Canadians are in favour of immigration policies that will boost the economy and replenish the aging workforce instead of providing assistance to people in crisis from other parts of the world.
And while new immigrants are well integrated into Canadian society, minorities should do more to fit in with the mainstream way of life.
Those are the key findings of a new poll from the Angus Reid Institute and CBC, the latest in a series of questionnaires attempting to gauge the public attitude towards immigration.
According to the results, responders what to see an emphasis on new immigrants being encouraged to change to fit in instead of encouraging Canadians to be more accepting.
There are currently an abundance of immigration-related polls being conducted in Canada, as the federal government goes about shaping its policies and setting its numbers for the next three years.
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Immigration Minister John McCallum is gathering support for a further increase in the numbers of newcomers, with 2016 already set to be a record year.
Recent figures from Statistics Canada showed more than 320,000 new immigrants were welcomed in the year to July 2016, the most for more than 100 years in a 12-month period.
Part of McCallum’s plan is to streamline the process for bringing in highly-skilled technology workers, which appears to fit with public opinion on workforce needs, according to the Angus Reid poll.
An overwhelming 79 per cent of respondents said they would like to see priority given to boosting the Canadian economy over helping people in crisis.
Source: Angus Reid/CBC poll
When it came to the integration of new immigrants, Canadians appeared to contradict themselves.
Some 67 per cent said they were satisfied with how well new immigrants were integrated into their community. This could include such elements as learning the language, finding employment or taking part in community-orientated activities.
Source: Angus Reid/CBC poll
However, 68 per cent said minorities should do more to fit in with the mainstream as oppose to encouraging cultural diversity.
Source: Angus Reid/CBC poll
The language used is important here. In the first question above, the word ‘immigrants’ is used, whereas the second question refers to ‘minorities’. An immigrant is not necessarily a minority. It is possible using terminology like ‘minorities’ might attract more negativity than ‘immigrants’. There is no indication as to why the language was changed between the two questions.
A further question continued to refer to ‘minorities’, effectively asking ‘should minorities change, or should Canadians adapt to accept their differences?’.
Some 57 per cent of respondents put the onus on minorities to adapt to Canada, while 34 per cent felt acceptance should be encouraged.
Source: Angus Reid/CBC poll
It is difficult to compare the results of polls with questions worded very differently, although it is fair to say these responses do collide with the idea of Canada as an open and welcoming society.
A very clear indication of Canada’s attitude towards immigrants was given in how they voted in the most important poll of them all – the general election back in October 2015.
The Liberals won with a significant majority, based on a manifesto that included welcoming thousands of Syrian refugees and boosting numbers of immigrants.
The overriding indication is that while Canadians are happy to see more immigrants coming in, they want to see those immigrants fitting in and contributing to Canadian society.
McCallum’s Immigration Plan
- The Liberals made family reunification a key element of their campaign for election, and McCallum is looking at ways to speed up the whole process of bringing in immediate family members.
- There are also plans to make it easier for international students to stay in Canada after they graduate. McCallum feels these young, Canadian qualified, Canadian experienced individuals are the perfect candidates to become new permanent residents.
- McCallum also plans to address the technology talent shortage in Canada by making it easier to bring in new immigrants with the right qualifications.
- Limitations on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program are set to be relaxed, with a report into the current state of the program expected to be released in September.
- McCallum has already given Atlantic Canada the freedom to bring in 2,000 more immigrants under Provincial Nominee Programs in 2017. These numbers could rise in 2018 and 2019 if the increase is seen as a success.
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