Canada: A Land of Immigrants Becomes More Positive About Immigration

Toronto, ON -- Canada, a land of immigrants, appears to have citizens who are becoming more positive in their attitudes towards immigrants and immigration than they were over a decade ago. The results of a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for CanWest News Service and Global Television reveal that 90% of Canadians disagree that `Canada would be better off if immigrants went back to where they came from'. This is compared to slightly less (85%) who in a similar survey conducted in 1993 disagreed with this sentiment.

Perhaps recognizing that an increasingly larger proportion of Canada's population is made up of immigrants and, as such, they are integral to the Canadian social composition, two thirds (63%) of Canadians now agree that recent immigrants should have equal say about Canada's future, compared to 55% who agreed in 1993.

Furthermore, Canadians appear to be more comfortable with granting immigrants the same rights and input as all Canadians. While in 1993 over one third (35%) of Canadians agreed that it made them `angry when recent immigrants demanded the same rights as Canadian citizens', less (31%) now agree that the same calls for equality make them angry. In light of the fact that without immigration Canada's population would decline, three in ten (30%) Canadians agree that Canada is not taking in enough immigrants.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for CanWest News Service and Global Television from June 12 to June 14, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1002 adults was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data. *Question 1 was fielded from June 5 to June 7 to 1005 adults.

Almost All (90%) Disagree That Canada Would Be Better Without Immigrants...

Almost all (90%) Canadians `strongly' (67%) or `moderately' (22%) disagree that `Canada would be a lot better off if immigrants went back to where they came from'. This is compared to slightly less (85%) who, in 1993, disagreed with this sentiment.

• 95% of Albertans disagree that Canada would be a lot better off if immigrants went back to where they came from, compared with only 85% of residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba who disagree.
• Remarkably, nearly three in ten (27%) Canadians without a high school diploma agree that Canada would be a lot better off if immigrants went back to where they came from. This is compared to just 5% of University graduates who believe the same.
• Younger Canadians are more likely to disagree that Canada would be a lot better off if immigrants went back to where they came from than older Canadians (94% and 85%, respectively)

While in 1993, two thirds (67%) of Canadians disagreed that `more white immigrants should be taken into Canada and fewer visible minority immigrants' should be taken in, nearly three quarters (73%) currently disagree with this sentiment.

• Residents of Quebec are more likely (85%) than those in the rest of Canada to disagree that more white immigrants should be taken in, and fewer visible minority immigrants', whereas residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are least likely (64%) to disagree with this statement.
• Women (77%) are more likely than men (69%) to disagree.

Canadians More Comfortable With Extending Equal Rights To Recent Immigrants...

Canadians appear to be more comfortable with granting immigrants the same rights and input as all Canadians. While in 1993 over one third (35%) of Canadians agreed that it made them `angry when recent immigrants demanded the same rights as Canadian citizens', less (30%) now agree that the same calls for equality make them angry.

• Albertans are most likely (78%) to disagree that it makes them angry when recent immigrants demand the same rights as Canadians citizens. On the other hand, residents of Manitoba and Saskatchewan are least likely (59%) to disagree that they are angry when recent immigrants demand to have the same rights as Canadians citizens, while nearly four in ten (36%) agree that they get angry when they hear this.
• Four in ten (39%) Canadians aged 55 and older agree that they get angry when recent immigrants demand to have the same rights as Canadian citizens.
• Nearly half (48%) of Canadians who are without a high school diploma agree that they get angry when they hear this.

In a similar vein, Canadians are more comfortable in believing that recent immigrants should have an equal say about Canada's future. Two thirds (63%) of Canadians now agree that recent immigrants should have equal say about Canada's future, compared to 55% who agreed in 1993.

• 68% of Quebecers and Albertans agree with this idea, while only 57% of Ontarians agree.
• Three quarters (74%) of younger Canadians, aged 18 to 34, agree that recent immigrants should have an equal say about Canada's future, while just over half (55%) of older Canadians, aged 55 and up, agree.

Three In Ten (30%) Believe Canada Is Not Taking Enough Immigrants...

Perhaps recognizing that without immigration Canada's population would begin to decline, three in ten (30%) Canadians agree that Canada is not taking in enough immigrants. Among demographic groupings, Canadians are remarkably consistent in their views on this particular topic. However, regionally speaking, some differences do exist:

• Nearly half (47%) of residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba agree that Canada is not taking enough immigrants. This is interesting and somewhat contradictory. In many of the other questions in this study, residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are more likely than residents of other regions to be less positive towards immigrants; however, they are the most likely to agree that Canada is not taking enough immigrants.
• Residents of Alberta (26%), Ontario (27%), British Columbia, and Quebec (30%) are significantly less likely to agree that Canada is not taking enough immigrants. This is perhaps as result of the fact that immigrants tend to settle in major urban areas, and these four provinces are where most of the major urban centre in Canada are located.
• Men (33%) are more likely than women (26%) to agree that Canada is not taking in enough immigrants.
• Interestingly, residents in urban (30%) regions are just as likely as residents in rural regions (29%) to agree that Canada is not taking in enough immigrants. However, this particular statistic is interesting because these individuals are exposed to differing levels of interaction with immigrants based on their location. Therefore, they might perceive the levels of immigrants in Canada to be quite different, and their agreement to the above statement could reflect those differing perceptions.

Canadians Perceptions on Immigration Levels...

Almost half of Canadians (49%) believe that Canada should take in about the same number of immigrants as other comparably-developed countries do, with one quarter (24%) saying that Canada should take in fewer immigrants than other countries, and a similar proportion (23%) saying that Canada should take in more.

• Residents of Western Canada are more likely to say that Canada should take in more immigrants than other developed countries our size do, with one third of residents in Alberta (33%), British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan (31%) indicating that Canada should take in more immigrants than other developed countries our size do.
• On the other hand, only 16% of Quebecers believe the same, while two in ten (20%) Ontarians and Atlantic Canadians (22%) say the same.

Similarly, almost half (49%) of Canadians believe that Canada does `about its share' when compared with other developed countries like Canada, with one third (32%) believing that Canada takes in more than its share of immigrants, and 12% believing that Canada takes in less than its share of immigrants.

• Residents of Ontario are most likely (42%) to say that Canada takes in more than its share, while Quebecers and Atlantic Canadians (23%) are least likely to say the same.
• Canadians without a high school diploma are significantly more likely to say that Canada takes in more than its share of immigrants, with 43% indicating so. Just one quarter (24%) of university degree-holders feel the same way.

Just Two In Ten (18%) Say Immigrants Take Away Too Many Jobs...

Just two in ten (18%) Canadians `strongly' (8%) or `moderately agree' (10%) agree that new immigrants take too many jobs away from Canadians. This is compared to three in ten (29%) in 1998 who `strongly' (13%) or `moderately' (16%) agreed that new immigrants take too many jobs away, and a similar proportion (31%) who, in 1993, `strongly' (14%) or `moderately' (17%) agreed that new immigrants take too many jobs away.

• Education seems to have a factor in one's propensity to agree that immigrants take too many jobs away from other Canadians. Four in ten (39%) Canadians without a high school diploma `strongly' (22%) or `moderately' (17%) agree that new immigrants take too many jobs away from Canadians. This is compared to three in ten (27%) high school graduates, two in ten (17%) Canadians with at least some post secondary education, and one in ten (10%) Canadians with a university degree who agree with this statement.
• Rural Canadians (27%) are more likely than urban Canadians (16%) to agree that new immigrants take too many jobs away from Canadians. This is particularly interesting considering that, according to Statistics Canada, 94% of immigrants who arrived in Canada in the 1990s settled in census metropolitan areas.
• Residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are more likely to agree (25%) that new immigrants take too many jobs away from Canadians than residents of Ontario (21%), Atlantic Canada (19%), Quebec (19%), Alberta (11%) and British Columbia (10%).
• Men (21%) are more likely than women (16%) to agree.

The following questions were asked:

1. What do you think our immigration policy should be like? Do you think Canada should take in more immigrants than other developed countries our size do, about the same number or fewer immigrants than other developed countries like us?
2. I'm going to read you some different statements people might make about issues concerning life in Canada today. For each statement, please tell me whether you strongly agree, moderately agree, moderately disagree or strongly disagree.
   • Canada would be a lot better off if immigrants went back to where they came from
   • More white immigrants should and fewer visible minority immigrants should be taken into Canada
   • It makes me angry when recent immigrants demand the same rights as Canadian citizens
   • New immigrants take too many jobs away from Canadians
   • Recent immigrants should have an equal say about Canada's future
   • Canada is not taking in enough immigrants
3. Compared with other developed countries like us, do you think Canada takes in more than its share of immigrants, about its share or less than its share of immigrants?

For more Information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900
[email protected]

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