Public Attitudes Toward Immigrants and Immigration in Smaller Canadian Communities

Headnote

Abstract

Canadian immigration programs are increasingly emphasizing regionalization in order to contribute to the population base of smaller Canadian communities and to address local labour market needs. Despite frequent Canadian national surveys of public attitudes toward immigrants and immigration, however, little is known about the warmth of the welcome presented to immigrants in regions outside of the large metropolises. The current study involved a representative survey of attitudes toward immigrants and immigration in eleven smaller communities across Canada, including Kamloops (BC), Wood Buffalo (AB), Prince Albert (SK), Brandon (MB), Thunder Bay (ON), Greater Sudbury (ON), Saint-Hyacinthe (QC), Bathurst (NB), Charlottetown (PEI), Cape Breton (NS), and St. John's (NL). The study also examined the extent to which individual demographic characteristics and two community variables - the size of the community and the immigrant share of the community population - predicted these attitudes. While there were differences between the surveyed communities, overall, residents of these communities were relatively satisfied with Canada's immigration levels, were quite willing to believe that refugee claimants are "real" refugees and that the Federal Government has control over who can immigrate, and supported bringing in immigrants who have the work skills that the country needs. They were less sure of the integration of immigrants into Canadian society in terms of adopting Canadian values. Younger, female, White and highly educated residents of these communities were more likely to hold positive immigration attitudes. Furthermore, immigrant respondents were more likely to hold positive attitudes toward immigration and less likely to believe that immigrants are not adopting Canadian values and that the government has lost control over who can immigrate. At the community level, residents in communities in which immigrants constitute a higher share of the population were more likely to express negative attitudes toward immigrants and immigration. Overall, the findings provide some optimism for the positive reception that immigrants are likely to receive in smaller Canadian communities. They also demonstrate, however, that attitudes in these communities are not uniform and provide information for community leaders and policy-makers about who is most likely to benefit from interventions to promote more positive attitudes.

Keywords: Attitudes toward immigrants, attitudes toward immigration, welcoming communities, small communities, regionalization.

Résumé

Les programmes d'immigration canadiens mettent de plus en plus l'accent sur...