Federal election became one of the most important in Canadian history. According to Statistics Canada, 75 per cent of immigrants voted in the 2019 election.
All Canadian residents with citizenship have a chance to vote. Immigrants who resided in Canada for 1,095 days have a chance to apply for citizenship. As Kareem El-Assal wrote in his article: “Canada has one of the highest citizenship uptake rates in the world with around 85 per cent of immigrants becoming Canadians”.
Federal elections are an important event for immigrants from other countries. Sergiy Grishnyy and Vlad Zavadskyi shared their own opinions about elections.
Vlad owns his own business for several years. He noted that, “My vote is for PPC because they can lift the economy and reduce taxes”. He believes that PPC will reduce taxes for provinces and allow entrepreneurs to grow faster in their own fields. Vlad held his vote for Conservative party but the lack of a specific program changed his decision.
Vlad has lived in Canada for more than ten years. He noted that Canada’s economy needs to improve. Vlad stated that in 2006 the Canadian economy was at its highest level. The film industry began to grow rapidly in Regina. Many new immigrants moved to Canada to develop their own businesses. Oil industry was successfully improving in Regina.
However, immigrants say that Canadian economy decreased because the whole focus has shifted only to social reforms.
Many immigrants work as truck drivers. Sergiy Grishnyy owns his truck and drives from Canada to America every week. He said, ” Truck drivers have to pay high prices for gas because government wants to reduce gas usage”. High taxes do not give the opportunity to earn enough money to buy more trucks.
” We need alternatives for gas but not higher prices for it”, stated Sergiy. He gave his vote to the Conservative party. Conservative party released promises to spend billions of dollars for financial aid, employment insurance benefits and small business. These points and promises attract immigrants the most in choosing the side of Conservative party. People are immigrating to Canada for new prospects and opportunities. They are especially attracted by the idea of developing their own businesses. Each of them is ready to work and develop for the benefit of themselves and the country.
Today, the Conservative party promises increase lending for small, medium-sized businesses. This promised reform became the main point for immigrants in their decisions. They strive to develop their businesses, but high taxes are an obstacle for business development.
Vlad Zavadskyi pays 40 percent from his business income. This is a large part of the total profit. Vlad said: ” I do not have resources to hire more people for my message centre because I do not have enough money.” Tax cuts will allow to hire people and open job spots.
A poll of 10 immigrants showed that the majority would vote for the Conservative party. The main reasons are the promises of tax reduction, industrial development, increase in the number of homes, and benefits plan.
