Is immigration a national problem? Most Canadians say No!

Majority of Canadians continue to see immigration in a positive light except some Albertans

Most Canadians don't see immigration as a national problem compared to economy, climate change and health care. A survey of 2,000 Canadians found only minor movement in opinions on these issues since the institute last surveyed Canadian views on immigration in February 2018. Other highlights of the survey report are:

• To the statement “Overall, there is too much immigration in Canada,” 58 per cent of those interviewed disagreed.
• 76% Canadians continue to believe that immigration has a positive impact on Canada’s economy. The number of Canadians who disagreed with this view rose slightly, from 16 to 18 per cent.
• 45% Canadians say immigration is making Canada a better place and 17% said no.
• 52% canadians believe too many immigrants aren’t adopting Canadian values. Those who held this point of view outnumbered the 41% of Canadians who disagreed with it. The survey noted, however, that concerns about the integration of immigrants “remain lower than for most of the last 25 years.”
• In terms of the Canadian values immigrants should be learning and adopting, both Canadian-born and foreign-born participants held similar views. Both groups put “respect for Canada’s history and culture” first, followed by fluency in English or French, tolerance for each other and respect for the law.
• British Columbia led Canada’s provinces in its positive attitude toward immigration, with 63 % of respondents there rejecting the idea that Canada welcomes too many immigrants. More than 60% of Canadians under the age of 45 and 70% of those with a university degree also rejected this idea.
• A negative perspective on immigration was “most evident” in Alberta, where 42 % of those interviewed agreed with the statement that Canada is welcoming too many immigrants and 64% disagreed that immigration has a positive impact on Canada’s economy.

At the federal political level, the survey found supporters of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party of Canada were the most favourably inclined toward immigration while supporters of  the Conservative Party of Canada and the new right-wing Peoples Party of Canada were the most likely to hold negative views of immigration.