per-capita income of the host population and on unemployment. It also reviews the political effects, in terms of Canada's weight in the international community and of the size and distribution of population among the provinces and among the country's three largest metropolitan areas, under three different immigration scenarios. It examines how well the immigrants themselves do in Canada and reviews the issues involved in processing refugees. It also examines the social implications of immigration from two points of view: prejudice and tolerance, and the management of diversity. It concludes with 11 recommendations regarding the level of immigration over the next 25 years, the successful integration of immigrants into Canadian society, and the desirable distribution of immigrants across the three main categories: family class, refugees, and independents.