Canadians say illegals, refugee claimants receive ‘too many’ benefits
Only 16% disagreed with the statement that refugee applicants receive too many benefits.
Canadians believe that illegal immigrants and refugee claimants receive too many federal benefits, with support for high immigration quotas falling rapidly.
“Forty-one percent said there was too much attention focused on the rights of newcomers,” said a Museum report Foresights For Human Rights: 2024 Preliminary Report. “Fifty-six percent indicated refugees and asylum seekers receive too many benefits,” it said.
The Department of Immigration plans to reduce temporary resident numbers from 6.5% of the total Canadian population to 5% over the next three years. Instead, their numbers exploded to 7.3% last year.
Then-Immigration Minister Marc Miller defended his government’s record on immigration, until recently. “Those folks are not welcome to Canada, if they do so in an irregular fashion,” he told reporters January 15.
Immigration Minister Marc Miller says illegal immigrants entering Canada from the US "are not welcome."
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) January 15, 2025
Ironically, PM Trudeau infamously said "#WelcomeToCanada" in response to Trump's travel ban on several unstable countries like Syria and Yemen almost exactly 8 years ago. pic.twitter.com/oqXFwMmMAO
Almost half (47%) of Canadians surveyed separately by the Department of Immigration believe there are too many immigrants coming to Canada, reported Blacklock’s.
Canada intends to reduce the number of permanent residents it accepts annually from 485,000 in 2023 to 365,000 by 2027 after pushback from the public.
Forty-two percent agreed that immigration was causing disagreeable change in the country. Another 63% want the federal government to prioritize integration among newcomers.
A previous plan tabled 500,000 additional permanent residents in each of the next two years. “We didn't get the balance quite right,” admitted then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last October 24.
Trust in the federal government on immigration was at a measly 14%, according to internal research by the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
In-house @CMHR_News research finds most Canadians, 56%, say illegal immigrants & refugee claimants get too many benefits: "41% say there's too much attention focused on the rights of newcomers." https://t.co/lll6kB1DB4 @CitImmCanada pic.twitter.com/mfiFiuOjAy
— Blacklock's Reporter (@mindingottawa) March 25, 2025
On refugees, a significant minority believe refugees take jobs away from Canadians (32%), and pose a safety risk (38%). Fifty-four percent agreed that accepting refugees places “too much” pressure on public services in Canada.
Only 16% disagreed with the statement that refugee applicants receive too many benefits, with 53,770 foreigners receiving up to $7,787 annually in child tax-free benefits, including refugee claimants, migrant workers and foreign students.
Taxpayers Ombudsman François Boileau recently wagged his finger at the Canada Revenue Agency for cancelling welfare cheques to illegal immigrants. He criticized Agency policy for worsening hardships, especially for people whose status is expiring, reported Blacklock’s.
Some 4.9 million people, whose visas are set to expire between September of 2024 and next December, are expected to voluntarily leave.
“The vast majority leave,” Miller earlier testified before the immigration committee. “In some cases, increasingly many, I would concede, people decide to choose they are in a situation of irregularity.”
The briefing note, Undocumented Migrants, estimates as many as 500,000 people reside in Canada without status, including illegal immigrants and others who exhausted their appeals.
Alex Dhaliwal
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Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.
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COMMENTS
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Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2025-03-26 12:26:44 -0400Back in the 1950s, there was a labour shortage in this country. The post-war economy had switched from making everything from army boots to warships to manufacturing refrigerators, TVs, and automobiles. People in Europe saw the bounty from “Amerika” (i. e., Canada and the U. S.) during the reconstruction and, therefore, saw that part of the world as a land of opportunity. The latter meant that one could seek, and possibly make, one’s own fortune and live a comfortable life as a result of one’s efforts.
The Canadian government actually went to Europe to recruit people. I came across many of the associated documents when I went through my late father’s papers while I was settling his estate. -
Crude Sausage commented 2025-03-26 07:32:08 -0400To Bernhard: it should always have been that way. The only immigrants Canada should accept are those who can offer the country something in return for hospitality. We don’t need people who are looking for a better life because we don’t have room for them anyway. If you have skills to offer and think that Canada will honour you better than your own country, then feel free to come. If you are useless and plan on draining the welfare system, stay where you are.
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Bernhard Jatzeck commented 2025-03-25 23:22:07 -0400My parents and I came over from Europe in the 1950s because Canada was in need of skilled workers at the time. My father and mother didn’t expect many of the benefits that we received simply for being landed immigrants in this country.
They were quite prepared to earn their keep. How come that changed? -
Bruce Atchison commented 2025-03-25 21:13:39 -0400We must STOP pandering to freeloaders. They’re criminals because they broke into our country like a burglar into a house. By putting these grifters up in hotels and giving them all kinds of goodies, we’re rewarding crime. I hope Pierre Poilievre has the intestinal fortitude to discontinue ALL these hand-out to illegal aliens.
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Crude Sausage commented 2025-03-25 14:48:02 -0400The reality is that they shouldn’t be receiving any benefits at all. If they arrive illegally, their entire presence should be ignored by those in charge until they go away. By helping them to survive or even thrive, we are only attracting more such parasites.
