Canadian public opinion about immigration and refugees

2025 has been an especially challenging year for Canada, and for the global world order. The return of Donald Trump as US President up-ended the historically-close relationship between these two North American neighbours, placing unprecedented pressure on Canada’s political sovereignty and economy. In response, Canadians reelected a Liberal government with a new Prime Minister who is now focused on managing the challenges emanating from Washington and strengthening ties with other allies.

The country has long relied on a robust stream of new immigrants to maintain population growth and support a growing economy. But in recent years the system has struggled to manage a larger inflow of newcomers, prompting increasing public concerns about the country’s capacity to welcome large numbers of permanent residents, temporary residents and refugees. The federal government responded in fall 2024 by sharply reducing immigration levels and incorporating temporary residents into the plans, but the public-at-large has yet to regain its confidence in how the system is being managed, and the issue is increasingly becoming politicized.

A majority of Canadians continue to say there is too much immigration, but opinions have stabilized since 2024 following a sharp increase over the two previous years. Those who express this view increasingly point to poor government management as the problem.

In 2025, more than half of Canadians (56%) believe the country accepts too many immigrants, but this percentage has levelled off from a year ago (down 2 percentage points), following a dramatic increase over the two previous years (2022-2024). This sentiment continues to reflect the majority view across most parts of the country, with some shifts over the past year: In central Canada, belief in too much immigration has increased in Quebec, while declining in Ontario; in the Prairies, this sentiment is now much less evident than a year ago in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, while rising in Alberta (where two-thirds now agree there is too much immigration). As in previous surveys, there is little difference in the perspectives of people who are first-generation and those born in Canada.

The Focus Canada survey is based on telephone interviews conducted (via landline and cellphones) with a representative sample of 2,004 Canadians (ages 18 and over), between September 8 and 21, 2025. 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.