The majority of young Canadians feel that immigrants and permanent residents coming to Canada should share common Canadian values, according to a recent Leger poll.
Leger’s poll surveyed 938 Canadians between the ages of 18 and 39 from coast to coast.
Seventy percent of respondents said Canada should ensure that immigrants and permanent residents coming to the country should share common Canadian values, such as respect for different minority groups.
While 70% agreed that immigrants to Canada should share the country’s values, only 14% disagreed, 5% strongly and 9% somewhat. Fifteen percent of Canadians said they didn’t know, while 33% strongly agreed and 37% somewhat agreed.
Canadians were also asked whether they thought Canada’s immigration levels were good or bad. Unfortunately, the polling prefaced the immigration questions with flawed statistics, claiming Canada welcomes 500,000 new immigrants a year.
As previously reported by True North, the actual number of immigrants coming to Canada is almost five times larger. When accounting for permanent residents, temporary foreign workers, international students, and illegal immigrants, Canada takes in about 2.2 million people every year.
Even with Leger’s misleading figure, 45% of Canadians said current immigration levels were a net good for Canada, while 39% said they were a net bad.
Only 11% of respondents said that immigration levels were overall good for Canada, while 34% said that the levels were generally good but have created some problems. Twenty percent said that immigration levels have generally created more problems than benefits, while 19% said they were overall bad for Canada.
Leger’s poll separated groups of respondents into Gen Z and Millennials, who had differing views on immigration.
Canadians aged 18 to 27, Gen Z, had more favourable views of immigration. Fifty-three percent of them said that current levels were a net good, compared to 34% who said current levels were a net bad.
Those aged 28 to 39, Millennials, had a net-negative view of current immigration levels, with 43% of them saying they were a net bad while 41% said they were a net good. Only 9% of this age group said that current immigration levels were an overall good for Canada, while 22% said they were an overall bad.
Canada recently surpassed a population of 41 million less than a year after reaching 40 million, driven almost exclusively by international migration. This followed an annual population increase at a rate not seen in 66 years.
Immigration has become increasingly more important to Canadians, recently eclipsing climate change as one of the most important issues at the polls.
Even recent immigrants to Canada disapprove of the country’s record-setting immigration levels. Canadian immigrants voiced their disapproval in another poll despite it also citing flawed immigration values.
Next Monday’s Canada Day will feature nationwide peaceful protests against mass immigration to the country.
While Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has generally avoided specific figures for his immigration policy in the past, he recently said that immigration numbers will be “much lower” if he becomes prime minister.
“It’s impossible to invite 1.2 million new people to Canada every year. When you’re building 200,000 housing units, it’s impossible. There’s no room. Quebec is at its breaking point,” said Poilievre.