Canada is a nation of only thirty-eight million people. A population about equal to Poland, Afghanistan and Morocco. As Americans and American wannabes constantly point out, the majority of our population live within a short distance of the US border. Contrary to the insinuation that this situation is somehow related to a dependence on the US, it’s not. Canada was settled along its current land area, before much of the US existed as a nation,
This narrow area of population is however a serious issue. Combined with the fact that Canada is the second largest country on earth in terms of area, we don’t live on most of it. This can be a problem, or it can be seen as a great opportunity for our country. We can greatly increase our population by populating much more of it.
Canada’s current immigration policy plans to increase Canada’s population through immigration by 400,000 people annually with the 2021 number being 422,000. At this rate, Canada’s population in 2100 will be about 76,000,000 people, or roughly twice our current population. This increase is both a challenge and an opportunity. A worst case scenario is that the greater Toronto area which has 27% of Ontario’s population, would grow from 5 million to 15 million people. Similar lopsided growth would affect every province’s growth by simply having bigger big cities. Unless of course two things happen simultaneously. Population grows and increased inhabited space .
Contrary to popular opinion, there are not only four livable areas in Canada, namely the area directly bordering lakes Huron, Ontario and Erie, the lee side of the Rock Mountains, the Pacific Coast, and parts of the Atlantic provinces.
Southern Ontario
The first area being the southern part of southern Ontario. That is the area from Windsor to Owen Sound, Toronto to Barrie and Cornwall to Ottawa However Southern Ontario is certainly habitable over a much larger area. People currently live and thrive in an area from Windsor to Montreal, and Toronto to well past Greater Sudbury. This extra area is populated but severely under developed. For decades much of this area has been neglected by Canada’s government. If a Canadian government would focus on development of this region and promotion of immigration to these very livable communities, Canada would have a robust development , it would be a preferred immigrant destination and a thriving economy. the Liberal party has no motivation to develop this area because their political power and their major funding comes from Toronto and other urban centres. These people bankrolling the Liberals apparently want a Toronto with a population two or three times as large as it is today. Bigger Kingdom, more power. But what of things like ‘quality of life’ for the multitudes that are going to be crammed into their megacity. I remember when a small town getting a dock, a small park and a concrete washroom was, to the Toronto press and the CBC, a frivolous waste of money, while a 3 stop subway extension for 5 billion dollars is somehow a good deal.
The Plan
HUB COMMUNITIES- Designate Hub Communities for development. Prioritize development funds to hub communities for infrastructure and quality of life development. Encourage real industrial decentralization away from Toronto to Hub Communities
RAPID RAIL SYSTEMS- Build rapid rail lines crisscrossing the province connecting Hub Communities. As cars rapidly become short range vehicles rapid rail lines will become more important. Rapid rail lines connecting Hub communities would create a 21st century transit system. Go train type systems could join smaller communities to the hubs. Designating and developing hub communities would provide a multitude of thriving communities with various community atmospheres to welcome immigrants, thus creating a thriving, multifaceted country and economy.
COOKIE CUTTER- With provincial modifications duplicate this strategy in the maritime provinces and in the west
What is Needed
GOVERNMENT WILL.
