While immigration should not be the only policy foundation of economic competitiveness in Canada, its quantitative and qualitative importance must be understood. Immigrants form the backbone of Canada’s economy, often performing menial jobs and fuelling economic growth in the small enterprise sector, which created 57 percent of all new jobs in Canada in 2000. Skilled immigrants selected through the points system constituted 62 percent of all newcomers in 2001, and formed a disproportionate segment of Canada’s educated class, one that is integral to Canada’s international
