According to the most recent Legatum Prosperity Index, 9 out of 10 people believe that Canada is a good place for migrants to live, i.e. 94% agreed with this statement in the survey. This is compared to a global average of 65%,
Canada came third out of 142 countries in the world prosperity index and number one for personal freedom. This is likely to be due to its high tolerance of other cultures and ethnicities.
Government initiatives also play a part in encouraging settlement for new migrants. Personal freedom in this context also includes civil rights, freedom of choice, attitude to ethnic minorities and immigrants.
The Canadian Government has a very proactive stance towards migrant settlement, offering many settlement services for new arrivals. See the Canadian Citizenship and Immigration website for further details: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/newcomers/map/services.asp. Settlment services on offer include language classes (English and French), assistance with finding employment, help with starting a new life including home search and planning finances and information about local community services. Canada also promotes its path to citizenship which can assist with feeling settled in to Canadian culture.
Canada Day is celebrated on the 1st July each year. It is a day when citizenship ceremonies take place across the country and new citizens are welcomed. Hundreds of thousands of new citizens are welcomed each year.
There are other good reasons for migrants to move to Canada. The country had an average life satisfaction score of 7.4 out of 10 and an average teacher pupil ratio of 1: 12.
Numerous categories are evaluated in the study including the economy, the business environment in terms of entrepreneurship, governance, health and safety, security, education, personal freedom and social capital.
Norway has held the number one position in terms of prosperity for the last five years. Not surprisingly Sweden, New Zealand and Switzerland are also in the top five of the world’s most prosperous countries according to the report.
Further information can be found on www.prosperity.com or join the conversation on twitter #prosperity.
