Canadians are questioning if the government is allowing too much immigration as the nation navigates through economic troubles. (Image: Shutterstock/Representative)
Surveys conducted by Environics and Nanos show a large number of Canadians questioning the number of immigrants being let into Canada.
Findings from a new survey conducted by the independent, non-profit Environics Institute for Survey Research showed that a large proportion of Canadians are questioning whether there is too much immigration to the country. According to the survey, at least 44% of Canadian respondents questioned if there is too much immigration to the country.
The survey found that four in ten Canadians, of which 23% ‘strongly agree’ and 21% ‘somewhat agree’, agree with the statement that “there is too much immigration to Canada”, registering a spike of 17 percentage points from one year ago and largest one-year change ever recorded.
However, they were outnumbered by those who are satisfied with the level of immigration. At least 51% of respondents were satisfied with the level of immigration.
“Canadians are now significantly more likely than a year ago to say there is too much immigration to the country, dramatically reversing a trend dating back decades. For the first time, a growing number of Canadians are questioning how many immigrants are arriving, rather than who they are and where they are coming from,” the poll found.
“The latest Focus Canada research shows a significant jump in the proportion of Canadians who believe the country accepts too many immigrants, marking a dramatic reversal from a year ago when public support for immigration numbers stood at an all-time high, which at the time marked a rising trend stretching back three decades,” the researchers pointed out.
In 2022, when the same question was asked to respondents, 69% of those sampled disagreed that there “was too much immigration”, compared to 27% agreeing.
A report by the Hindustan Times said that the change in mood is driven by economic pressure and a general sense of malaise in Canada but not to a rise in xenophobia. At least 74% of the respondents continued to agree that immigration overall is good for Canada and its economy.
But 58% of the respondents were not happy with the way the Canadian government led by Justin Trudeau is running the nation, citing inflation, cost of living, housing affordability and other economic problems.
Other surveys, like the one conducted by the agency Nanos in September, showed that 53% of Canadians wanted fewer immigrants. Record immigration levels have taken Canada’s population to over 40 million as it added a million new residents last year and 98% of that rise was driven by immigration.
