A recent survey conducted by Canada’s Environics Institute concluded that the majority of Canadian’s views on immigration remain positive.
In a series of telephone interviews conducted between September 7 to 23, 2021, the Environics Institute spoke to over 2,000 Canadians regarding their outlook on immigration. The Fall 2021 Focus Canada survey was conducted to determine whether or not the outlook had changed over the course of the pandemic.
“A clear majority supports current levels of immigration, views immigrants as good for the Canadian economy, and believes they are important for building the country’s population,” the survey stated, noting that Canada’s overall view on immigration remained “mostly stable”.
“A clear majority supports current levels of immigration, views immigrants as good for the Canadian economy, and believes they are important for building the country’s population.”
Survey: Fall 2021 Focus Canada
As Canada continues to move forward and recover from the pandemic, immigration issues that were sidelined are coming to light once again. The Environics Institute sought to conduct this survey to see how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted “Canadians’ capacity for openness to others.”
“Immigration levels are too high,” majority disagree.
According to the survey’s results, 65 percent of respondents in the survey disagreed with the statement that there is too much immigration in Canada. That is two-thirds of Canadians from this sample size that reject the idea of immigration levels being too high. This is largely unchanged from a similar Focus Canada survey held in 2020.
In a similar vein, about 57 percent agreed that immigration was necessary to boost the country’s population. While the figure has not changed in the last year alone, the majority positive response indicates a big change from attitudes in the 1980s and 1990s, when most Canadians initially rejected the premise.
Considering Canada’s goal under the 2021-2023 Immigration Levels Plan to welcome at least 401,000 new immigrants per year, this response proves to be a step in the right direction.
The majority agrees that immigration is good for the Canadian economy.
Eighty percent of Canadians agree that the economic impact of immigration is positive. Additionally, 76 percent agree that the government should encourage immigration from entrepreneurs who are interested in starting new businesses, with nearly 39 percent strongly supporting this position.
According to the report:
“Support for government efforts to attract more immigrant entrepreneurs is evident across the country, with agreement with the statement most prevalent in Atlantic Canada (79 percent) and Ontario (81 prevent), as well as among first-generation Canadians (82 percent) and Liberal Party supporters (85 percent), and in each case close to half say they strongly agree with the statement.”
Survey: Fall 2021 Focus Canada
Canada continues to maintain an open, positive, and multicultural attitude toward immigration. If you’re interested in a post-pandemic future in Canada, and would like to learn more about the various immigration pathways to permanent residency, feel free register for one of our private online discussions. Register to an orientation for free here.
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