Denmark, Norway and Sweden share a parallel history of migration, and they can be described as “latecomers” in terms of immigration. It was not until the late 1960s that these countries began to experience the waves of immigration that reached Europe after the Second World War, and, even then, the size was modest, compared to most other West-European nations. However, the immigrant population has increased steadily in all three countries. The public debate on policy reforms has intensified in Scandinavia during the past two decades, both due to new international commitments and questions about the consequences and dilemmas for the welfare model and the welfare programmes that arise from increased migration and international mobility.
The Scandinavian countries have in many different areas served as models for policy development by other societies and states. However, in the area of immigration and integration policies, Denmark, Norway and Sweden have themselves been searching for inspiration and for new policy solutions abroad. The Canadian models of immigration and integration have been actively promoted and they are widely recognized in the international community. Although the approaches to immigration and integration in Denmark, Norway and Sweden differ in many respects, the main objective of this paper is to compare the role the Canadian models have played in the recent and on-going reform processes in the three Scandinavian countries. The paper analyses policy processes of imitation and learning between states, thus contributes to enhance our understanding of why and how national policy models can be relevant in areas geographically distant from their original contexts.
