A Report from the Diversity in Canada Study 2026
Canada has a reputation for being especially comfortable with ethnic and cultural diversity. But it would be unwise to take this for granted. The Canadian Diversity Study provides a fresh, comprehensive look at Canadian attitudes and experiences relating to immigration, multiculturalism and diversity. The survey covers these topics in-depth by exploring both how Canadians think about these issues, and the experiences of living in a multicultural society and how these vary among people of different backgrounds.
The survey finds that, overall, Canadians are more likely than not to be supportive of multiculturalism, with majorities agreeing it has contributed positively to the Canadian identity, accepting that there are positive benefits of living in a diverse society, and feeling comfortable with living alongside people from different races or who speak different languages. And when asked to say in their own words what multiculturalism means to them, positive descriptions heavily outweigh negative ones.
Additionally, while racialized Canadians or immigrants often express more emphatic support for multiculturalism and diversity than their white or non-immigrant counterparts, in general, majorities of Canadians from all backgrounds tend to find themselves on the same side of these issues, rather than at odds with one another. At the same time, not all possible forms of multiculturalism attract the same extent of support. There is a clear gradient, with broad support for the principle of treating people from different backgrounds equally (by preventing discrimination), but much less support for proposals for different treatment (by, for instance, allowing separate institutions in areas such as education to accommodate ethnic or religious minorities).
The survey results also support the conclusion that ongoing concern about the current level of immigration does not in itself imply public opposition to the broader idea of Canada accepting immigrants, or to the changes in the racial and ethnic composition of Canadian society that recent immigration patterns have produced. Notably, by a four-to-one margin, Canadians are more likely to prefer that Canada select the best immigrants in terms of education and skills, regardless of which countries they come from, rather than selecting immigrants from only some countries and not others. Nonetheless, there are a range of views on immigration, from generally positive, to mixed, to generally negative – with more negative views being more common among non-immigrants.
About the Survey
The Canadian Diversity Study 2026 is a partnership between the Bridging Divides research program at the Global Migration Institute, Toronto Metropolitan University and the Environics Institute for Survey Research.
The study consists of a survey of 6,818 adult Canadians, conducted online between March 4 and April 24, 2026. The survey sample includes oversamples of the main racial identity groups in Canada, of immigrants and of Indigenous Peoples, to allow for the meaningful disaggregation of results – enabling the topic of multiculturalism to be explored from a diversity of perspectives. Subsample sizes can be found in the detailed survey tables. Results are weighted by age, gender, region, education, immigration generation, and racial and Indigenous identity so as to be representative of the actual distribution of the adult population in Canada (based on the 2021 census).
The survey was managed by the Environics Institute for Survey Research and the fieldwork was conducted by the Environics Research Group, using the following panels: Leger, Dynata and Canadian Viewpoint.
Related reading
Pride in Being Canadian
Previous Focus Canada surveys have documented a decline in the proportion of Canadians who are proud of being a Canadian. But in the wake of the developments since the return of U.S. President Donald Trump to the White House, has there been a resurgence of national pride in Canada?
Survey of Canadian Muslims
The Institute’s first project was a national survey to examine the relationship between Canadian Muslims and Canadian society at large. This research was conducted as part of Environics Research FOCUS CANADA, and built upon an earlier study conducted by the US-based Pew Research Center with Muslims and non-Muslims that covered 13 countries (but not Canada).
2015 Survey on Immigration and Multiculturalism
The last few years have not been good ones for immigrants and multicultural diversity – worldwide or in Canada. At the global level, the flow of migrants is now higher than at any time in human history.