As one of millions of Canadians who still identify somewhat with the culture of their British-Irish forebears -- a "Wasp", if you will -- I don't find that numbers of immigrants have weakened "my" culture. (The Brits themselves seem to find multicultural Canada a more interesting place than they would if Canadians were trying to ape them.) As for the danger of higher unemployment: has immigration not buoyed the Canadian economy, to some extent?

Anyway, it's better for the planet if more people can find a home in Canada. Perhaps 450,000 newcomers a year is unrealistic, but it's a worthy aim. It's rather unsettling to read that there will be fewer Syrian refugees; are there not tens of thousands, or more, in dire need of resettlement? It's as though having shown the world  how decent we are by welcoming several thousand, we can tell tens of thousands of others they need not apply. There's something "Canadian" in that which perhaps immigration may change.