A recent poll by The Association for Canadian Studies found that 63% of non-immigrant Canadians disagree with the statement "Canada needs new immigrants."
According to Chedly Belkhodja, a professor at Concordia University's School of Community and Public Affairs, this trend has been steadily growing in the country since the pandemic.
"We had a certain stability in the way the system was working in many societies," Belkhodja said. "With globalization, a lot of things happened."
Experts attribute this rise to wider economic anxieties and the growing influence of populist narratives.
Author's summary: Rising anti-immigration sentiment in Canada reflects economic anxieties.