Canadians ‘unanimously oppose’ Trudeau’s immigration quotas, says focus group

Alex Dhaliwal
  |   July 30, 2024   |   Be the first to comment

Everyone questioned as part of Privy Council focus group research says the federal cabinet is “headed in the wrong direction” on immigration. Researchers found opposition to record-breaking immigration targets was universal, reported Blacklock’s Reporter.

“Asked whether they felt the Government of Canada was on the right or wrong track when it came to managing the immigration system, all believed it was headed in the wrong direction,” said a Privy Council report. “It was strongly believed the rate of immigration needed to be temporarily stabilized,” researchers wrote.

Cabinet’s current Immigration Levels Plan sets quotas at 485,000 people this year, another 500,000 next year and 500,000 more in 2026. These figures exclude the additional 1,040,985 foreign students and 766,250 migrant workers let into Canada last year.

“Several expressed the view that the rate of immigration had been too high in recent years,” said the report, Continuous Qualitative Data Collection Of Canadians’ Views. “Action needed to be taken to reduce the number of people coming to Canada including refugees and those seeking asylum.”

Alberta, similar to Ontario and Québec, faces a migration crisis where it cannot meet the demand for housing and essential services at current immigration rates. 

As of April 1, its population is 4,849,906 — up over 200,000 people from the previous year. 

The province is “shouldering a larger burden” with its existing infrastructure, Premier Smith told reporters on July 17. “It puts a lot of pressure on jurisdictions that are receiving more [newcomers] than their current level of social programs and infrastructure can support.”

Alberta’s inflow of asylum seekers has more than tripled to 3,740 claimants in recent years, according to federal data. 

Those Canadians surveyed by the Privy Council agreed that current infrastructure and vital services “could not accommodate further increases to the population.” Researchers wrote that “those already living in Canada” need to be the priority.

Immigration should be restricted to foreigners who fill labour shortages, said Canadians’ Views. “It was felt a priority should be placed on more targeted immigration going forward,” it said. The focus should be “on bringing in skilled workers in areas such as health care and education … which [face] widespread labour shortages.”

Landed immigrants last year totaled 437,539 residents, mainly Indians (56,750), Chinese (17,057), Filipinos (12,199), Afghanis (11,995) and Nigerians (11.331), according to the Department of Immigration Annual Report to Parliament.

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