Older Canadians want fewer legal immigrants to relocate to Canada, poll finds

More Canadians over the age of 55 think fewer legal immigrants should be allowed to relocate to Canada, compared to their younger counterparts.

A new poll by Research Co. asked people across the country about their perceptions on immigration and the results highlighted a generational divide.

Forty-three per cent of Canadians believe immigration is having a mostly positive effect in the country, which is up one point since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in June 2024.

A smaller portion of Canadians, 39 per cent, think immigration is having a mostly negative effect on the country, while 18 per cent were undecided.

Among Canadians who voted in the federal election for the NDP, 59 per cent, or the Liberal Party, 55 per cent, believe immigration is having a positive effect on Canada but among those who voted Conservative, only 27 per cent felt that way.

Residents of different provinces also had varying views on immigration. In B.C., 52 per cent of those polled said it has been mostly positive for Canada, but only 49 per cent said that in Quebec, 44 per cent in Alberta, 40 per cent in Ontario, 35 per cent in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and only 30 per cent in Atlantic Canada.

Forty one per cent of those asked, or two-in-five Canadians, would like to see a decrease in the number of legal immigrants who are allowed to relocate to Canada, while 34 per cent, or just over one-third, would maintain the current levels.

Sixteen per cent said they would increase immigration levels.

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People between the ages of 35 and 54 were the second age group to support a decrease in immigration levels, with 40 per cent saying they were in favour of it, however, only 30 per cent of those aged between 18 to 34 said they were in favour.

“By a seven-to-one margin, Canadians aged 55 and over prefer a decrease in legal immigration levels over an increase,” Mario Canseco, president of Research Co., said in a statement.

“The gap is significantly closer among their younger counterparts.”

Half of Canadians of European descent ( 50 per cent) would like to reduce legal immigration to Canada. The proportions are lower among Canadians whose ancestry is Indigenous (36 per cent), South Asian (28 per cent) and East Asian (26 per cent).

When it came to the concept of Canada as a “melting pot,” a slightly larger proportion, 44 per cent, favoured the idea that immigrants assimilate and blend into Canadian society.

About 40 per cent endorsed the mosaic where cultural differences within Canadian society are valuable and preserved.

Methodology: Results are based on an online study conducted from July 26 to July 28, 2025, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in Canada. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.

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