New survey finds Canadians are feeling anxious about immigration

Canadians are feeling increasingly uneasy about immigration and its role in generating "economic strain," according to a new survey conducted by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

Among other things, the survey found that many Canadians believe too much attention is being focused on newcomers and refugees, and that asylum seekers receive too many benefits.

The survey landed two weeks after Ottawa announced dramatic changes to its projected immigration numbers. On Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also said in an online video that he should have acted more quickly to address problems with the immigration system.

• Trudeau says he could have acted faster to make immigration changes, blames 'bad actors'
• New immigration plan aims to stabilize population growth, housing market: minister

The survey heard from 2,500 Canadians in both 2023 and 2024. This year, it found that a majority — 56 per cent — said they believe refugees and asylum seekers "receive too many benefits." The report calls that a "significant increase" over the 49 per cent who said the same thing in 2023.

The survey also reported a "significant decrease" in the number of Canadians who believe immigration makes the country better — from 52 per cent in 2023 down to 44 per cent this year.

The 2024 survey also found that 41 per cent of Canadians believe there's "too much attention focused on the rights of newcomers."

"Among responses received in open-ended inquiries, there was a notable increase between 2023 and 2024 in sentiments that correlate immigration with economic strain in Canada," the report said.

The CEO of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, Isha Khan, told CBC News that "perceptions" about immigration are changing and the matter needs more study.

"That's a point we really need to dig into," Khan said. "We need to understand where those perceptions are coming from and how they impact our collective work."

Immigration was only one aspect of the survey, entitled 2024 Foresights for Human Rights.

While just 11 per cent of respondents cited access to affordable housing as a top human rights issue, nearly 60 per cent said that right to housing had weakened over the last decade.

The report said that two in three respondents reported feeling optimistic about protecting human rights in Canada, particularly Indigenous rights and gender equity. Just one in three felt the same about human rights abroad.

The report's findings on immigration come after Trudeau released a nearly seven-minute-long online explainer video in which he said the federal government could have acted faster to rein in immigration programs and blamed "bad actors" for gaming the system.

Trudeau released the video in part to explain the recent reduction in the number of permanent residents being admitted to Canada, and changes to the temporary foreign worker program.

Over the next two years, the permanent residency stream is being reduced by about 20 per cent to 365,000 in 2027.

Responding to Trudeau's video, the Migrant Rights Network blasted the prime minister.

"His statements, which frame migrants as disposable and blame them for systemic crises, perpetuate harmful myths and deflect from policy failures," says a statement from the group's spokesperson Syed Hussan.

"The Migrant Rights Network strongly condemns this rhetoric, which obscures the vital role migrants play in building Canada's economy and communities, and calls for permanent residency status for all migrants to protect their rights."

The network said Trudeau's video and his government's past statements on immigration distract from the true causes of the housing crisis — corporate landlords and provincial governments that eliminate rent control and don't invest in public housing.

Hussan told CBC News that months of comments from Liberal politicians about immigration have contributed to the increase in negative feelings about migrants.