Majority of Canadians want less immigration: poll 

A new Leger poll shows that after years of unfettered immigration, 60% of Canadians now think the government accepts “too many” newcomers.

The 60% represents a ten point increase since only February when Leger asked the same question.

The news comes shortly after the federal Liberals’ Immigration Minister said that, despite the housing crisis which has been linked with high immigration, they wouldn’t back down from their plan to pack in another 485,000 thousand new permanent residents in 2024, and 500,000 in 2025.

Overall, the poll showed that just 28% of respondents think these targets are good for Canada.

The Poilievre Conservatives have recently stated that immigration levels need to be lowered, having previously only suggested that immigration should be aligned with housing supply.

The Liberals, though, have said that immigration needs to remain high so as to fix the housing crisis. 

“Record population growth” 

Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada says that immigration has partly caused the housing crisis. The Bank of Canada’s senior deputy governor, Carolyn Rogers, acknowledged on Wednesday that “record population growth” has been a contributing factor. 

According to data from the OECD, Canada is poised to officially become the most unaffordable place on Earth in terms of housing over the coming months based on Canadians’ income levels and ability to afford rent, mortgages, and the rest. 

Student visas increasing

Data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) also shows Canada is on pace to surpass last year’s total of student visas issued, despite federal promises to significantly reduce the number of them in 2024.

The IRCC has already issued 216,620 international study permits this year (January to May), compared to 200,205 permits during the same period last year.