Federal poll finds nearly half of Canadians think country takes ‘too many immigrants’

OTTAWA — A survey commissioned by the federal government late last year suggests nearly half of Canadians believe the country is admitting too many immigrants — but the share of respondents who think so has dropped since last year’s polling.

The survey found 47 per cent of respondents believe “too many” immigrants are coming to Canada, while 38 per cent say “about the right amount” are coming.

A similar government poll conducted in late 2024 reported 54 per cent of respondents saying that “too many” immigrants were coming to Canada.

The report on the latest poll says the numbers saw little to no movement after respondents were told the government plans to admit 380,000 permanent residents this year.

But the numbers did shift when poll respondents were given a piece of context — the fact that the new permanent residency target is equal to about one per cent of the total population.

After getting that information, 39 per cent of respondents said Canada’s immigration intake is too high, while 43 per cent said it’s at an appropriate level.

About a third of those who said too many immigrants are coming cited concerns about housing affordability and availability and a tough job market, the report says.

The poll found 56 per cent of respondents said more effort should be put into helping unemployed Canadians find work instead of attracting foreign talent.

Another 52 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement that immigration is necessary to fill skill and labour market shortages in local economies.

Fifty-five per cent of respondents agreed with the statement that “immigration puts too much pressure” on local housing availability.

Of those who said too many immigrants are coming to Canada, one in five cited a strain on social supports and 13 per cent simply said there are too many immigrants here already.

Those who said Canada is admitting the right number of immigrants had various reasons for saying so, including the need to meet labour market demands.

The poll found most respondents — 61 per cent — agreed immigration is needed to support Canada’s economic growth with an aging population.

Fifty-eight per cent also agreed with the statement that accepting newcomers from many different cultures strengthens Canadian culture.

Temporary immigration rates have been the subject of heated debate in recent years, due to high numbers of temporary workers and international students coming to Canada.

The government’s current goal is to reduce the temporary resident population to five per cent of the total population by the end of 2027.

The largest share of poll respondents said they expect this will have a positive effect — 41 per cent — while 29 per cent said they believe it will have a negative effect and 23 per cent hold a neutral opinion. The remaining seven per cent did not answer this question.

The random telephone survey was conducted of 2,500 people by Phoenix Strategic Perspective in between Nov. 12 and Dec. 4, 2025 and is considered accurate within about 1.96 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

The poll report was delivered to the government in February but was only recently added to the government’s publicly available public opinion research portal last month.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2026.

David Baxter, The Canadian Press