Dropping Canadian Birth Rates And Immigration
Around the time that Margaret Atwood was writing The Handmaid’s Tale, she also found articles that showed Canada’s birth rate was dropping for the same reasons the Romanian birth rate was dropping. Some people tried to blame it on pollution, saying that inorganic foods and toxins in the air made it less likely for women to get pregnant. While it’s true that an unhealthy lifestyle can lead to infertility, the major factor that lead to the drop in Canadian birth rates was women entering the workforce.
This is why Canada has a relatively relaxed immigration policy, (at least, in comparison to the complex and expensive process in the United States.) Since the 1970s, the majority of population growth in Canada has come from immigrants. The project that by the year 2035, 80% of Canada will be an immigrant population.
This is one of the many reasons why Canada is always featured as being the safe haven for refugees to flock to in books, TV, and movies. The Handmaid’s Tale is no exception. In the show, the diplomats from Canada try to work together with Gilead to learn how they are improving their birth rates, and their population only goes up as refugees escape across the border. However, people attempting to immigrate to Canada after President Trump was elected were shocked to find out that becoming a Canadian citizen is not something that can be done overnight. People need to live in the country for several years with visas and find full-time employment before getting citizenship.