Class, Citizenship, and Global Migration: The Case of the Canadian Business Immigration Program, 1978-1992

This paper deals with the circumstances leading to the enactment by several Western governments of business immigration programs. The case of Canada's Business Immigration Program is specifically profiled. It is suggested that such programs are a response implemented by the governments of core states to resolve their country's fiscal problems and, ultimately, their own declining legitimacy. At the same time, business immigration programs also are emblematic of the rise of an international capitalist class. The paper concludes that such programs are unlikely to resolve the fiscal problems for which they are intended. Instead, they may cause several unintended problems, including damaging the notion of inclusiveness imbedded in the moder concept of citizenship, thus further lessening the legitimacy of the state.