What does this statement by Clifford Sifton mean?

Question

Sifton defended his open-door policy (open-door is an immmigration policy that puts no restrictions on who can immigrate) by claiming that "...a stalwart peasant in a sheep-skin coat, born of the soil, whose forefathers have been farmers for ten generations, with a stout [strong] wife and a half-dozen children is good quality."

I don't understand what he means by this. Does he mean that even the worse peasant can come to Canada and be considered good quality? So he's saying that anyone can come to Canada and they'd be better off or be treated better?

Answer 1

He's not speaking of a 'worst' or 'best' of anything. He's pointing out that his hypothetical farmer comes from very good, steady, dependable stock and, by his background, would make a good citizen for any country to have.

'With a stout wife and a half-dozen children' points out that he is a dependable man dedicated to his responsibilty as a husband and father.

Those are about the best traits that any country could hope for in its citizens.!

Answer 2

Think the word Stalwart is the clue here - that means strong & steady, probably basic but reliable.

So a basically strong, good person, who has a good family life & decent ethics but maybe not rich money-wise.  And think, farmers of many generations have had to learn to be clever in other ways because there are many things to have to learn to keep a farm going up and not going broke for many generations too.