February 3, 2026
RED FM News Desk
A new national poll from Research Co. suggests public opinion on immigration in Canada is shifting rapidly, with nearly half of Canadians now viewing immigration as having a mostly negative impact on the country.
According to the latest survey, 48 per cent of respondents say immigration is having a mostly negative effect on Canada, compared with 34 per cent who believe it is having a mostly positive effect. The findings mark a sharp reversal from just months ago and reflect a broader downward trend in public sentiment.
Since July of last year, negative views on immigration have increased by nine points, while positive views have fallen by the same margin — an 18-point swing toward pessimism in less than a year. The shift is even more striking when compared with 2022, when optimism around immigration peaked. At that time, 54 per cent of Canadians believed immigration had a mostly positive impact, while only 26 per cent viewed it negatively.
The poll also indicates that skepticism toward immigration now spans generations. Across all age groups, only between 30 and 36 per cent of respondents describe immigration as mostly positive, suggesting a rare consensus among younger and older Canadians alike.
Former immigration minister Jason Kenney described the shift as “tragic,” blaming the Trudeau government for dismantling what he says was once a model immigration system. Kenney also pointed fingers at business groups, political factions, and some provincial governments, accusing them of pushing for higher immigration levels while allowing standards to decline.
While the survey does not pinpoint specific causes, the results come amid ongoing debates over housing affordability, health-care capacity, and population growth — issues increasingly linked to immigration levels in public discourse.
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