Canadian Public Opinion About Immigration and the USA

In the past six months, the surprising election of Donald Trump to the US presidency has sent shock waves through that country, and reverberations around to globe. His administration is charting an unpredictable new course in domestic and foreign policy, and among the first steps has been a tightening of restrictions for visitors, immigrants and refugees seeking to enter the USA. Many parts of Europe are also experiencing the emergence of anti-government sentiments, nationalism and populism, with much of the anger focused on refugees and immigrants.

Here in Canada, the Trudeau government is holding firm on its policies on diversity and inclusion, and the country has welcomed 35,000 Syrian refugees with little controversy. But a number of communities are experiencing disturbing racist or anti-Muslim incidents, and some commentators are concluding that Canadians are following the US lead in becoming less tolerant of immigrants and people who are different. To test this contention, the Environics Institute conducted a new survey to identify if and how Canadian public opinion about immigration has changed over the past six months, as well as how Canadians now view the USA in light of its new President.

Survey Details

This survey is based on telephone interviews conducted with 2,002 Canadians between April 3 and 15, 2017. A sample of this size drawn from the population produces results accurate to within plus or minus 2.2 percentage points in 19 out of 20 samples.