Public support for immigration in Canada has plunged to its lowest level in decades, with a new Environics Institute poll showing that eight in ten Conservative voters believe the country is admitting too many newcomers — the sharpest negative swing ever recorded by the firm.
Overall, 56% of Canadians now say immigration levels are too high, up dramatically from just a few years ago. Among Conservatives, the number has doubled since 2020, rising from 41% to a record 82%.
“It’s a very striking sea change in opinion over a very short period of time,” said Keith Neuman, senior associate at Environics. The shift comes after three years of record population growth — roughly one million new residents annually, driven by international students and temporary foreign workers.
While frustration with housing shortages and strained healthcare systems are fuelling public discontent, Neuman emphasized that most respondents cite economic and policy concerns rather than cultural or racial reasons. “There’s no evidence this opposition is rooted in xenophobia,” he said.
For nearly half a century, Canadians largely viewed immigration as an economic and social strength. But that consensus appears to be fracturing — particularly along partisan lines. In 2001, attitudes among Liberal, NDP, and Conservative voters were relatively aligned. Now, the gap is the widest ever recorded.
Other research confirms the trend. A Nanos Research poll found nearly three-quarters of Canadians support cutting immigration levels, while Abacus Data reports immigration has become one of voters’ top three national concerns.
Former Conservative immigration minister Jason Kenney said the Liberal government’s approach has “turned Canada’s pro-immigration consensus upside down.” He argued the surge in temporary and student visas has undermined public trust. “We need to significantly reduce intake and weed out the fraud to save the system itself,” Kenney said.
Current Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has echoed that sentiment, proposing hard caps on newcomers, the end of the Temporary Foreign Worker program, and stricter rules around birthright citizenship.
Prime Minister Mark Carney has also acknowledged that immigration levels are “not sustainable” and has called for a “more focused” policy approach.
According to Phil Triadafilopoulos, political science professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough, the Conservatives face a delicate balancing act. “They know their base wants a tougher stance,” he said, “but being too aggressive could alienate new Canadians — a key voting bloc in cities like Toronto and Vancouver.”
What was once a unifying issue in Canadian politics is now becoming one of its most divisive — and with an election on the horizon, immigration could emerge as a defining debate in the country’s political landscape.
