National poll finds Quebec most tolerant of rising immigration levels

tomtidgewellNovember 18, 2022

Prime Minister François Legault has rejected the idea of allowing more immigrants to Quebec, saying it will keep the current level of 50,000 a year.

Crowds on rue Sainte Catherine in June. Photo by Allen McInnis /Montreal Gazette

Who is most open to Ottawa’s plan to significantly increase the number of immigrants coming to Canada?

Think of it as a hierarchy.

A new Léger poll found:

Quebecers are more welcoming than residents of any other province.
People in Montreal are more hospitable than people in other parts of Quebec.
Non-French-speaking Montrealers have an advantage over French-speaking people.

Immigration was a hot topic in October’s local elections.

Prime Minister François Legault’s coalition Avenir Quebec won a large second majority after pledging to freeze immigration to protect the French.

Jacques Jedwab, president of the Canadian Research Association, which commissioned the national online poll, said the immigration debate in Quebec was ambiguous.

Quebec citizens are said to need immigration due to a severe labor shortage and an aging population. In October, business leaders urged Lego to let in more immigrants to fill 271,000 vacancies.

At the same time, some politicians see the newcomers as a threat to the French, with Legault arguing that the increase in immigration would be “suicidal” for Quebec’s majority French.

Ms Jedwab said the poll shows that “Quebecers are responding positively to the message that Quebec needs immigrants if the French language is not an immigration issue”.

He said that compared to other Canadians, Quebecers, whether English-speaking or French-speaking, are the least concerned about the potential impact of new entrants on housing, health and government services. said.

Thirty-five percent of respondents in Quebec said they were “extremely concerned” about these issues. Across Canada, 42.5% said yes.

“Immigration is an issue that is more on the political agenda in Quebec than elsewhere, but in fact we see a steadily higher level of concern elsewhere in Canada,” Jedwab said. said.

He said the numbers indicated there may be backlash against federal plans, with 75% of Canadians very or somewhat concerned about the impact of more immigration on housing and health care. He pointed out that

Immigration Minister Sean Fraser suggested that the newly arrived migrants could offset the shortage of workers in the construction sector and help meet rising demand for housing.

Rising immigration levels are unlikely to pose challenges to health care networks, Jedwab said, adding that many new entrants are looking to work directly or indirectly in a sector facing a workforce crisis. He added that

Last year Canada welcomed 405,000 immigrants.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plans, announced on November 1, expect Canada to host 465,000 in 2023, 485,000 in 2024, and 500,000 in 2025.

In response to that announcement, Lego rejected the idea of allowing more immigrants to Quebec, saying it would keep the current level of 50,000 a year.

“We already had problems at 400,000, so at 500,000 it’s even worse,” says Legault. “It is difficult to stop the decline of the already 50,000 French people.”

Key figures from the Léger poll:

39.3% of Quebec respondents either support projected numbers of immigrants or say the target is not high enough. This is the highest of any state and slightly higher than Atlantic Canada.
Just over 46% of Quebec citizens said their goals were too high. In contrast, her 58% of Prairie people said too many immigrants would be accepted.
In metro Montreal, 43% of respondents said the new federal targets were on point or too low. In the rest of Quebec, only 35% felt this way.
50% of French-speaking people in Greater Montreal thought the projected number of immigrants was too high. In contrast, only 28% of non-French speaking respondents said so.

Voting took place from November 11th to 13th.

ariga@postmedia.com