[August 28, 2017] I’ve not written about the influx of immigrants into Canada because it never was important enough to make a point about its policies for it to matter much in the study of leadership. The dynamic of immigrant Canadian national policies are considered mature and fair.
However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau threw a wrench into the delicate immigration debate when he announced Canada will “welcome you” (referring to all immigrants) and immediately sparking a fierce internal debate. His Tweet welcomed people fleeing war and persecution, using the hashtag #WelcometoCanada and it went viral. This could easily be read a welcoming everyone with a promise to provide welfare, housing, food, and transportation. Was it only false hope?
After U.S. President Donald Trump made restrictive changes to its immigration policies, Canada began experiencing a surge in immigrants. This caught its government off guard despite warnings from some politicians that a spike in illegal immigration would occur. As expected, all immigration surged upward, forcing several Canadian politicians to backpedal the line that everyone is welcome.
Canada was simply unprepared for even the influx (small compared to its neighbor the U.S.) but it failed to provide adequate food and housing for those crossing their shared border headed north. Trudeau announced that he understood the “concerns that Canadians have about whether this … is uncontrolled immigration.” 1 Many of those crossing the border were doing so through “irregular routes” to avoid immigration control measures.
“Here we are at the 11th hour, heading into winter, with tent cities at our border when the Prime Minister is finally coming out. He needs to have a plan and he needs to explain it to Canadians. … This is a problem.” – Michelle Rempel, Conservative Party Member of Canadian Parliament
Many times people read the wrong things into what a leader says and does; especially when they don’t make themselves clear. Critics of Trudeau have accused him of encouraging would-be refugees to come to Canada without thinking through the consequences. This is where we can learn from the mistakes of others. Trudeau did not explain himself with absolute clarity and both he and his country are paying a price for that failure.
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