Introduction
In many transatlantic countries we find evidence of significant anti-immigrant sentiment and opposition to multicultural policies directed at immigrants and settled minority groups. Whether among the general public, as measured in opinion polls and votes for far-right parties, or articulated by elected leaders and other elites, such views are found across the political spectrum in Europe and the United States.
Against this backdrop, Canada is a striking outlier. Compared to the citizens of other developed immigrant-receiving countries, Canadians are by far the most open to and optimistic about immigration. In one comparative poll, only 27 percent of those surveyed in Canada agreed that immigration represented more of a problem than an opportunity. In the country that came closest to Canadian opinion, France, the perception of immigration as a problem was significantly higher, at 42 percent. The most widespread objections came from the United Kingdom, where 65 percent of people surveyed saw immigration as more of a problem than an opportunity.
As striking, Canadian public opinion has been supportive of immigration for a long time and support has been increasing over recent decades, a time of economic uncertainty and concerns over foreign terrorists. Asked whether they favor decreasing, increasing, or keeping immigration levels the same, a stable plurality of Canadian respondents, about 45 percent, have favored the status quo between 1975 and 2005.
Significantly, the number who wanted to reduce immigration, 43 percent in 1975, declined over this period while the number favoring more immigration went up. By 2005 roughly equal fifths of respondents held these two positions.
Another series of polls, asking slightly different questions, indicate that since 2005, the number of Canadians who feel that there are too many immigrants entering Canada has continued to decline. A significant majority of Canadians surveyed, about two-thirds, said that the number of immigrants coming to Canada was “about right” in 2010.
These attitudes have no correlation to the underlying proportion of immigrants in the general population, or even the public perception of that proportion. Increasing support for immigration has occurred as Canada has admitted more and more new immigrants. Among transatlantic countries surveyed in 2010, Canada had by far the highest percentage of foreign-born residents, about 20 percent of the population; by comparison, immigrants were only 11 percent of the population in the United Kingdom.
Canadian optimism about immigration thus exists in a context of high mass migration, with the foreign born making up a far greater proportion of the population in Canada than in countries such as the United States, France, Germany, and Italy.
Canadian exceptionalism is also evident when we consider the competition among Canadian jurisdictions for more immigrants. Not only is the federal government bullish about migration — and has been for quite a while — but every Canadian province and two territories have struck agreements with the federal government so that they can select migrants directly into their jurisdictions through the provincial nominee program.
In 2010, 36,428 new permanent immigrants gained entry through provincial nomination, representing 13 percent of all new permanent residents in Canada.
In comparison, subnational jurisdictions in other federal states — in the United States and in Germany, for example — exhibit significant differences in their reactions to immigration, as evident in subnational legislatures’ efforts to discourage or encourage migrants’ settlement. In Canada such regional variation is modest.
Asked in a 2010 poll whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement that immigration is “a key positive feature of Canada as a country,” 67.2 percent of respondents — the highest level of support — agreed that immigration is positive in the province of British Columbia; this percentage only dropped to 63.3 in the Praries, the provinces with the lowest level of support.
Read the whole report, Understanding ‘Canadian Exceptionalism’ in Immigration and Pluralism Policy (PDF) at the Migration Policy Institute, a non-profit, non-partisan, independent think tank.
*The Council’s work is supported by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, Open Society Foundations, Bertelsmann Stiftung, the Barrow Cadbury Trust (UK Policy Partner), the Luso-American Development Foundation, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, and governments of Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden.
Photograph from Wikipedia; The Peace Arch at the border between Surrey, British Columbia, and Blaine, Washington
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