Majority of Canadians steadfast in belief immigration remains too high

The majority of Canadians remain steadfast in the opinion that immigration levels are too high, with most blaming poor government management as the root of the problem.

Oct 21, 2025

The majority of Canadians remain steadfast in the opinion that immigration levels are too high, with most blaming poor government management as the root of the problem.

According to a recent survey by the Environics Institute, 56 per cent of Canadians believe the “country accepts too many immigrants.”

The institute noted that while this cohort has “levelled off from a year ago (down 2 percentage points), following a dramatic increase over the two previous years,” the sentiment “continues to reflect the majority view across most parts of the country.”

Regionally, belief in too much immigration has increased in Alberta and Quebec, while declining in Ontario and the Prairies.

“As in previous surveys, there is little difference in the perspectives of people who are first-generation and those born in Canada,” the survey reads.

“Canadians who say the country is accepting too many immigrants cite various reasons for expressing this view, but over the past year, there has been increasing emphasis placed on the system being poorly managed by government.”

Respondents also expressed concerns about the negative impact of high immigration levels on housing, jobs and the economy. They also cited added pressure on Canada’s already strained public finances.

However, those who believe there is too much immigration tend not to point to the problem being a threat to Canada’s “culture and values, as a security or public health risk, or a problem with too many international students.”

A growing number of Canadians did express concerns regarding the “legitimacy of some refugees and how newcomers are integrating into society.”

“Increasing proportions of Canadians now agree that many people claiming to be refugees are not real refugees (43 per cent, up 3 points from 2024) and that too many immigrants are not adopting Canadian values (60 per cent, up 3); in both cases, the uptick is relatively small but builds on a similar increase over the previous year.”

Additionally, a significant minority of respondents continue to agree that high levels of immigration lead to more crime.

“More than one-third (36 per cent) agree that immigrants increase the level of crime in Canada, and that the country accepts too many from racial minority groups (39 per cent),” the survey reads.

“In both cases, these proportions are unchanged from 2024, but still reflect a stronger sentiment of xenophobia than has been recorded over the past decade (although still less evident than in the 1990s). Notably, opinions on these questions do not vary between racialized Canadians and those who identify as white.”

Still, 70 per cent of respondents agreed that immigrants have a “positive impact on the national economy,” with three-quarters of Canadians saying that immigrants make their own communities a better place at the local level.

Only 15 per cent said they felt newcomers had made their communities worse.

Politically, there is a growing divide on how Canadians view immigration, with Conservative voters having the “most critical and negative” view on this issue.

“The gap between their perspective and that of supporters of the federal Liberals and NDP is now the largest recorded on Focus Canada surveys (since 1977), and points to immigration as one of the primary dividing lines in Canadian politics today,” it said.