Close Reading

I was born and raised in Brampton (but of South Asian descent via the Caribbean) and it pains me to see how the city has changed over the past 20 years. I was raised to be a proud Canadian and to be grateful for the opportunities that this country has afforded my family and I. I am a Canadian first, and Guyanese/Indian second. The issue I have with the city is that you have enclaves of ethnically homogenous people who refuse to assimilate - I once went into a Tim Hortons at Peter Robertson and Dixie, and was laughed at by the cashiers because I could not speak Hindi/Punjabi (despite being brown). There is nothing wrong with immigration - it makes the country stronger. HOWEVER, that only happens if the immigrants work to collectively advance the interests of the country and accept the rules/societal norms of the country they now call home. Instead, they find ways to circumvent/exploit the system - they are less interested on making society better, and more interested in individual advancement. I live in Professors Lake, which historically was one of the more affluent areas of the city. Now, there are several houses on my street that have essentially become boarding houses, divided into units of four with 10+ people living inside. I fully understand why white Canadians are feeling displaced, and it pains me that anti-immigrant sentiment has soured the way people look at me (despite being born in Canada).

Ethnicity - Brampton: South Asian 52%, European 19%, Black 13%, Latin 2%, South East and East Asian 6%, West Asian and Middle East 2%, Indigenous 1% and others European : Others ≈ 1 : 4 so approximately one fifth of the Brampton populations are whites. European : SA ≈ 2 : 5 so approximately for every 5 South Asian/Indian there are 2 whites. Brampton you have been successfully invaded by the true East Indian Company @ The Great India 🤣🤣🤣

Canada presents itself as a multicultural society, but the reality for many immigrants—especially South Asians—is different. Brampton and other cities have seen large Indian and Pakistani immigration waves due to Canada’s labor and education opportunities. But despite being invited under official immigration programs, these communities face systemic racism and unequal treatment. 📊 Employment Discrimination: • A 2021 Statistics Canada report found that racialized Canadians earned 20% less on average than their white counterparts, even when education and experience were controlled. • South Asian immigrants specifically face higher rates of credential discounting, where their foreign education and experience are undervalued. 📊 Hiring Bias: • A University of Toronto study revealed that applicants with “ethnic” names were 40% less likely to receive a callback compared to those with Anglo-sounding names, even with identical résumés. • Another survey showed that unemployment rates for racialized Canadians are consistently 1.5–2x higher than for white Canadians. 📊 Perceptions vs. Reality: • While white Europeans continue to integrate without much resistance, South Asians are often stereotyped as “taking over” neighborhoods. • Immigrants from India and Pakistan have one of the highest workforce participation rates in Canada, working in everything from Uber and trucking to tech and medicine—contributing directly to the economy. Meanwhile, many first-generation South Asian immigrants don’t qualify for the refugee-style supports that others receive. Instead, they work long hours, often in precarious jobs, just to cover bills. The frustration often mistaken as an “attitude problem” comes from facing daily systemic barriers—being seen as “less than” despite contributing equally, if not more, to society. The underlying issue is that the old colonial mindset persists: brown immigrants are not granted the same social standing as white Canadians. Equality on paper is not equality in practice.

Erosion of National Identity\nBy 2036, immigrants are projected to make up about\n30% of the Canadian population. By 2050, roughly half\nthe country’s population will be non-white. In some\nareas, these projections have already been reached or\nsurpassed. In Brampton, Ontario, 65% of the population\nis South Asian. Richmond, British Columbia, became\nmajority Chinese in 2016. In Quebec, the French lan-\nguage is in serious decline because of large scale immi-\ngration.\nIf immigration targets remain unchanged, there will\nbe a dramatic change in the country’s ethnic, cultural,\nand linguistic composition. Many citizens, both native-\nborn and immigrants, will be uncomfortable with a\nchange at this rate and scale to the country they know and\nlove. To make matters worse, the successive federal gov-\nernments, which have overseen Canada’s policy of large-\nscale immigration, have never consulted Canadians on\nwhether they actually want this kind of change. -Druthers