Public attitudes towards immigration in Canada: A false or true positive?

Contrary to the experiences in most European countries and the U.S., public attitudes towards immigration in Canada have grown increasingly positive over the last two decades. However, several studies have found that while most of the population has a positive opinion on immigration, there is a significant difference in public attitudes depending on an individual’s education, age or political ideology. Studies also have shown that different factors, including economic and cultural concerns, play an essential role in influencing public opinion towards immigration, and that this has been shown to shift over time.

To understand the reasons behind changing public opinion, researchers have explored whether they are driven by changing demographics, ideological shifts or simply individuals changing their minds. Some scholars have taken a further step to examine what public support is like towards specific categories of immigration, racial groups or regions, showing that, at the finer grain, public support might not be as positive as Canada’s general attitudes suggest.

This workshop aims to address the following questions:

• What are the main factors that explain the positive change in public attitudes towards immigration in Canada?
• Are there differences in attitudes towards refugees versus (economic) immigrants?
• Should we look closer at the attitudes of people in smaller communities?
• What can we learn from qualitative and quantitative perspectives?

Note: Limited in-person seating is available only for presenters and internal staff. We invite all other interested participants to join us online via Zoom.