Is super-diversity a negative factor in British Columbia?
The latest Statistics Canada report showed 45.2 percent of the residents of Metro Vancouver are members of a visible minority, particularly Chinese, South Asian, Filipino and Korean. It is more than implication that Metro Vancouver has become of the most ethnically diverse while the rest of British Columbia remains homogenous. Metro Vancouver takes about 85 percent of all immigrants to the province. Meanwhile, the rest of the province only makes up 7.4 of the population.
Metro Vancouver has become super-diverse, the land beyond its borders remains similar to most places around the world, with one ethnocultural group, in this case European rooted whites predominating, according to Vancouver Sun.
The National Household Survey showed that Metro Vancouver has six times as many visible minorities as the rest of the province. There could be some political ramifications. For example, one in five residents of Metro Vancouver are ethnic Chinese. In the rest of B.C., the ratio drops to just one in 77. And while one in 20 residents of Metro Vancouver has Filipino origins, outside the city Filipinos make up only one in 143 residents.
Metro Vancouver has become a major destination because the vast majority of migrants believe gateway cities have the critical mass of people who might be more like themselves.
The challenges of politicians is to initiate plans and projects that will help cities like Metro-Vancouver develop the infrastructure, employment, educational systems, housing and social cohesion that will accommodate super-diversity.
Direct flights to Vancouver
Vancouver International Airport announced new direct destinations from across the Pacific and the Atlantic, but the newest route with the best strategic potential is the link between Asia and Central and South America.
The Vancouver to Mexico City flights daily is already in operation. Some passengers from other Asian partner airlines such as China Eastern and China Southern are already booking the Asia-Latin America link through Vancouver.
Vancouver has the Chinese market well covered, with among the most frequent flights scheduled to destinations in China. This includes secondary cities such as Chengdu and Kunming.
Eventually, there will be direct flights to Argentina and Chile. Air Canada will start direct flights to the Irish capital of Dublin soon and will be doubling its service to London and add daily flights to Chicago O’ Hare and San Diego and twice-daily route to San Jose, California, the heart of Silicon Valley.
Fastest growing province in Canada
Conference Board of Canada claimed that the province of British Columbia is the fastest growing province in Canada for the next two years. That it should grow its GDP by 3.6 percent next year.
The report suggested that the province is “in a class of its own,” compared to the other provinces and primarily credits attempts to develop liquefied natural gas factor. Meanwhile, the housing market is projected to help boost the finance, real estate and insurance industries by 6 percent in 2015.
McDonald’s Canada getting up-market in North America
McDonald’s fastfood chain is making serious inroads into Canada’s restaurant coffee market since reformulating its classic brewed coffee blend. It is making a major attack on Tim Hortons and Starbucks.
McDonald’s McCafe is now opening in highly trafficked area in Toronto, the first outlet of their kind in North America. The new stand-alone locations will be rolled out across Canada if they perform well, and stand to grow the mature chain’s market share.
The menu has been changed with more choices along with a new line of baked products. And the prices will be competitive to Tim Hortons and Starbucks.
Canada is the second-highest in sales and guest count growth among McDonald’s 12 major global markets, behind Australia. In 2014, McDonald’s Canada was the number two restaurant chain in the country behind Tim Hortons.
Women power on the rise
Enrolment in Canada’s post secondary institutions was up 1.2 percent between 2012 and 2014, with women representing more than half of those seeking to go to college. It also showed that women today account for six out of every 10 graduates across the country.
When it comes to education in Canada, it is no longer a man’s world.