Canadians view immigration more positively than Europe, U.S.: Poll

Canadian attitudes toward immigration are hardening but Canada remains a relative island of tranquillity compared to other increasingly anti-immigrant Western developed countries, according to a poll released Thursday.


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

The study found a near-consensus that the public is frustrated by their governments' handling of immigration policy, and showed that those who are struggling financially are particularly hostile.

Canada, according to the German Marshall Fund of the United States, sharply diverged from the other seven countries on questions ranging from government performance to the impact of immigrants on society and the economy.

"Canadian attitudes are by far the most positive among all countries surveyed," think-tank analyst Delancey Gustin told Postmedia News.

"Canadians really are outliers on pretty much every measure, which is pretty shocking . . . considering that one in five people in Canada was born abroad."

Gustin said the modest hardening of attitudes in Canada was likely linked to the controversy over the landing of a boatload of Tamil migrants in British Columbia last summer.

She pointed out that 67 per cent of respondents felt in 2010 that immigrants help [...]