May 21, 2025 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CALGARY—Recent polls show that the widespread, bipartisan consensus on immigration being in the Canadian public’s interest has lost substantial support. 

A majority of Canadians now believe that immigration harms the country, by increasing scarcity of resources, especially supply and affordability of housing, healthcare, education, and social services. 

Policy changes made in 2015 and after help explain the disenchantment. The proportion of high-skill immigrants has declined, while the total number of newcomers has exploded. Canadian immigration is no longer economically beneficial, as it is dominated by low-skilled, temporary foreign workers and international students. With approximately three million non-permanent residents in Canada—nearly eight percent of Canada’s population—amidst stagnant wages, a shortage of housing, and youth unemployment, the economic case for high immigration has collapsed. 

In Repairing the fray: Improving immigration and citizenship policy in Canada, Dr. Michael Bonner, an expert in immigration policy and a senior fellow with the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy, provides a path forward. But first, he lays out the history of immigration in Canada and provides a comparative analysis of other immigration systems. For example: 

• In the European nations surveyed, it takes between five years (Sweden) and nine years (Denmark) to become a citizen; whereas, in Canada, one may become a citizen in just three years.  
• Anglosphere countries such as New Zealand and Australia place significantly more weight on factors that have the greatest influence on economic and cultural integration; whereas, in practice, Canada has abandoned any robust “points” system.      

Bonner offers 11 recommendations, including: 

1. Lower the annual permanent residency target to a more manageable level. 
2. Strengthen the process of deportation for any non-citizen found guilty of violent crime, supporting terrorism, or expressing hatred for Canada. 
3. Prioritize education that is of high importance to our labour market, when admitting international students. 
4. Phase down and abolish the Temporary Foreign Worker Program permanently. 
5. Re-engineer the points system to emphasize language, age, and domestic education. 

“We have the right and the obligation to raise the value of Canadian citizenship, and to demand more of our citizens,” writes Bonner. “Above all, however, efforts at integration should proceed not from a disliking of other places, but from love of Canada.” 

To arrange for an interview with the report author, please contact:  

Phone: 587-705-5828

Email: media@aristotlefoundation.org