Photo credit: The Hub
As the political debate over immigration heats up again in Canada, a group that works to support newcomers says immigrants need a sense of both belonging and optimism to convince them to stay.
Toronto Today reports that the Institute for Canadian Citizenship published a survey of roughly 5,000 immigrants on Tuesday, focused on how Canada can retain newcomers. The survey also found that a sense of security, faith in institutions and a strong economy can help determine whether an immigrant chooses to stay.
The CEO of the Institute, Daniel Bernhard, said Canada needs to find ways to encourage immigrants to remain as outward migration increases, birth rates decline, and the government makes plans to reduce immigration intake.
He said, “The discourse in Canada today suggests that all immigrants do is consume stuff. They consume housing, consume healthcare, and consume space on the road when they’re driving between their house and the hospital.
“This is, I think, a false frame that omits the very, very important contributions that immigrants do make. And retaining those talents for Canada is going to be essential.”
A November 2024 survey conducted by the institute found that one in five immigrants ultimately leave the country in the long term.
While political debate over immigration is ramping up, the Liberal government moved more than a year ago to reduce the number of temporary visas issued for workers and students, and both Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and BC Premier David Eby recently called for the termination of the temporary foreign worker program entirely due to high youth unemployment.
Poilievre said the Liberals brought in “too many people too fast” and “our youth can’t find jobs or homes” as a result.
He continued, “Immigrants are not to blame for this mess. They simply followed the rules that the Liberals created, or the lack of rules.”
The institute’s survey found 76 per cent of immigrants believe housing in Canada is unaffordable.
Meanwhile, public opinion on immigration seems to be shifting with recent polls – including the government’s own research – suggesting more Canadians now believe too many people are coming to Canada.
Bernhard said that even those who oppose increased immigration should support retaining immigrants so that they don’t need to be replaced in the workforce.
The federal government is conducting its annual review to determine how many immigrants it will admit over the next three years. It’s expected to update the immigration levels plan later this month.
The government has said it plans to reduce the number of temporary residents to 5 per cent of the total population and cut the annual intake of permanent residents to from 395,000 this year to 365,000 by 2027.
