In all honesty, Canadian-style immigration isn't a terrible idea, and I don't think the Bannonites will like what it will actually entail (many more Chinese and Indians, for starters)
Most of the Chinese in Canada ended up there in two waves - the first was the exodus from HK to Canada and Australia in the 80s and 90s, of which many have returned, and the second was Mainlanders buying their way in through the easiest "investment" immigration scheme in the Western world, which only required giving the government an interest-free loan of C$500k for 5 years or so.
Many in the first group returned from Canada and Australia to HK after the handover, where they and their children formed a rather cliquey and elitist social class. The ones who remained are model immigrants, often Anglican, and their children are more or less fully assimilated into middle-class society. But the circumstances of the pre-handover exodus from HK were unique and are not the same as those of the current stock of Asian immigrants, particularly from mainland China. If you think about how one would acquire $500k cash in a country like China, let's just say they're not sending their best.
How difficult is it to immigrate to this country compared to other western democracies, like say the United Kingdom?
Much easier for family-sponsored immigration, providing you were not born in mainland China, India or the Philippines, which are all subscribed way beyond quotas. Generally more difficult for self- or employer-sponsored immigration. Basically the norm for investment immigration. The UK is a bad comparison because it basically had to shut down its borders to non-EU immigrants (even spouses, in some cases) because of excessive immigration from Eastern Europe. The UK is also a jus sanguinis, Old World country with a different history of immigration than a jus soli, New World country like the US.
Yeah, HK is a pretty extreme one-off event. I was (ironically) in vancouver last night. It's remarkable to see pictures of Vancouver in the early 90s vs now