An Environics Institute survey finds that Canadians are now more in favor of the nation’s role in accepting refugees from around the world and its record-breaking immigration than they have been in decades.
Environics points out, “Even as the country is now taking in more than 400,000 newcomers each year, seven in 10 Canadians express support for current immigration levels, the largest majority recorded on Environics surveys in 45 years”.
The survey’s findings come at a time when, based on the pattern during the first eight months, Canada is on track to accept 463,860 new permanent residents by the end of this year.
At a rate of 38,655 per month as of the end of August, Canada had already accepted 309,240 new permanent citizens.
In accordance with Ottawa’s current Immigration Levels Plan for 2022–2024, there should be 431,645 new permanent residents in 2019, 447,055 in 2020, and 451,000 in 2024.
If the current trend continues throughout the year, Canada will very likely surpass its immigration goal for this year by 32,215 new permanent residents, or nearly 7.5%.
Canada’s rate of immigration would surpass the aggressive goal set for next year and even 2024 at 463,860 new permanent residents, exceeding the goal set for two years from now by more than 2.8%.
Two Liberal Party of Canada officials urged for significantly more immigration to the nation in an open letter published in The Financial Post last month.
In that letter, Navdeep Bains, the former minister of innovation, science, and industry, and Elder C. Marques, who served as his chief of staff in 2016 and 2017, suggested that Canada raise its immigration goals even higher.
Both wrote in their letter to The Financial Post, “Canada deserves praise for our approach to immigration levels. But while the absolute numbers may seem high, they actually need to be higher in light of Canada’s population and demographic challenges”.