V.     Future Viability of Canadian Communities

Immigration is a key policy tool in terms of government's role as a nation builder through the enrichment of the economic, social and cultural fabric of Canadian communities. How open and accepting are Canadians and Canadian communities to immigrants and newcomers? There is some level of division on this issue. A slim majority (55%) of Canadians agree that "more immigrants and newcomers should be encouraged to live in my city or town." Agreement with this statement is highest among Atlantic Canadians (68%) and residents of communities between 100,000 and just under 500,000 (60%).

Figure 20

Attitudes Towards Newcomers and Immigrants

		% Agree (7, 6, 5)
		National Total (n=4200) %	Region					Community Size
			Ontario (n=1444) %	Quebec (n=851) %	Atlantic (n=400) %	Prairies (n=833) %	BC/North (n=672) %	< 50K (n=800) %	50K - 100K (n=800) %	100K - 500K (n=800) %	500K - 1M (n=800) %	1M+ (n=1000) %
More immigrants and newcomers should be encouraged to live in my city or town		55	54	55	68	56	52	55	57	60	57	52

Nationally, about 15% of Canadians strongly agree with this statement (e.g. those saying "7" on a 7-point scale). The intensity of agreement with this statement ranges from 14% in Quebec and B.C./North to 24% in Atlantic Canada. By community size, residents of Canada's largest centres of one million or more and of communities of 50,000 to just under 100,000 (14%) are somewhat less likely to express strong levels of agreement with this statement as compared to residents of communities under 50,000 and those between 100,000 to just under 500,000 (both 17%).

Within Canada's largest urban centres, the level of disagreement with this statement (those saying "1,2,3" on a 7-point scale) ranges from one-in-five to one-in-four.

Figure 21

Those who rate the quality of life in their community as poor are less likely to say that immigrants and newcomers should be encouraged to live in their communities (39%) in contrast to those who rate their quality of life as good or excellent (57%).

Openness to newcomers and immigrants declines with age, with those in the 18 to 24 age cohort (63%) most likely to agree with this statement, declining to a bare majority (52%) among those aged 65 and older.

Those with a higher education level are somewhat more likely to welcome immigrants and newcomers to their community. University graduates (59%) are more likely to support the promotion of newcomers and immigrants to their communities as compared to those with a high school education, or less (52%).

Notably, however, with the exception of those aged 18 to 24 and residents of Atlantic Canada, levels of agreement with this statement do not surpass six-in-ten among any other demographic group, community size or region.