November 10th, 2023 at 02:14 am
Big Drop in Support for Immigration in Canada 2023 | Canada Immigration Updates
In Canada, support for immigration has declined. There has been a notable movement in public opinion since last year, with support for immigration in Canada declining from the year before. This shift raises concerns about the variables influencing this transition since it represents the changing views and attitudes across the nation.
Come along as we examine the most recent results and discuss how they might affect Canada’s immigration policy.
Canada Immigration Support
In Canada, support for immigration has decreased from the previous year. The Environics Institute, a Canadian research organization that gathers information on social and economic issues facing the government and conducts surveys of public opinion, has released its yearly report on the opinions of Canadians on immigration.
According to the report, Canadians’ outlook for the nation and the economy has deteriorated during the past 12 months. It states that they don’t think the government can adequately prepare for upcoming difficulties. This encompasses the perceived difficulties brought forth by immigration.
The Century Effort, a nonpartisan group dedicated to putting laws and initiatives into place that would see Canada’s population rise to 100 million by the year 2100, collaborated with the Environics Institute. The purpose of the annual study is to determine Canadian attitudes about immigration and refugees.
It is based on phone interviews that were done between September 4, 2023, and September 17, 2023, with 2002 Canadians. This size of sample taken from the population yields findings in 19 out of 20 samples that are accurate to within plus or minus 2.2 percentage points.
Canada’s Population
This year, Canada’s population of 40 million people achieved a significant milestone. This is a rise of more than a million individuals in a single year. 96% of the population growth is attributable to migration outside. According to several responders, this is a factor in Canada’s overburdened health care system and dearth of reasonably priced homes.
Notwithstanding these problems, the research points out that in previous years, relatively few respondents named immigration or refugees as the nation’s biggest issue. According to it, a sizable portion of Canadians continue to think that immigration boosts the country’s economy. According to the survey, Canadians are more likely to believe that newcomers improve their communities than they are to be concerned about immigrants themselves. Instead, they are more concerned about the quantity of immigrants in Canada than they are about the immigrants themselves.
According to Environics, media narratives about a housing crisis have a greater influence on Canadian concerns about immigration’s impact on housing than local developments or firsthand experience.
Too Much Immigration
Four out of ten respondents strongly or somewhat strongly agreed when asked if immigration to Canada is too high. This represents a 17 percentage point increase above the figures from 2022. On the other hand, putting it another way, it indicates that 6 and 10 did not feel that way. Nevertheless, since tracking started in 1977, this is the biggest year-over-year shift for this question that has been noted.
The responders from Ontario showed the most shift, with 50% of them now agreeing with the assertion. Similar outcomes were discovered in British Columbia.
Canadians in Top Income Brackets (first generation Canadians and Men)
Furthermore, it was found that 64% of homeowners who are concerned about their property’s affordability are probably in agreement that there is too much immigration in Canada. Statistics are influenced by politics as well. According to the survey, political identification continues to influence Canadians’ perceptions of immigration, just as it did previously.
For instance, the number of people who favor the conservative party who think there is too much immigration is 64%, up 21 percentage points from the previous year. However, the number of people who support the liberal party has increased just by 11 points to 29% and the NDP by 9 points to 21%.
Why the change?
38% of respondents who agreed with the statement that Canada takes in too many immigrants said they were worried about how immigrants would impact housing availability and/or cost. Compared to 2022, this is 23 points higher. Of the respondents, 25% think that immigrants are a burden on the public coffers and detrimental to employment and the economy.
Another 25% are worried about overcrowding, and 19% think the government is handling immigration badly. It is noteworthy that, at 10%, more Canadians thought that immigration posed a threat to the country’s culture, identity, and values in 2022. Fewer people—down from 16% to 8%—were found to think that immigrants pose a threat to public health or security or to be against the number of immigrants attending Canadian universities and colleges.
Support for Immigration Levels
In response to the question of whether Canada needs more immigration to grow its population, 47% of respondents agreed and 47% disagreed. This is the first drop in agreement since 1993 and signifies an 11 percentage point loss since 2022. The province of Ontario had the biggest drop in support for welcoming more immigrants, with first-generation Canadians dropping 16 points and those in the highest income category falling 18 points. People in Alberta
Conservative party members, those without a college degree, and residents in rural areas are also less likely to think that immigration is necessary for Canada.
Immigration and the Economy
The majority of Canadians believe that immigration benefits the country’s economy. However, the data indicates that there is a little less conviction in immigration’s beneficial economic effects than there was a year ago. Three-quarters of Canadians agree (36%) or somewhat agree (38%) that immigration boosts the country’s economy.
This indicates that agreement is at its lowest position since 1998 and is a decrease of 11 points from 2022. Support was lowest among federal conservative party members (63%) and homeowners who are extremely concerned about housing affordability (59%), as in previous research areas.
Immigrants make Canada a better place
When polled, more than 42% of Canadians said that immigrants improve their community, despite the fall in support for immigration levels. British Columbia (51%) and Atlantic Canada (49%) had the most favorable answers. Additionally, it was high among university-educated Canadians and those who backed the federal liberal and new democratic parties.
Supporters claimed that this was the case because they recognize immigrants’ contributions to variety and multiculturalism, as well as their benefits to the local economy and population growth.
Housing affordability in Canada
The research is released at a time when the affordability problem is affecting most of the world, including Canada. This especially applies to housing. The Canadian Real Estate Association reports that the average cost of a home in Canada is currently higher than $650,000. These findings contrast with the 2022 study, which revealed that when questioned if Canada’s immigration levels were too high, nearly 70% of Canadians disagreed or strongly disagreed.
This was the highest level of support for immigration since the annual survey’s inception 46 years prior. Furthermore, according to the 2022 Environics report, only 15% of respondents said immigrants were raising the cost of homes and making them unaffordable for other people.
According to Environics 2023, a growing number of Canadians are linking immigration to the housing situation, although very few can observe this in their neighborhoods. The Institute thinks that rather than being a result of more immigrants moving into these areas, this response is more likely to be caused by a larger problem of low economic confidence.
Immigration Levels Plan 2024 – 2026
An immigration levels plan with targets for the number of admissions of permanent residents to Canada released annually by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). The levels scheduled for 2024 to 2026 anticipate official unveiling on November 1st, at the latest, for the next three years.
The purpose of Canada’s immigration targets is to allow the government to plan and make sure that the necessary infrastructure is in place to provide newcomers with the support they require, including housing, health care, and Settlement Services.
In the 2023–2025 Plan, the IRCC set Canada’s highest-ever immigration targets, reaching as high as 500,000 new permanent residents annually by the end of 2025, while still balancing the demands of the country’s existing population. Immigration Minister Mark Miller stated to Bloomberg News in August that he does not believe the goals for 2024 to 2026 would be less than they are at the moment.
The minister believes that immigration is a vital instrument for bolstering the Canadian economy. According to census data from 2021, immigrants make up 23% of Canada’s population; by 2041, this number expects to climb to 34%. It is crucial to comprehend these shifting dynamics to influence future legislation and promote inclusive societies. Keep checking back for additional information and updates on this significant Canadian society.
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