International poll finds Canadians view immigration more positively than Europe

The majority of Canadians view immigration as a positive thing, in direct contrast to the increasingly anti-immigrant Western developed countries, according to a poll released yesterday.

Canadian immigration

Immigration in Canada is viewed more positively than in the US and Europe, a study has found.

The annual survey by the Washington-based think-tank German Marshall Fund of the United States, looked at public perception of a wide variety of immigration issues in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.

The study found a near-consensus of frustration towards governments' handling of immigration policy, and that those who are struggling financially are particularly hostile.

However, Canada sharply diverged from all other on questions ranging from government performance to the impact of immigrants on society and the economy. Canadian immigration attitudes are by far the most positive among all countries surveyed.

There was a modest hardening of attitudes in Canada since last year, a move which was linked to the controversy over the landing of a boatload of Tamil migrants in British Columbia last summer.

In 2010, 67 per cent of respondents felt that immigrants helped create jobs by establishing new businesses, down from 75 per cent in 2009.

The proportion of people who thought Canadian immigration "enriches" culture by bringing in new customs and ideas slipped from 65 per cent to 60 per cent.

Nevertheless, the numbers were still significantly higher than those from the U.S. and Europe.

The researchers believe Canadian government policy, and more importantly Canadian geography, drive public attitudes.

The Canadian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people make their Canadan Visa application to the Canadian Embassy.