Survey finds 44% of Canadians say there's too much immigration, reflects criticism of Trudeau govt's policy

Ottawa

A survey published on Monday (Oct 30) revealed that 44 per cent of Canadians think there is too much immigration to their country. According to a report by the news agency Bloomberg, the survey was done by Environics Institute in partnership with Century Initiative. Last year, only 27 per cent of citizens agreed that there was too much immigration in the country.

Among respondents who agree that Canada accepts too many immigrants, the most widely cited reason is that newcomers may be driving up housing prices or making fewer homes available. Some of the other top responses included concerns that immigrants were bad for the economy or were contributing to overpopulation.

The survey showed that 51 per cent disagreed that there is too much immigration, the lowest figure since 1998. Last, 69 per cent of people disagreed, the highest level on record.

The survey reflects growing criticism that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has exacerbated existing housing shortages through its immigration policies. 

Speaking to Bloomberg, the survey's author Keith Neuman said, "This is the first time in our research that a significant number of Canadians are now questioning the number of immigrants being accepted."

The main thing is that people have been more concerned about Canada's capacity to absorb a lot of newcomers when things aren’t working as well as they were before.

The survey comes as Immigration Minister Marc Miller is expected to announce on Wednesday the new annual permanent resident targets. In 2022, the Trudeau administration said that it aimed to welcome record numbers of 485,000 permanent residents next year and half a million in 2025.

Earlier, Immigration Minister Miller said he’d either keep or raise those targets, not reduce them because “the need is too great.”

For 20 years, a majority of citizens rejected the opinion that Canada was accepting too many newcomers. However, this sentiment has changed due to record population growth, high cost of living and elevated shelter prices. 

Some 47 per cent of respondents are against the idea that the country needs immigrants to increase its population, compared with 38 per cent last year, the survey showed.

(With inputs from agencies)

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