Poll finds fewer Canadians viewing immigration positively, but not in B.C.

While Canadians as a whole are becoming less likely to see immigration as a net positive for their country, British Columbians don't seem to be following that trend, according to a new poll.

The data released by Research Co. Friday finds 45 per cent of Canadians say immigration is having a mostly positive effect on the country, a decrease of nine percentage points since Research Co. last asked the question in February 2022. 

At the same time, 38 per cent now say immigration has a mostly negative impact, an increase of 12 points. The rest (17 per cent, down two points) are unsure.

In B.C., however, the change since February 2022 is much less dramatic. At that time, 51 per cent of B.C. residents surveyed said immigration had a net positive impact on the country. Today, the percentage is unchanged.

The percentage of British Columbians saying immigration is a net negative has gone up, but by a much smaller amount than the national figure: 31 per cent said negative in 2022, and 35 per cent do so now.

Correspondingly, the percentage of B.C. respondents saying they're unsure how to answer the question has decreased from 18 per cent to 14 per cent.

FEW WOULD INCREASE IMMIGRATION

Perhaps surprisingly, given their belief that immigrants have a mostly positive effect on the country, most B.C. respondents would like to see Canada either maintain or reduce the number of immigrants it welcomes each year, rather than increasing it.

Just 14 per cent of British Columbians surveyed say Canada should increase the number of legal immigrants allowed to relocate here. Nationally, that number is 17 per cent.

On this question, there's been considerable change both in B.C. and nationally since Research Co. last asked.

Today, 38 per cent in B.C. say the number of immigrants should remain the same and 41 per cent say it should decrease. Nationally, those figures are 37 and 39 per cent, respectively.

In February 2022, 41 per cent of British Columbians chose "stay the same" and 29 per cent chose "decrease."

This shift essentially mirrors the national trend. In February 2022, 39 per cent nationally wanted the immigration levels to remain the same, and 25 per cent wanted them to decrease.

Research Co. says it conducted its latest online survey from Oct. 11 to 13 among 1,000 Canadian adults. The data was weighted to census figures for age, gender and region.

The firm says the poll carries a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Notably, the margin of error for a subsample – such as B.C. respondents – is higher than the margin for the whole survey.