Abstract
The aim of this chapter is to describe some of the basic demographic features of Canada and the United States. Although some social indicators will be considered at various points in the discussion, most of the time series introduced are only essential background statistics. In other words, most of the material in this chapter should be regarded as necessary for a characterization of the quality of life in a descriptive sense, while only a handful of statistics are finally relevant to the quality of life in an evaluative sense. Considerations that I regard as decisive for the classification of a statistic as a negative or positive social indicator have been presented with every indicator.
“The Indians had a lousy immigration policy”. Anonymous
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Notes
Department of Manpower and Immigration, Immigration Policy Perspectives (Ottawa: Information Canada, 1974), p. 2.
Department of Manpower and Immigration, Ibid., p. 5.
Commission on Population Growth and the American Future, Population and the American Future (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972), p. 8.
Commission on Population Growth and the American Future, Ibid., p. 16.
In June 1972 the following question was put to Americans in a national survey: “Some people say that, in order to keep pollution down and prevent overcrowding, the U.S. should deliberately try to cut down on the growth of our population through such measures as encouraging birth control and reducing tax exemptions and welfare payments for large families. Others say such matters as family size should be left to the individuals involved and their consciences. If you had to choose between these two points of view, would you favor or oppose the U.S. deliberately taking steps to limit population growth?” Forty-seven percent favored “taking steps to limit population growth” and 44% were opposed according to W. Watts and L. A. Free (eds.), State of the Nation (New York: Universe Books, 1973), p. 287. This is the only evidence I could find that is remotely related to the general issue of population growth.
The American cut comes at 2500 and the Canadian at 3000. Presumably this makes it a bit easier for Americans to be found in urban areas, but I don’t know how much easier.
Commission on Population Growth and the American Future, op. cit., p. 119.
Watts and Free, op. cit., p. 286.
J. L. Freedman, ‘The Effects of Population Density on Humans’, Psychological Perspectives on Population (ed. by J. T. Fawcett), (New York: Basic Books, Inc., 1973), p. 222.
J. L. Freedman, ‘The Effects of Population Density on Humans’, Ibid., p. 223.
J. L. Freedman, ‘The Effects of Population Density on Humans’, Ibid., p. 223.Ibid.
A good discussion of these issues may be found in A. T. Day and L. H. Day, ‘Cross-National Comparison of Population Density’, Science (1973), 1016–1023.
P. E. Ehrlich and J. P. Holdren, ‘Impact of Population Growth’, Science (1971), p. 1215.
U.S. Department of Commerce, Statistical Abstract of the United States 1974 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office), p. 34, Table 41 and footnote 6.
Statistics Canada, Canada Year Book 1973 (Ottawa: Information Canada), p. 215, Table 5.19.
‘Blacks in Metro: Racism Exists But Hope Does Too’, The Toronto Star, September 9, 1972, p. 1.
C. E. Johnson Jr., Consistency of Reporting of Ethnic Origin in the Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of the Census Technical Paper 31 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1974), p. 1.
C. E. Johnson Jr., Consistency of Reporting of Ethnic Origin in the Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of the Census Technical Paper 31 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1974), p. 1. Ibid.
Statistics Canada, Perspective Canada (Ottawa: Information Canada, 1974), p. 240, Table 12.3.
H. Cardinal, The Unjust Society. The Tragedy of Canada’s Indians (Edmonton: M. G. Hurtig Ltd., 1969), p. 20.
Commission on Population Growth and the American Future, op. cit., p. 89.
These annual percent changes should not be confused with the cumulative percent changes over 1964 which are given in our tables and charts. The latter are particularly useful for describing the decade trends, but the former are crucial for year-by-year assessments.
This was also a recommendation of the Commission on Population Growth and the American Future, op. cit., p. 99.
J. Blake, ‘Population Policy for Americans: Is the Government Being Misled’, Science (1969), p. 526.
Canadian Institute of Public Opinion, June 21, 1967.
Department of Manpower and Immigration, The Immigration Program (Ottawa: Information Canada, 1974), p. 41.
See the Department of Manpower and Immigration, The Immigration Program (Ottawa: Information Canada, 1974),
the U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, United States Immigration Laws: General Information (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1972).
Department of Manpower and Immigration, Three Years in Canada (Ottawa: Information Canada, 1974).
Commission on Population Growth and the American Future, op. cit., p. 130.
U.S. Department of Justice, Immigration and Naturalization Service, op. cit., p. 19.
Department of Manpower and Immigration, The Immigration Program, p. 47. See also pp. 186–187 and F. Hawkins, Canada and Immigration (Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1972), p. 71.
‘Seeking a Better Life in Canada’, Business Week, April 21, 1973, p. 86.
‘Why More Americans Are Leaving These Shores’, U.S. News and World Report, August 26, 1974, p. 41.
Department of Manpower and Immigration, The Immigration Program, p. 145.
Statistics Canada, Canada Year Book 1973, p. 343.
U.S. Department of Commerce, op. cit., p. 334.
Statistics Canada, Canada Year Book 1973, p. 343.
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, Labor Force Statistics 1962–1973 (Paris, 1975), p. 60.
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Michalos, A.C. (1980). Population Structure. In: North American Social Report. Social Indicators Research Programmes, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8975-7_2
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