Globalization in Canada

Globalization in Canada

Canada is in no way a foreigner to the concept of globalization having witnessed the concept since its maiden days. Indeed, the country is perfectly described as a consequence of globalization as expressed through colonial expansionism. The very first and original dwellers of the country opened its doors to Europeans and subsequently to people from different world regions. As a consequence, Canada is a multicultural nation that is representative of the new global community. Such is the perfect integration of life in the country that Canada has been cited as having the best quality of life in the entire world. But does this improvement imply a positive impact of globalization on the country? The transformation of the country to reflect a global community has had its fair share of advantages and limitations for the country. In particular, the economical front has withstood a diverse array of impacts, both beneficial and detrimental (Niosi, p. 396). There is no denying that globalization has resulted in some negative economic benefits such as exportation of jobs and cheaper imports. However positive economic benefits abound in the country including rising incomes as well as low inflation rates coupled by higher rates of employment. Clearly, globalization has had more economic benefits than drawbacks in Canada.

It is not surprising that opponents of globalization regularly cite the negative economic implications bestowed upon the country. Perhaps, the most advanced argument has to do with the export of jobs and processes to developing countries. This practice is commonly referred to as outsourcing and involves the contracting of processes outside the country of origin. Canada, as do other developed countries, has continually explored the prospects of seeking labor outside the country in a bid to minimize the cost of production. This development comes in the wake of increased cost of labor in Canada following a deprivation in the number of available casual laborers. There is a common consensus among researchers and academicians that developed countries stand to lose to the developing countries when they outsource services and labors. The rationale behind this type of thinking is based on the notion that developing countries have a steady supply of labor. In the end, Canadian citizens lose the jobs to citizens of developing countries thus undermining their personal economic development (Freeman, p. 157). In fact, outsourcing is evidences among different products including foods and clothes that have labels from developing countries such as India, China and Malaysia. The economic limitation in this kind of set up is that Canadian citizens may lose their jobs as companies strive to minimize production costs through outsourcing of labor.

Still, the context of globalization may be viewed negatively in terms of its economic impacts on the country in general. The exposure of varying products to the citizens of the country presents a threat to the locally produced goods. As a consequence of increased competition at the international market, Canadian goods have a lower chance of making sales within the country. Globalization has the net effect of converting the local market into an international market that does not limit the volume of products from other countries. Normally, less developed countries have the advantage of using cheaper labor and therefore minimizing their production costs. On the other hand, developed countries like Canada have a shortage of casual labor thus pushing the cost of production. Consequently, goods produced within the country are usually more expensive compared to imported goods and especially those from developing countries. In fact, globalization is arguably more beneficial to developing countries as it exposes their products to international markets (Enright, p. 328). In the end, the balance of payment shifts in favor of the developing countries and threatening the economic development of developed countries. While the economic loss of developed countries may be insignificant in some cases, globalization hinders economic growth in these countries.

Today, Canada faces increased threats to its trade owing to weaker price of commodities within the country. However, despite all indications pointing elsewhere, the solution to the problem of poor trade lies in globalization. In fact, the problem of trade is in part driven by the scarcity of labor and poor transportation infrastructure. These problems can adequately be solved through the integration of trade with other countries and the enhancement of globalization. The country should embrace the concept of globalization in its search for solutions to the problems of poor trade. A more globalized Canada can only mean increased access to labor supply at the international level. Consequently, the country can increase its productivity at the back of a growing international labor force drawn largely from developing countries in Asia and Africa. Evidently, increased access to labor from developing countries has the effect of reducing the cost of production and thus enhancing the marketability of Canadian products. The country should therefore relax its regulations regarding the importation of labor supply to encourage the uptake of the readily available labor force by Canadian companies (Walsh, p. 94). The benefit of this approach is that Canada will continue to improve in terms of economic development to surpass the current rate of below 2%.

Globalization also works towards the economic growth of the Canadian economy through improved exports to key markets including the US. While the country depends on cheap labor from less developed countries, Canada has the advantage of an increased market drawn from less developed countries. Indeed, most of the developing countries have a shortage of quality products as a result of scarcity ion skilled labor as well as the poor development in technology. In this regard, therefore, Canadian corporations have an upper hand in accessing the markets that are saturated with low quality but cheap products. By providing a better alternative of high quality goods, Canada benefits from an international market that has a scarcity of such products. The continued international growth that is led by the US provides impetus for economic benefits to Canada through improved markets. In fact, Canada has in recent years benefitted from exports that are designed for US markets owing to a revival in the US economy (Li, p. 162). In turn, other products are bound to improve in production through increased demand in the recovering economies. In the end, globalization can only mean benefits in terms of economic growth and development of Canada.

Another notable advantage of globalization is the diversification of retail markets thus contributing to economic development. Canada has in recent years benefitted from diversification of trade to reach fast growing economies including Brazil and China. As the world develops and more countries become economically stable, the demand for high quality and sophisticated products increases. Ultimately, Canadian corporations have an opportunity to diversify their markets and meet the new demand arising out of development in other countries. While the impacts may not be directly evident in Canada’s development, they indirectly translate into a more stable economy in the long run (Fisher & Kiell, p. 83). In addition, weaker local markets have also pushed the local corporations to seek markets in other countries thus safeguarding the economic benefits of globalization. Perhaps, Canada has a bigger advantage since it has a robust financial system that provides immense support to the activities of exporting products. In addition, the country has signed several trade pacts with other countries allowing the local corporations an even larger market for economic diversification. It is not surprising therefore, that economic trade among Canadian firms has increased in the recent past at the backdrop of stagnated markets. Importantly, these efforts could not have functioned in the absence of a globalized international market.

The success of globalization and its immense economic benefits to Canada is not surprising at all. Indeed, the country has partaken in globalization longer than any other country from its maiden days of colonial expansionism. While globalization has its fair share of benefits and disadvantages, it is the former that abounds in Canada. For instance, globalization has resulted in the loss of jobs among developed countries including Canada and the transfer of these jobs to developing countries. Also, the exposure of Canadian goods to the international market has the negative implication of increasing competition from lower priced goods (Enright, p. 309). However, globalization has far many benefits than drawbacks and Canada is a perfect example. It has increased the availability of labor to Canadian firms thus reducing the costs of production and essentially the price of commodities. Also, the integration of the international market provides Canadian firms with an opportunity to diversify the available markets to their own benefits. Clearly, globalization has been a blessing to Canada in terms of economic impacts.

 

Works cited

Niosi, Jorge. “The globalization of Canada’s R & D.” MIR: Management International Review (1997): 387-404.

Fisher, Donald, and Kjell Rubenson. “The changing political economy: The private and public lives of Canadian universities.” Universities and globalization: Critical perspectives (1998): 77-98.

Li, Peter S. Destination Canada: Immigration debates and issues. Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Enright, Michael J. “The globalization of competition and the localization of competitive advantage: policies towards regional clustering.” The globalization of multinational enterprise activity and economic development. Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2000. 303-331.

Walsh, James. “Navigating Globalization: Immigration Policy in Canada and Australia, 1945–20071.” Sociological Forum. Vol. 23. No. 4. Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2008.

Freeman, Richard B. “People flows in globalization.” The Journal of Economic Perspectives 20.2 (2006): 145-170.

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