Canadians Sour on Immigration After Years of Record Intake
Even with immigration slowing, most Canadians now want the system tightened further
This week, StatsCanada reported that Canada saw a 0.2% decline in its total population, driven largely by the emigration of non-permanent residents. The recent spike in immigration to Canada was the result of Trudeau’s immigration push, which has since been backtracked on by the Carney government.
Yet the damage to immigration’s image in Canada has arguably already been done.
New polling from Innovative Research finds that 54% of Canadians now say the growing number of newcomers to the country threatens our traditional customs and values. That represents an increase of sixteen points since 2020. Over the same period, the share of Canadians who say immigration strengthens our society fell thirteen points to 35%.
Let’s take a deeper dive into the latest data and see how Canadians really feel about immigration heading into 2026.
