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Canadian census figures show for the first time that Muslims outnumber Jews - a demographic that could ultimately affect Canada's position toward the protracted Middle East conflict.
When the 1991 census was taken, about 25 per cent more people said they were Jewish than Muslim. But immigration from predominantly Muslim countries has reversed that dynamic.
Figures from the 2001 Canadian census, released in May by Statistics Canada, show that the number of people claiming to be of Muslim faith increased by 128.9 per cent to 579,640 in the decade beginning in 1991, making Islam Canada's fastest-growing religion.
The number of Jews also increased during that period, but only by 3.7 per cent to 329,995. Muslims made up 2 per cent of the population in the census; Jews represented 1.1 per cent.
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The churches that spawned the old generation of Canada's power elite are on the wane. The number of Canadians who said they were Protestant declined by 772,830 to 8,654,845 between 1991 and 2001, leaving the religion with 29.2 per cent of the population.
Roman Catholics, on the other hand, increased their ranks by 589,500 to 12,793,125 as a result of immigration from countries like the Philippines where that faith is still strong. Catholics outnumbered Protestants for the first time in 1971 and Catholicism continues to be the dominant religion in Canada with 43.2 per cent of the population claiming to follow its doctrines.
It seems the biggest blow to the Protestant churches was - and continues to be - a drift away from organized religion. The number of people who said they had no religion was up by 43.9 per cent between 1991 and 2001 and, perhaps more telling, the number of those identifying themselves simply as Christian with no particular denomination was up by 121.1 per cent to 780,450.
 Canada is a feel-good country - indeed in no country in the Western world do people feel better about their lives or the state of their nation, according to a just-released global survey. Some 56 per cent of Canadians report satisfaction with the state of their country, 67 per cent report satisfaction with the state of their own lives and 70 per cent with the state of their economy - rankings higher than for any other Western nation. Canada is currently enjoying the highest rate of economic growth and job creation among the G-7 countries. Not only that, Canadians also are less worried about crime, moral decline, immigration, ethnic or racial conflict and terrorism than their counterparts in the United States, Europe and Japan. Canada is the only country in the Western world where a majority voiced satisfaction with the way things were going in their own country.
Only 26 per cent of Canadians, for example, see crime as a national concern, compared with 48 per cent of Americans. And only 19 per cent of Canadians see terrorism as a threat in their own country, as compared with 50 per cent of Americans. But despite the finding that 63 per cent of Canadians believe government's influence on the way things are going is positive, Prime Minister Jean Chretien gets low ratings for his contribution. Asked to rate their leaders, only 9 per cent of Canadians said Chretien was a "very good" influence on the way things are going in Canada. This compares with a 30 per cent response by Americans for U.S. President George W. Bush. Only the leaders of Italy and Japan ranked lower than the Prime Minister among Western countries.
When "very good" and "somewhat good" responses are combined, Chretien gets a 48 per cent rating, compared with 71 per cent for Bush. Some 49 per cent of Canadians felt Chretien was having a "somewhat bad" or "very bad" influence on Canada, compared with 25 per cent for Bush.
The findings were reported early December 2002 in the Pew Global Attitudes Project, chaired by former U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright. Former foreign affairs minister Lloyd Axworthy was a member of the international advisory committee. The global survey was an initiative of the Washington-based Pew Research Centre for the People and the Press.
The report, "What the World Thinks in 2002," gives the results of public opinion surveys among more than 38,000 people in 44 countries. It shows how people view their lives, the state of their own societies and global conditions. It also shows how people around the world view U.S. foreign policy, the spread of American culture and values and the war on terrorism. The results show Canadians also have mixed reactions to the United States. People in the two countries also have different perceptions on terrorism and the most important challenges facing the world today.
Some 24 per cent of Canadians say they have a "very favourable" opinion of Americans, while another 48 per cent say they have a "somewhat favourable" opinion. Some 27 per cent of Canadians say they have an unfavourable or somewhat unfavourable opinion. Only Britain, among Western nations, reports a higher "very favourable" opinion of the United States, at 25 per cent.
Criticism of Americans and the United States is strongest among young Canadians, the survey reports. Some 44 per cent of Canadians below the age of 30 have an unfavourable opinion of the United States, compared with just 20 per cent of those in the 50-64 age group. Interestingly, some 48 per cent of Americans report a "very favourable" opinion of Canadians and another 35 per cent have a "somewhat favourable" opinion. Just 4 per cent have an unfavourable or somewhat unfavourable opinion. The survey finds that while Canadians have a positive view of American democratic ideas and popular culture, they object to Americanization of their country through the spread of American ideas and customs. Some 54 per cent of Canadians say they find the Americanization of Canada a bad thing, while 37 per cent see the spread of American ideas and customs as a good thing. Yet 77 per cent of Canadians say they enjoy American popular culture in the form of music, movies and television. *Article by David Crane
Statistiek oor die aantal Suid-Afrikaners in die buiteland: Daar bestaan nie volledige inligting oor die emigrasie van Suid-Afrikaners na die buiteland nie. Die syfers wat Statistiek Suid-Afrika verstrek, is waarskynlik te laag, omdat dit net mense insluit wat met hulle vertrek uitdruklik aandui dat hul emigreer. Die meeste voornemende emigrante gaan egter eers om ander redes landuit en besluit dan om te bly, of verdoesel hulle ware redes om valutabeperkinge vry te spring. Die syfers oor Suid-Afrikaners in die buiteland kan dus net beraam word en die syfers wat hier verstrek word moet dus net as 'n aanduiding beskou word. Die getalle mag hoër of laer wees.
Daar word beraam dat daar 400 000 Suid-Afrikaners in die buiteland is. Dit beteken nie dat almal die land die afgelope tien jaar verlaat het nie - talle van hulle lewe al dekades in die buiteland, maar die afgelope tien jaar is die emigrasiesyfer hoër as die immigrasiesyfer en beleef Suid-Afrika dus 'n uitvloei van mense. Wat dit erger maak, is dat die wat emigreer gewoonlik hoogs geskoolde mense uit die hoogs betaalde beroepsgroepe is (Beeld, 24 Mei 2002).
Amptelik het 65 000 mense die land sedert 1994 verlaat, maar dit is 'n onderskatting en die syfer kan so hoog soos 200 000 wees. In 2000 alleen het na raming sowat 20 000 tot 30 000 mense die land verlaat, terwyl die amptelike syfer 10 000 is (www.southafricanemigration.co.za). Vir 2001 is die amptelike syfer 12 260, wat waarskynlik verdriedubbel kan word om by die ware getalle uit te kom. Net in die eerste 10 maande van 2002 het amptelik bykans 10 000 hoofsaaklik gegradueerde en professionele mense Suid-Afrika verlaat. Die syfer van Statistiek Suid-Afrika sal waarskynlik nog hoër wees. Uit hierdie syfers is ook 'n stygende tendens afleibaar (Mail & Guardian, 21 Januarie 2003). In vergelyking daarmee het in dieselfde tydperk net 3 623 mense die land wettig binnegekom, waarvan sowat 3 000 nie ekonomies aktief was nie (Pretoria News, 16 October 2002).
Wat die bestemmings betref, gaan die meeste emigrante Brittanje toe, gevolg deur Australië, die VSA, Nieu-Seeland en Kanada. Van die 10 000 amptelike emigrante vir die eerste 10 maande van 2002 het meer as 'n derde na Brittanje geëmigreer, omtrent 1 500 na Australië, amper 1 000 na die VSA, meer as 800 na Nieu-Seeland en amper 300 na Kanada. Die syfers vir 2001 en 2000 vertoon 'n soortgelyke tendens; die getalle en die volgorde van die bestemmingslande is bykans identies (Mail & Guardian, 21 January 2003).
As na die totale getal gewese Suid-Afrikaners in die buiteland gekyk word, waarvan talle al voor 1994 geëmigreer het, lyk die syfers soos volg (Beeld, 24 Mei 2002):
Brittanje: 155 467
Australië: 82 755
VSA: 72 000
Nieu-Seeland: 29 061
Kanada: 23 411
Israel: 17 807
Nederland: 13 459
Anders uitgedruk: sowat 70% van alle emigrante gaan na die volgende vyf lande (www.southafricanemigration.co.za):
Brittanje: 25%
Australië: 18%
VSA: 11%
Nieu-Seeland: 10%
Kanada: 7%
Ander: 30%
Daar is wel 'n aantal emigrante wat na Suid-Afrika teruggekeer het, maar daar is tans geen statistiek in hierdie verband nie.
Bronne:
*Beeld, 24 Mei 2002: "Ons sal lewe, ons sal swerwe"
*Pretoria News, 16 October 2002: SA's best brains *leave in droves
*Mail&Guardian, 21 January 2003: "Brain drain to brain gain"
*www.southafricanemigration.co.za: the numbers
 
NATIONAL SYMBOLS
When it comes to "Canada's most priceless national symbol," it's a virtual tie between the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian flag, according to an Environics poll.
About 28 per cent of young Canadians (aged 16 to 25) chose the charter, while 27 per cent chose the flag in the poll. Among baby boomers (ages 45 to 55), 30 per cent chose the charter and 32 per cent the flag. Other national symbols were chosen by fewer respondents. Nineteen per cent of boomers chose medicare, while nine per cent chose hockey. Among young Canadians, 20 per cent chose hockey and 11 per cent chose medicare.
When asked which Canadian best represents their personal values, both youth and the boomer generation chose Pierre Trudeau, although boomers selected the late prime minister at almost twice the rate (30 per cent versus 17 per cent) of young people.
Regionally, however, there was some variation. In Quebec, the late premier Rene Levesque (16 per cent) outranked Trudeau (11 per cent) among young people.
The poll was conducted for MasterCard Canada. Environics surveyed 1,000 Canadians between April 29 and May 7 for questions comparing the two generations. The results in each group are considered accurate within 4.1 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
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