Support for Immigration Reduction at a Forty-Year Peak in Canada

The Angus Reid Institute, a Canadian “not-for-profit, non-partisan public opinion research foundation” that regularly polls on immigration found public support for lower immigration levels is at its highest point since the institute began asking that question in 1975, according to Canada’s National Post.

According to the latest Angus Reid Institute poll, 49% of Canadians want to see immigration levels decreased, while only 6% want an increase. This tops the 45% in 1995 who wanted a decrease in immigration, with 9% wanting an increase then.

Shachi Kurl, executive director of the Angus Reid Institute, explained the findings, pointing out that those who vote for the Conservative Party are more likely to support an immigration decrease, but there is considerable support for this position across the political spectrum.

“Kurl said the left-wing parties shouldn’t underestimate their own numbers. ‘There is a significant segment of that left-of-centre base that is also of the view that we’re accepting too many immigrants,’ she said.

“The report shows education levels substantially affect views on immigration. ‘Those with (university) degrees are twice as likely to say more immigrants should be accepted,’ the report says.”

Canadians were most in support of cutting the number of refugees Canada accepts yearly, while also wanting to reduce the level of family class immigrants (those sponsored by family members already in Canada) more so than economic class immigrants (those who come with Canada with certain skills for employment).

The full poll report shows that as immigration levels in Canada have sharply increased since 2000, so, too, has public support for cutting annual numbers.

The topic of immigration has received a lot of attention in Canadian media since 2015, when Justin Trudeau was elected Prime Minister. Trudeau supports significant increases in annual immigrant admissions to Canada.

The poll was conducted via an online survey from July 25 30, 2018 among a representative randomized sample of 1,500 Canadian adults. The full Angus Reid Institute report can be found here.