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180 Review • Christopher G. Anderson A Nation of Immigrants: Past, Present and Future Christopher G. Anderson Immigrant Canada: Demographic, Economic, and Sodal Challenges. Eds. Shiva S. Haili and Leo Driedger. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999. CreatingSocieties: ImniigrantLives in Canada. Dirk Hoerder. Montreal and Kingston: McGill- Queen's University Press, 1999. A Nation ofl1nmigrants: Women, Workers, atid Co1nn1unities in Canadian History, 1840s-1960s. Eds. Franca lacovetta with Paula Draper and Robert Ventresca. Toronto: University ofToronto Press, 1998. The Making of the Mosaic: A History of Canadian Immigration Policy. Ninette Kelley and Michael Trebilcock. Toronto: University ofToronto Press, 1998. With Scarcely a Ripple: Anglo-Canadian Migration into the United States and Western Canada, 1880-1920. Randy William Widdis. Montreal and Kingston: McGillQueen 's University Press, 1998. (/Immigration made the last century a success for Canada.111 So declared Elinor Caplan, the minister of Citizenship and Immigration, as she announced the government 's intention to admit between 200,000 and 225,000 immigrants and refugees into the country during 2000. It is a remark that none of the authors tinder review here would probably contest, as they all, each in their own fashion, explore various ways in which newcomers have contributed to Canada throughout its history . Whereas the minister's comment was offered as an expression of millennial optimism, however, there is another, darker side to the immigration story that is also the focus of the books examined below. Canada has not always opened its door to immigrants and refugees, and those admitted have not always found themselves welcomed as equal members of society. For much of the country's history, immigration has been used as a means to increase the labour pool in the pursuit of economic growth, and most immigrants did not share in the wealth that was thereby created. Of course, the immigrant experience in Canada (and the Canadian experience with immigration) has never simply been an economic process, but also one Volume 36 • No. 1 • (Printemps 2001 Spring) journal of Canadian Studies • Revue d'Eitudes canadiennes ofmanaging the reality of social diversity and understanding the meaning of political equality. As well, the experience has involved a search for safety by the persecuted , and Canada's response to the needs of refugees constitutes another way in which to assess the country's success in the twentieth century. Thus, Caplan's statement - like the familiar refrain that Canada is "a nation of immigrants" - is at first blush te1ling more for what it hides than what it reveals. The books under review here help to develop the tools necessary to comprehend more fully the complexity of what it means for Canada to succeed as a country of permanent settlement for immigrants and refugees. The five volumes reflect the diversity of the field across disciplines and methodologies. Here the reader is drawn through the realms of demography, history, political science and sociology, carried by empirical and theoretical work, macro- and micro-level studies, qualitative and quantitative analyses, archival research and surveys of the literature, often undertaken in compelling combinations. l'he authors and editors explore the distant and recent past, but always with an eye towards the present and the near future. If there is one common theme that joins these texts it is that to understand Canada, it is necessary to study the many ways in which newcomers have shaped its evolution. Not surprisingly, the authors and editors do not manage all that they set out to achieve. Indeed, individually and collectively, these works reveal in particular the extent to which the last quarter of the twentieth century remains little understood. None the less, each book makes a distinct contribution to the study of Canadian immigration (and therefore of Canada as well) and establishes important signposts for future research. With the publication of The Making of the Mosaic, a notable need in the Canadian immigration policy literature has at last been, if not satiated, then at least well satisfied. Prior to Ninette Kelley and Michael Trebilcock's volume, students lacked a comprehensive guide to this policy area.2 In providing such a resource, the authors offer more than just an introduction for those unfamiliar with the field, or an overview for...

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