Quote Originally Posted by Darkhorse View Post
I'm not an immigration expert, but I always understood there is really only 3 ways into Canada:

1. Buy your way in (not cheap) have to invest or open a business.
2. Get sponsored in by marriage or a relative
3. Refugee

Everyone seems to focus on the negativity of the third. If your home country is war torn or you are not safe, or even if you did everything right and earned a good living over there, but could lose it all over corruption or war, you'd be moving too. Just imagine going to China at age 35 and having to learn the language at that stage.....not easy.

If we had to buy our way into another country to have a better life, I'm curious how many of us could even afford it.

I'm too busy making my own living to worry about others.

I guess it's an easy target as to why some people don't do better.....blame the immigrants.

Yes, both my parents were immigrants from other countries.
The majority of immigrants to my knowledge go through the 4th option which would actually be #1 on your list by the number of people annualy: a points based system at which "Express Entry" is at the top of that grouping (below that the points system still applies but you're not put to the front of the line). This is likely how many of the members on here with immigrant parents likely ended up in Canada because it is probably close to a generation old in some format or another. I believe the refugee category is at the low end of the pool in terms of the numbers included in the 333K per year that is being referenced.

Some people misconstrue the programs and the data (ie. promote an idea that the majority of the people coming in/brought in are in #3 on your list) either through xenophobia or lack of knowledge but they also complain about high taxes and lament the possible absence of programs for when they become seniors, or their kids become seniors (ie. CPP, OAS, etc) - under either Conservative or Liberal philosophies - but I assume they don't understand macroeconomics of these programs (333K per year may not even be sufficient to sustain an adequate tax base with the % of population above 55 years of age today and current death rates). Refugee numbers do need to be managed but another aspect of this (I am making an educated guess) is that a sub-factor in the equation is they are "acquiring" children in the refugee numbers (my understanding is that families are the largest component) since children/second generations typically do better than their parent immigrants who have to start over but their kids go to school here and are better prepared for our economic structure.