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Study: Canadians are more supportive of immigration than ever

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A study has found that 70% of Canadians support increased immigration

A study has found that 70% of Canadians support increased immigration

The Environics Institute of Canada, in partnership with the Century Initiative, has released survey data on Canadian’s opinions on immigration. The Environics Institute is a research agency that conducts public opinion surveys and collects data on Canadian issues such as the government or economy. Century Initiative is a registered charity run by business leaders and academics that advocates for the population of Canada to reach 100,000,000 by 2100.

The overall finding of the survey is that more Canadians than ever are in favour of increased immigration. Nearly 70% of Canadians were found to disagree or strongly disagree when asked if Canada’s immigration levels were too high.

This is the most support shown for immigration in the survey’s 45-year history and comes as the 2021 census data shows that immigrants make up 23% of Canada’s total population, or 8.3 million people. It projects that this number will increase to 34% by 2041.

Data was collected through telephone interviews conducted with 2,000 Canadians between September 6 and 30, 2022. 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.

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In all responses, as in previous years, the study found that support for immigration and immigrants is often related to an individual’s political leanings. Since 2021, overall support for elevated levels of immigration has increased among supporters of the federal Liberal Party (79%, up 4), NDP (85%, up 4) and Green Party (84%, up 19). Conversely, 43% of Conservative supporters believe that immigration levels are too high, but this is still a drop of 1% over the 2021 study.

Support for immigration despite pandemic difficulties

The data comes at a time when Canada is dealing with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, a historic labour shortage and a record one million job vacancies. In response, Canada has been raising targets within the Immigration Levels Plan. The current plan has a target between nearly 432,000 and 451,000 new immigrants in Canada by 2024. A new plan is expected by November 1.

Over 50% of surveyed Canadians believe that Canada needs more immigrants to increase its population. The most notable changes over the 2021 data show that people in Manitoba and Saskatchewan have shifted their views, with a 15-point increase over the previous year. Alberta and Ontario are both also up three points.

Atlantic Canada, which has tripled its number of immigrants in the past five years, showed less support for immigration than in the past, dropping nine points.

There is also a prevailing feeling that immigrants are essential for economic growth in Canada. By increasing the population through immigration, Canada also increases its tax base.

The recent census reported that two thirds of new immigrants to Canada are of working age, which means that the majority of new immigrants to Canada will be contributing income tax to the economy and supporting systems such as healthcare and education.

Canadians believe in accepting more refugees

Most respondents were positive regarding Canada’s commitment to providing a safe haven for refugees, particularly for those who are fleeing conflict zones. However, the survey shows that some have concerns over refugees’ ability to integrate into Canadian society and the impact this has on the country’s culture and identity. This was particularly notable in Quebec, which strives to enforce economic immigration policies that promote its unique francophone culture and identity.

However, when asked if Canada accepts too many immigrants from racialized countries, the results show that a growing majority of Canadians, Quebec included, reject that idea.

There is still some belief among Canadians, 37% agree or strongly agree, that some refugees are not legitimate or “real” refugees. As with all other questions, the percentage of respondents who adhere to this belief is higher among supporters of the Conservatives or Bloc Quebecois. Regionally, Alberta has the largest number of people who believe this, but Atlantic Canadians are increasingly in agreement as well, up eight points from the 2021 survey.

Still, the survey indicates that Canada as a whole rejects the idea that there are too many racial minority immigrants in Canada. Those who agree with that statement are generally over 60 years old or do not hold a high school diploma.

This is a major change from the overall data in the 1990s when public opinion on the issue was divided almost evenly.

Overall, there was little change in opinion about accepting refugees from conflict zones when specific countries were mentioned. Some respondents were given the example of conflict zones such as Ukraine and others were asked about conflict zones such as Afghanistan. The results show a slight, but not substantial difference in support for Ukrainian refugees over those from Afghanistan.

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Canada’s Denis Shapovalov wins Belgrade Open for his second ATP Tour title

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BELGRADE, Serbia – Canada’s Denis Shapovalov is back in the winner’s circle.

The 25-year-old Shapovalov beat Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4 in the Belgrade Open final on Saturday.

It’s Shapovalov’s second ATP Tour title after winning the Stockholm Open in 2019. He is the first Canadian to win an ATP Tour-level title this season.

His last appearance in a tournament final was in Vienna in 2022.

Shapovalov missed the second half of last season due to injury and spent most of this year regaining his best level of play.

He came through qualifying in Belgrade and dropped just one set on his way to winning the trophy.

Shapovalov’s best results this season were at ATP 500 events in Washington and Basel, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Medjedovic was playing in his first-ever ATP Tour final.

The 21-year-old, who won the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF title last year, ends 2024 holding a 9-8 tour-level record on the season.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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Talks to resume in B.C. port dispute in bid to end multi-day lockout

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VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.

The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.

The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.

The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.

The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.

MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.

In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.

“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.

“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”

In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.

“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.

The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.

“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”

The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.

The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.

A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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The Royal Canadian Legion turns to Amazon for annual poppy campaign boost

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The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.

Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.

Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.

Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.

“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.

“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”

Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.

“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.

Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.

“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”

But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.

Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.

“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.

Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.

The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.



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