What do Canadians think of immigration?

In 2009 Citizenship and Immigration Minister Jason Kenney promised significant reforms to Canadian immigration policy before the end of the year. In the last months of 2009, several small changes were introduced, including improvements to the Live-in Caregivers program and better recognition of foreign credentials. We are still awaiting the major changes.

But before the changes are announced, Minister Kenney and the government should consider what Canadians really think about immigration.

A recent study completed by Transatlantic Trends, a grouping of immigration organizations from eight countries in Western Europe and North America, analyzes the opinions of participating countries on several issues relating to immigration. The issues range from the economic and labour impacts of immigration to access to social and political services.

Overall, immigration is not a top priority for Canadians right now, registering at just 5 percent, compared to the economy at 36 percent. However, there are several key areas of concern addressed in this study that are related to Canadian immigration policies.

First, Canada, more than the other country surveyed, sees immigration as more of an opportunity than a problem. The opportunities lie in filling gaps in the labour market and building a more multicultural or pluralistic society. Canada also has by far the highest number of foreign-born citizens with just over 20 percent.

Second, Canadians feel that immigrant access to the same rights and benefits as all Canadians is crucial. Canadians come in first at 70 percent in supporting the rights of political participation, and fourth at 75 percent for access to social services.

Third, most Canadians, 74 percent, agree that all immigration policies should be handled by the federal government, not provincial or local governments. This means that immigration policies would be the same across the country. This directly relates to the Temporary Foreign Workers Program (TFW), in which a lot of the logistics are under the control of provincial governments.

Finally, and speaking of the TFW Program, a majority of people in all of the countries preferred permanent immigration programs over temporary programs, with Canadians leading the way at 76 percent. The opinion is that people who are permitted to come and work should be allowed to stay permanently.

The Speech from the Throne last Wednesday mentioned coming changes to immigration policies in Canada, but gave no indication of the specifics. Will the new policies reflect the opinions of Canadians? We’ll have to wait and see.