Immigration in Canada

1591 Words7 Pages
In recent years, Canada has received many immigrants because of its advantageous social, environmental and economical conditions. Grady (2009) reports that Canada’s immigration levels have remained very high, since the Mulroney government relaxed its immigration policy to new immigrants in the mid-1980s. A total of about 250,000 new permanent residents and 113,000 temporary foreign workers were welcomed to Canada in 2006 (p.28). When immigrants arrive at a new place; they have to start everything from the beginning. Most will experience a transition period and during this period, they have to establish their own self-sufficiency within the new social structure. Fortunately for them, the Canadian government provides some benefits for the new comers so that they can quickly settle down in the new environment. For this paper, I will look at this topic on immigration in Canada through a sociological perspective, using the concepts of culture shock, assimilation and discrimination and the structural functional theory. Concept 1: Culture shock. Culture shock is a condition that affects people who travel to another country that is remarkably different from their own culture back home. Michael (1991) states that culture shock involve emotions experienced by an individual due to loss of familiarity from one’s own culture, responses to new cultural stimuli that have little or no meaning and misunderstanding due to new and diverse experiences (p. 107). A person who fails to resolve these concerns will become frustrated and might leave the country. For immigrants, culture shock is common and an unavoidable process. Most people suffer culture shock when they start a new life elsewhere. When people experience a different habit, norms, culture in their new life, they feel confused and disappointed (Macionis, Jansson & Benoit, 2009, p. 37). In Canada, immigrants have

More about Immigration in Canada

Open Document