The Environics Institute, a Canadian research agency that conducts public opinion surveys and collects data on government, social and economic issues, has released its annual study on Canadian public opinionon immigration.
The report found that over the past year, Canadians have become pessimistic about the direction of the country and the economy. It notes that they have doubts about the government’s ability to plan for future challenges. This includes the perceived challenges posed by immigration.
The Environics Institute worked in partnership with the Century Initiative, which is a non-partisan organization that aims to implement policies and programs that would increase Canada’s population to 100 million by 2100.
The study is conducted each year to gauge Canadian opinions on immigration and refugees. It is based on telephone interviews conducted with 2,002 Canadians between September 4 and 17, 2023. A sample of this size drawn from the population produces results accurate to within plus or minus 2.2 percentage points in 19 out of 20 samples.
Findings
Canada’s population reached a major milestone this year, hitting 40 million people. This is an increase of over one million people in a year. International migration is responsible for 96% of the population increase. Some respondents perceive this to be a contributing factor in Canada’s strained healthcare system and the lack of affordable housing.
Despite these issues, the report notes that as in past years, very few respondents singled out immigration or refugees as the top problem facing the country. It says a strong majority of Canadians still believe that immigration is beneficial for the economy.
The report explains that, as relates to immigration, Canadian’s are concerned about the number of immigrants in Canada but not about immigrants themselves. As with the 2022 report, they are more likely to say that newcomers make their communities a better place.
Environics concludes that Canadians’ recent concerns about immigration’s effect on housing are more a function of media narratives about a housing crisis than local developments or direct experience.
Too much immigration?
When asked if there is too much immigration in Canada, 4 out of 10 respondents strongly or somewhat strongly agreed. This is a rise of 17 percentage points over the 2022 numbers. However, looking at it another way, that means 6 in 10 did not feel that way.
Support for immigration in Canada is starting to decline.
Still, this is the largest year-over-year change recorded for this question since tracking began in 1977. The most notable change was seen among Ontario respondents where agreement with that statement is now at 50%.
Comparable results were found in British Columbia, Canadians in top income brackets, first-generation Canadians, and men.
It was also noted that 64% of homeowners who are worried about the affordability of their home are likely to agree that there is too much immigration in Canada.
Politics also plays a part in the numbers. The report found that, as in years past, political affiliation has an impact on how Canadians view immigration. For example, 64% of Conservative party supporters believe there is too much immigration (an increase of 21 points over last year) but has risen just 11 points to 29% among liberal supporters and 9 points to 21% for those who support the NDP.
How Canadians feel about immigration based on political party support.
Why the change?
Among those who support the idea that Canada accepts too many immigrants, 38% responded that they have concerns about immigrants affecting the availability and/or affordability of housing. This is 23 points higher than in 2022.
Some respondents believe that immigrants are a drain on public finances (25%) or bad for the economy and employment (25%). Others are concerned about overpopulation (19%) or believe that immigration is being poorly managed by the government (10%).
It is notable that in 2022 there were more Canadians who believed that immigration was a threat to Canadian or Quebecois culture, identity, and values (Down to 8% from 16%). Very few were found to believe that immigrants cause security or public health threats, or object to the number of immigrants coming as students to study in Canadian universities and colleges.
Support for immigration levels
When respondents were asked if Canada needs more immigration to increase its population, public opinion was divided evenly between support and disagreement (47% each).
This represents an 11 percentage point decline in agreement since 2022 and is the first decrease seen since 1993.
The sharpest decline in support for accepting more immigrants was seen in Ontario and Canadians in the top income bracket (both down 18 points) as well as first-generation Canadians (down 16 points).
Albertans, Canadians with no post-secondary education, those who live in rural communities, and Conservative party supporters are also less apt to believe that Canada needs more immigrants.
Immigration and the economy
Most Canadians feel that immigration is good for Canada’s economy. However, when compared to last year, the numbers show that there is somewhat less belief in immigration’s positive economic impact.
Fewer Canadians feel immigration is positive for the economy.
Three-quarters of Canadians strongly (36%) or somewhat agree (38%) that immigration is beneficial for the economy. This represents a drop of 11 points since 2022 and shows that agreement is at its lowest point since 1998.
As with other sections of the study, support was weakest among supporters of the federal Conservative Party (63%) as well as homeowners who are very worried about housing affordability (59%).
Immigrants make Canada a better place
Despite the decline in support for immigration levels, when asked, more than 42% of Canadians responded that immigrants make their community a better place.
The most positive response came from Atlantic Canada (49%) and British Columbia (51%). It was also high among Canadians with a university degree and supporters of the federal Liberal and New Democratic parties.
Supporters said it was because they value immigrants’ contribution to multiculturalism and diversity, in addition to helping the local economy and boosting local population growth.
Housing affordability in Canada
The report comes at a time when Canada, along with much of the globe, is experiencing an affordability crisis. This is particularly true for housing. The average price of a home in Canada now exceeds $650,000 according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.
The results are in contrast to the 2022 report in which nearly 70% of Canadians were found to disagree or strongly disagree when asked if Canada’s immigration levels were too high. It was the most support for immigration recorded since the annual survey began 46 years ago.
Further, the 2022 Environics report found that just 15% of respondents believed that immigrants were driving up home prices and making them unaffordable for others.
Environics 2023 says more Canadians are now connecting the housing crisis to immigration, “but very few see this happening on the ground in their own communities”. The institute believes that this reaction stems from the broader issue of a lack of confidence in the economy rather than the increased presence of newcomers in their communities.
The Levels Plan for 2024-2026 is expected to be released on, or by, November 1st.
Canada’s government sets immigration targets so it can plan ahead to ensure that there is sufficient infrastructure in place for newcomers to have the support they need, such as settlement services, housing, and access to healthcare. This is all while balancing the needs of Canada’s current population.
In the 2023-2025 plan, IRCC introduced Canada’s highest-ever immigration targets, going as high as 500,000 new permanent residents each year by the end of 2025.
In August, Immigration Minister Marc Miller told Bloomberg news that he does not anticipate that the targets for 2024-2026 will be lower than they are presently. The minister supports immigration as a key tool in supporting Canada’s economy.
Census data from 2021 found that 23% of Canada’s population is an immigrant and projected that this would rise to 34% by 2041.
MONCTON, N.B. – New Brunswick RCMP say two youths have been arrested after an emergency alert was issued Monday evening about someone carrying a gun in the province’s southeast.
Caledonia Region Mounties say they were first called out to Main Street in the community of Salisbury around 7 p.m. on reports of a shooting.
A 48-year-old man was found at the scene suffering from gunshot wounds and he was rushed to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police say in the interest of public safety, they issued an Alert Ready message at 8:15 p.m. for someone driving a silver Ford F-150 pickup truck and reportedly carrying a firearm with dangerous intent in the Salisbury and Moncton area.
Two youths were arrested without incident later in the evening in Salisbury, and the alert was cancelled just after midnight Tuesday.
Police are still looking for the silver pickup truck, covered in mud, with possible Nova Scotia licence plate HDC 958. They now confirm the truck was stolen from Central Blissville.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – Golf Canada has set an impressive stretch goal of having 30 professional golfers at the highest levels of the sport by 2032.
The World Junior Girls Golf Championship is a huge part of that target.
Credit Valley Golf and Country Club will host the international tournament from Sept. 30 to Oct. 5, with 24 teams representing 23 nations — Canada gets two squads — competing. Lindsay McGrath, a 17-year-old golfer from Oakville, Ont., said she’s excited to be representing Canada and continue to develop her game.
“I’m really grateful to be here,” said McGrath on Monday after a news conference in Credit Valley’s clubhouse in Mississauga, Ont. “It’s just such an awesome feeling being here and representing our country, wearing all the logos and being on Team Canada.
“I’ve always wanted to play in this tournament, so it’s really special to me.”
McGrath will be joined by Nobelle Park of Oakville, Ont., and Eileen Park of Red Deer, Alta., on Team Canada 2. All three earned their places through a qualifying tournament last month.
“I love my teammates so much,” said McGrath. “I know Nobelle and Eileen very well. I’m just so excited to be with them. We have such a great relationship.”
Shauna Liu of Maple, Ont., Calgary’s Aphrodite Deng and Clairey Lin make up Team Canada 2. Liu earned her exemption following her win at the 2024 Canadian Junior Girls Championship while Deng earned her exemption as being the low eligible Canadian on the world amateur golf ranking as of Aug. 7.
Deng was No. 175 at the time, she has since improved to No. 171 and is Canada’s lowest-ranked player.
“I think it’s a really great opportunity,” said Liu. “We don’t really get that many opportunities to play with people from across the world, so it’s really great to meet new people and play with them.
“It’s great to see maybe how they play and take parts from their game that we might also implement our own games.”
Golf Canada founded the World Junior Girls Golf Championship in 2014 to fill a void in women’s international competition and help grow its own homegrown talent. The hosts won for the first time last year when Vancouver’s Anna Huang, Toronto’s Vanessa Borovilos and Vancouver’s Vanessa Zhang won team gold and Huang earned individual silver.
Medallists who have gone on to win on the LPGA Tour include Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., who was fourth in the individual competition at the inaugural tournament. She was on Canada’s bronze-medal team in 2014 with Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont., and Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee.
Other notable competitors who went on to become LPGA Tour winners include Angel Yin and Megan Khang of the United States, as well as Yuka Saso of the Philippines, Sweden’s Linn Grant and Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand.
“It’s not if, it’s when they’re going to be on the LPGA Tour,” said Garrett Ball, Golf Canada’s chief operating officer, of how Canada’s golfers in the World Junior Girls Championship can be part of the organization’s goal to have 30 pros in the LPGA and PGA Tours by 2032.
“Events like this, like the She Plays Golf festival that we launched two years ago, and then the CPKC Women’s Open exemptions that we utilize to bring in our national team athletes and get the experience has been important in that pathway.”
The individual winner of the World Junior Girls Golf Championship will earn a berth in next year’s CPKC Women’s Open at nearby Mississaugua Golf and Country Club.
Both clubs, as well as former RBC Canadian Open host site Glen Abbey Golf Club, were devastated by heavy rains through June and July as the Greater Toronto Area had its wettest summer in recorded history.
Jason Hanna, the chief operating officer of Credit Valley Golf and Country Club, said that he has seen the Credit River flood so badly that it affected the course’s playability a handful of times over his nearly two decades with the club.
Staff and members alike came together to clean up the course after the flooding was over, with hundreds of people coming together to make the club playable again.
“You had to show up, bring your own rake, bring your own shovel, bring your own gloves, and then we’d take them down to the golf course, assign them to areas where they would work, and then we would do a big barbecue down at the halfway house,” said Hanna. “We got guys, like, 80 years old, putting in eight-hour days down there, working away.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
NEW YORK (AP) — Fenway Park has the Ted Williams seat. And now Citi Field has the Grimace seat.
The kid-friendly McDonald’s character made another appearance at the ballpark Monday, when the New York Mets unveiled a commemorative purple seat in section 302 to honor “his special connection to Mets fans.”
Wearing his pear-shaped purple costume and a baseball glove on backwards, Grimace threw out a funny-looking first pitch — as best he could with those furry fingers and short arms — before New York beat the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on June 12.
That victory began a seven-game winning streak, and Grimace the Mets’ good-luck charm soon went viral, taking on a life of its own online.
New York is 53-31 since June 12, the best record in the majors during that span. The Mets were tied with rival Atlanta for the last National League playoff spot as they opened their final homestand of the season Monday night against Washington.
The new Grimace seat in the second deck in right field — located in row 6, seat 12 to signify 6/12 on the calendar — was brought into the Shannon Forde press conference room Monday afternoon. The character posed next to the chair and with fans who strolled into the room.
The seat is available for purchase for each of the Mets’ remaining home games.
“It’s been great to see how our fanbase created the Grimace phenomenon following his first pitch in June and in the months since,” Mets senior vice president of partnerships Brenden Mallette said in a news release. “As we explored how to further capture the magic of this moment and celebrate our new celebrity fan, installing a commemorative seat ahead of fan appreciation weekend felt like the perfect way to give something back to the fans in a fun and unique way.”
Up in Boston, the famous Ted Williams seat is painted bright red among rows of green chairs deep in the right-field stands at Fenway Park to mark where a reported 502-foot homer hit by the Hall of Fame slugger landed in June 1946.
So, does this catapult Grimace into Splendid Splinter territory?
“I don’t know if we put him on the same level,” Mets executive vice president and chief marketing officer Andy Goldberg said with a grin.
“It’s just been a fun year, and at the same time, we’ve been playing great ball. Ever since the end of May, we have been crushing it,” he explained. “So I think that added to the mystique.”
