As the Trudeau government accepts a record number of newcomers to Canada, a majority of Canadians say they want the government to slash the immigration rate.
In a Leger poll conducted on behalf of the Association for Canadian Studies, 60% of Canadians said there are currently too many immigrants coming to Canada. Just over one quarter said that we are accepting about the right number of immigrants while only 3% said we are accepting too few.
Regardless of political identification and where they reside, Canadians want to see the rate of immigration reduced, the poll showed.
Of the four major federal parties, Conservative voters are the most supportive of cutting immigration, with 76% of them saying the immigration rate is too high and only 19% believing it to be just right.
Bloc Québécois skepticism about immigration numbers roughly mirror that of the Conservatives, with 73% favouring a reduction in and 17% in support of the status quo.
In a French language interview last month, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre committed to cutting back on immigration to Canada by reducing the number of asylum seekers and temporary immigrants arriving in the country.
“It’s going to be much lower, especially for temporary immigration,” said Poilievre.
Even Liberal party supporters on balance support a reduction in the rate of immigration. Nearly half, 45%, of Grits say that the immigration rate is too high while 43% say the rate should remain where it is currently at. Only 5% of Liberals support bringing in more immigrants.
Earlier in the year, Liberal Immigration Minister Marc Miller announced that the government would be imposing a two-year cap on international student permits and recently encouraged international students to bring the skills they’ve developed back to their home countries.
However, statistics from Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada show that more international student permits have been issued this year than in the same period last year.
NDP support for immigration is similar to the Liberals, as 42% say they want immigration to be reduced, while 41% say the immigration rate is about right.
Among the different regions of the country, support for the status quo is the least popular in Ontario at 24% approval, with 62% of Ontarians supporting a slash in the immigration rate.
Torontonians are particularly concerned with immigration, as 64% say there are too many newcomers in the city compared to 22% who say the rate is about right.
Similar to Ontario, 61% of Quebecers support reducing the immigration rate while 28% say that the number is about right, and 67% of Albertans want the rate reduced while 29% say it’s about right.
Quebecers have been especially resistant to immigration as the province has waged a long-term war to preserve their province’s unique culture and a more immediate war against a surge of temporary immigrants.
Premier François Legault said that Quebec’s social services can no longer accommodate the influx of migrants into the province, and even threatened to hold a referendum on the matter if the federal government does not take action.
Canadians are concerned with the current immigration system as the country deals in a crisis of unaffordability, especially in the housing sector.
In the last ten years, the average price of a home in Toronto has more than doubled, reaching an average of over $1.1 million, while Vancouver’s average property price is over $1.3 million.
Even newcomers to Canada are increasingly thinking about moving to another province or leaving Canada altogether to escape the affordability crisis.
