Scarborough is a very diverse novel; its main characters are Native, Black, Filipino, Vietnamese, Indian, and white. It reflects the real-life neighborhood it is set in, and it is a microcosm of the larger immigration and demographic trends of Canada.
According to Catalyst, more than 1/5 of Canada’s population are people of color (22.3% in 2016). By 2036, they are expected to be about a third, or 31-36%, of the population. The largest populations of people of color are South Asian (25.1% of the total percentage of people of color), Chinese (20.5%), Black (15.6%), Filipino (10.2%), and Latin American (5.8%). People of color constitute 22% of Canada’s labor force and are expected to be over 1/3 of it by 2036.
About 4% of Canadians claim aboriginal identity. A report from Statistics Canada states: “Aboriginal people in Canada contribute to the richness and diversity of Canadian cultural heritage. In 2016, 2.1 million people, or 6.2% of the total Canadian population, reported Aboriginal ancestry (single or multiple response). Of the three main Aboriginal groups, First Nations (North American Indians) was the largest, with 1.5 million people. Within this group, Cree (356,660), Mi’kmaq (168,480) and Ojibway (125,725) were the most common ancestries. Métis ancestry was reported by 600,000 people, and Inuit ancestry was reported by 79,125.”
Canada has mostly welcomed immigrants through its gates, but has also vacillated numerous times in the 20th and 21st centuries. Immigration peaked in Canada in 1913, tapered off as a result of discouragement during the Great Depression, and began to rise again after WWII when displaced persons from Europe began to come over. In the 1970s and 1980s, many immigrants came from Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
In terms of refugees, Canada normally receives about 10-15% of the annual global flow, but in times of emergencies, this is higher. The Canadian Encyclopedia explains the changes initiated in 2010 to account for the increasing numbers of people falsely claiming refugee status to jump the queue of immigrant status: “In 2010 the government introduced reforms to the refugee system, creating two classes of refugees – those from ‘dangerous’ countries with a history of security risk to Canada, and those from "safe" democratic countries. Under the changes, which came into effect at the end of 2012, claimants from ‘safe’ countries would be fast-tracked through the system that determines their eligibility, as a way of speeding up the approval system and reducing the backlog in cases. The changes were criticized by some immigration advocacy groups for creating a two-tier refugee system that could be used to admit certain types of refugees on the basis of political whims – rather than under a fair and independent decision-making process.”
Most immigrants in the post-WWII period—66%—settled in the three metropolitan areas of Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto. Toronto, where Scarborough is located, is one of the most multicultural and multiracial cities in the world. The 2016 census revealed that 51.5% were people of color (referred to as “visible minorities” in Canada). The Canadian government says that Toronto has the highest per capita immigration rate in the world, with about 50% of Toronto residents identifying as immigrants.
