Century Initiative

• For the first time in history, the population grew by more than a million (2.7 per cent) in a single year.
• Over the past few decades, Canadians have been more positive than negative in their attitudes toward immigrants and immigration.
• Over the last few years, Environics public opinion data also indicated Canadians felt very positively about immigrants and immigration levels.

A million newcomers in two years

• That marks a dramatic reversal from a year ago, when support for immigration levels stood at an all-time high.
• That’s the biggest one-year change in opinion on this question since it was first asked by Environics in 1977.
• The public is much more likely to say that newcomers make their own communities a better place than a worse one.

Housing crisis concerns

• In September 2023, when Environics conducted its latest survey, there was a lot of media coverage about the housing crisis, including the scapegoating of international students.
• In reality, Canada’s housing shortage was fuelled for decades by myriad factors, including municipal zoning laws, developers’ special interests and public policy on housing.
• Read more:
  Think curbing overseas migration will end the housing crisis?

Attitudes towards immigrants may change

• Policymakers and community leaders should pay close attention to public attitudes toward immigration levels as they strive to build a diversified and robust immigration system and create welcoming communities for immigrants.
• The latest research demonstrates the public still feels positively toward immigrants and their many contributions to communities and Canadian society.
• If Canadians continue to blame immigrants for the housing crisis, their attitudes toward immigrants themselves — as opposed to immigration levels — may harden.

Leah Hamilton receives funding from SSHRC.