The Changes in Canada That Make It a Developed Country

Ever wondered how life in Canada was back then, and how it compares to life now? Many things have changed since the past, for the better and most people take it for granted. I believe Canada is a better place now for the following reasons: segregation and prejudice against different races, hostility against sexuality, religion, and healthcare.

Segregation and prejudice were a major problem for Canada in her early years as a country. Chinese immigration was curbed by a 'head tax' and was stopped altogether by the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923. A gentleman's agreement was made with Japan in 1907, restricting the number of Japanese immigrants. Also, in WWI many people of colour were drafted and not giving much recognition for their sacrifice to our country, many were mistreated and abused just for the way they looked. The difference between then and now is that our country is much more welcoming to immigrants and people of different ethnicities. In todays Canada everyone is accepted for the most part into the country and there are now laws that deal with segregation and prejudice, that will stop discrimination and racism in the public and workspace.

Hostility against sexuality was also a massive issue in Canada that has been around for a long time and sadly it can still be found today. In 1969 Canada legalized homosexuality, also we were the third country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2005! Just behind the Netherlands and Belgium. But its not to say there hasn’t been a lot of discrimination between homosexuals and the general public. In today's age, we don't experience this problem anymore. Canada has developed as a country, for the better and now we are more accepting than ever before. We even have special events such as pride parades to acknowledge these groups.

Also, religion played a major part in the development of Canada and her citizens, but religion has also caused many problems with different people and cultures. Canada is mainly a Roman Catholic country, but the rise of other religions like Judaism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism and Islamic are steadily going up. In the past Canada was a very big Catholic country but, when more people from different countries started to come in, they were discriminated against. Sometimes in the past people would resort to violence against someone just because their religion was different. In todays society people are a lot more discreet about it, many of the time people will write hate speech about the other person. The number of police-reported hate crimes reached an all-time high in 2017, largely driven by incidents targeting Muslim, Jewish and black people.

Universal Health Care has always been a positive point in Canada, but has it always been that way? Medicare is the name for Canada's publicly funded health care system. Instead of one national plan, we have 13 provincial and territorial health care insurance. With this system, all Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and certain temporary residents have reasonable access to medically necessary hospital and physician services without paying out of their pocket. Also, Canada has made many amazing medical breakthroughs! From Pablum, Insulin, open heart surgery and many more! As time goes on, we will only make more after investing in research.

In conclusion Canada has improved so much compared to what it was before, and we have truly grown as a country. From coast to coast we have made out mistakes, but we have also recognized them and used them to make our country a better place. To Answer the question “Is Canada a better country now than it was before?” I would say yes. We have improved on many things such as, segregation and prejudice against different races, hostility against sexuality, religion and healthcare. These are the reason why Canada is better now then before.