Long one of the world’s most welcoming immigrant destinations, Canada is often held up as a model for how to craft sound immigration policy in a multicultural democracy, with more than one of every five Canadian residents foreign born. In 2016, it was home to 7.5 million immigrants, among the largest foreign-born populations in the world. Though economic considerations have largely driven Canada’s policy preference for highly skilled immigrant workers, the country has also recently become a leader in refugee resettlement. Nearly 47,000 refugees were resettled in 2016—the highest level in Canadian history.

The Canadian approach to immigration, settlement, citizenship, and multiculturalism did not happen by accident. Geography has played a role: Three oceans (one frozen most of the year) and a developed country to the south act as a buffer from large-scale uncontrolled migration. Furthermore, Canadian history—a complex and imperfect process of accommodation, entailing acceptance and compromise between indigenous peoples and French and British settlers—made the country more multinational in character from its start than a traditional nation-state.

Read the full article by Andrew Griffith about Canada's Immigration from Migration Policy Institute