Support for Immigration in Canada Plunges to Lowest in Decades

Canadians haven’t felt this strongly opposed to immigration levels in a quarter century, a turnaround of attitude in a country that once embraced newcomers but has been shaken by a post-pandemic influx.

Nearly six in 10 people now agree “there’s too much immigration to Canada,” according to the country’s longest-running survey on the topic by the Environics Institute. It’s the first time since 1998 that this view is held by a clear majority, and a stark shift from favorable opinion over the past two decades.

The poll reflects further erosion of public support for immigration, with the proportion of Canadians opposing the volume of new arrivals surging for the second straight year. With a 31 percentage-point jump since 2022, it’s the most rapid change over a two-year period since the survey began in 1977.

Record population growth — comparable to adding all of San Diego’s residents to a country that’s slightly more populous than California in just over 12 months — exacerbated housing shortages, inflated rent prices, strained public services and pushed up the unemployment rate. These pressures threatened a long-held belief that mass immigration gives Canada an edge in a global race to replace aging workers.

{snip}

Rising agreement with the view that immigration levels are too high can be observed across Canadian provinces, generational cohorts and key federal political party lines. The most common reasons cited by Canadians who think there’s too much immigration include concerns over housing, a weak economy, overpopulation and poor management by the government.

Public support for immigration in Canada has been largely rooted in the notion that it boosts the country’s economy. But that conviction has weakened, the survey showed. {snip}

{snip}