Don't fear the rise of the new

Aditya Jha.

The discussion of mayoral leadership of the GTA needs to be elevated from budget to budget line item presentation to the electorate to ideas, agendas and model.

One such core issue is the "rise of the new" as the total population of GTA grows to 8.8 million (5.5 million of them visible minorities) by 2030. This is a sea change from 1960 when 80 per cent of Torontonians had their origin traced to British lineage.

The "rise of the new" should be one of the key issues for GTA: the transition we are going to witness will not only be a matter of dollar and cents, it will have serious political and cultural consequences.

The "rise of the new" need not be more destabilizing, as it is not going to be comprised of all homogeneous groups but will be a group of groups with its own push and pull.

The mainstream population will still be the most important group to exercise influence in every realm.

Although more assertive individual groups would mean more antagonists and demagogues, and if the mainstream Canadian leadership continues to be engaged in pandering politics, then it will give rise to bigoted extreme elements from these groups of new Canadians. THis will inevitably challenge our social fabric and many times foment sectarian problems in their country of origin as well.

On the other hand, it also means the presence of more negotiators and ethnic leaders with stakes in keeping the harmony and common interests of all. It is the organizing and encouraging of the impulse to keep harmony and common interests that new mayoral leadership should articulate: how Toronto would become more vibrant and prosperous city with the rise of the new.

The larger sections of the new Canadian groups share the same basic interests and ideals with the dominant mainstream population. They left their country of origin looking for Canada and not their country of origin in Canada.

The major leadership challenge for Rocco Rossi and George Smitherman and the other mayoral candidates is to articulate how to create co-operation among various communities on the common issues that plague us all - a new social architecture for the City of Toronto that would ensure peace, growth and sense of belonging for all.

The issue is not the decline of mainstream population by 2030, but the rise of the new. It is about the great transformation taking place in GTA, that is discussed prominently, but selectively, and remains poorly understood.

The distribution of power in GTA will shift. But question to ponder is, will it be controlled from the ethnic religious places which is mostly led by dogmatic, lesser educated with lesser mainstream exposure or by the larger section of these ethnic groups that is tolerant, accommodative, peaceful and moderate? Rise of the New doesn’t mean that we are entering a reverse discriminatory world by 2030, but we are moving into an era where it could be part of the solution for great city of Toronto in the globalized world. We will have greater success as Canada becomes more world-centric, globally engaged, and lesser dependent and sometimes lesser subservient to American interests. It will be defined and directed from many ethnic worlds and by many people.

What kind of challenges do these changes present? What do they portend for Toronto and for mainstream Canadians? What will the new GTA look like as our society, ideas and culture mix change? What will it mean to live in 2030 Toronto?

Will our mayoral candidates outline for all of us to debate and envision a shared world of Toronto marching towards 2030?

About Aditya Jha

Comments

[Saurabh]

I wanted to appreciate the article but after seeing the censor I do not want to add anything here..

If at all there is a screening, it should be done by a third party totally unknown to the author.

[Sonny Yeung]

How about a just & harmonious society, the days of the new! We know statistically Toronto is made up by a majority of people from other provinces & countries.

What is being done to engage the new comers to the city?
The next term goes from Dec. 1, 2010 to 2014. That would be a starting point till 2030. There are currently 27 mayoral candidates with 3 withdrawals, there will be close to 50 by election day...

[Tom]

I enjoyed reading your article as it was thought provoking, intriguiging and a bit unsettling. I am born to parents who are a mixture of the "new" and the "old". I am certainly left with a lot of questions that I need to think over for myself on how I feel about some of the questions you raised.
Best wishes, Tom.

[Shekhar Prasad]

Canada is a model country whereby people from all over the world have contributed towards the success and evolution of its economy and culture. Toronto epitomizes all things Canadian, and the upcoming demographic variatsion will further test our ability to work with each other and overcome new challenges.

[James]

Would be interested in your thoughts on questions you raised towards the end. A very thought provoking article.

[Nina]

what are your views on ttc? crime? taxes?

[Sonny Yeung]

Dear Shekhar; 4 questions were posed and I gave my answer, how about you?
Nina; same question. There are blogs on the other topics and I am sure in due time Aditya will write his views.

[CalMac]

I did not realize there was a Mayor of the GTA

[Sonny Yeung]

CalMac; there are many mayors of the leadership of the Greater Toronto Area. Geographically; it goes from Burlington east towards...Durham region. The Star is read by more than Torontonians like the people who work here and pay property taxes in other jurisdictions.

[Donna Morin]

It is true that Canada is made up all many different cultures and races- rise of the new. Being new in any situation calls for a bit education-. Part of the responsibility of the rise of the new is to understand the history of how this country developed over time. It was acceptance of new people, sharing, and assisting that made it possible for the new to survive back in the 1600s. The First Nations people made this happen. The land and resources were shared. That page in the history book must be studied by the rise of the new. We are still about sharing, protecting the environment, and living in harmony with one another. Understanding and compassion for humans will be paramount moving forward.