Minorities growing

The term "visible minorities" will take on new meaning over the next twenty years.

New numbers released by Statistics Canada suggest two out of three people in Toronto will be "non-white" by 2031 and a third of Canada's total population will be a visible minorities with people of South Asian descent in the highest numbers.

Here in Calgary the visible minority population is expected to jump to 38 percent over the same period.

A University of Calgary sociology professor says that means our city needs to be more forward thinking when it comes to immigration and integration.  James S. Frideres says our institutions have to prepare for a more diverse population across the city.

He says Calgary's more conservative approach let's the market decide what happens allowing those new to Canada to either sink or swim on their own.  Frideres adds that approach could cause big problems as visible minorities exceed one third of our population.

In 1981, visible minorities were under five per cent of the population.