Is multiculturalism a plus? It is in Canada, helping boost its identity, new report indicates

Canada fans celebrate a 6-0 victory in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group B match against Qatar in Vancouver on June 18. A new study has found a large majority of Canadians feel multiculturalism helps boost the country's identity. (Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

Photo: (Fran Santiago/Getty Images)

Hanna Lee (new window) · CBC News

Mahak Bhateja says Canada's culture helped her adjust to her new home after she moved from India.

One thing I really like about this country is the people are very welcoming and they were very supportive, the Toronto resident said.

Bhateja's experience is backed by the findings of a new report that indicates about two-thirds of Canadians agree multiculturalism has contributed positively to the country's identity.

The Canadian Diversity Study 2026, released Tuesday, was conducted by the Environics Institute and Global Migration Institute at Toronto Metropolitan University (new window)

The 49-page report is based on online surveys with 6,818 adult Canadians between March 4 and April 24. The results were weighted to be representative of Canada's population according to the 2021 census.

The findings cover a range of issues relating to multiculturalism, from different perspectives, including from immigrants and people of various racial identities.

The results come amid changing attitudes toward immigration, which became a wedge issue in Canadian politics after the population rapidly increased during and in the years after the COVID-19 pandemic. Indeed, only about 20 per cent of Canadians in the diversity study expressed wholly positive opinions about immigration.

But even among those who felt more negatively about the issue, a majority believed multiculturalism has a positive impact on Canada.

What we found is that concern about the numbers of immigrants who had been coming was not translating into a more broad-based concern with diversity, said Andrew Parkin, executive director of the Environics Institute.

Recent backlash over immigration

Canada's population drop last year, by 0.2 per cent (new window), marked the first time the country saw an annual net decline in residents since Confederation.

The population fell again in the first quarter of this year (new window), by 0.1 per cent, reflecting a decrease in both immigration and births compared to deaths.

During Justin Trudeau's time as prime minister, the federal government drastically increased immigration due to a (new window) labour shortage after the pandemic. Ottawa loosened restrictions on non-permanent residents, triggering a spike in international students and temporary foreign workers.

WATCH | How Canada's approach to immigration has changed:

The changing landscape of immigration in Canada

February 5|Duration3:59Canada has shifted its approach to immigration, with fewer international students and fewer permanent residency targets. Rupa Banerjee is the Canada Research Chair in economic inclusion, employment and entrepreneurship of Canada’s immigrants at Toronto Metropolitan University. She joined Saskatoon Morning to talk about the evolution of immigration in Canada.

As a result, the population grew by about one million people a year for three years in a row, flouting the trajectory of other developed countries whose populations were shrinking — and aging — due to low birth rates.

The surge has tested the country's housing market as well as its infrastructure, as the health-care system was strained (new window) trying to keep up and youth unemployment soared. One survey from late 2025 found that nearly three-quarters (new window) of Canadians supported reducing the number of new immigrants.

As backlash mounted, Trudeau subsequently announced new measures reducing both temporary and permanent residents arriving in the country. Prime Minister Mark Carney further reduced those targets.

Still, when asked about their vision for Canada, 60 per cent of Canadians agreed that the country should be fully welcoming to immigrants from around the world.

First-generation immigrants were more likely to agree with that sentiment, at 73 per cent, compared to 65 per cent of the second generation and 51 per cent of non-immigrants.

Joshua Scantlebury told CBC News that his grandmother immigrated to Canada in the 1970s with her son, his dad.

I come from Jamaican and Bajan heritage, so it's nice to have the Caribbean here alongside a bunch of other continents and countries, he said in Toronto.

It's all great, and I think it's what makes Canada, Canada.

When selecting immigrants, the country should focus more on ability rather than country of origin, survey respondents said. Sixty-five per cent said Ottawa should prioritize immigrants' education and skills, regardless of where they come from.

There have long been concerns that policymakers have been solely focused on bringing in more people to Canada in an effort to mask the country's slumping birth rate and sputtering economic growth.

But economists say that to ensure future growth, we have to do more than just allow more immigrants in.

Applicants at the CNE’s Job Fair wait in line at the Enercare in Toronto, on July 30, 2025. CNE has already received more than 54,000 online applications, the most-ever, and a direct reflection of the current labour market. (Alex Lupul/CBC)

Canada's relatively weak capital investments and productivity growth suggest the country isn't able to use increased immigration to its advantage, according to a 2024 C.D. Howe Institute publication (new window).

Immigration policy that solely looks to increase the labour force is unlikely to improve the average standard of living in the long term, according to that study. The goal should be to increase what's known as the human capital, or skill level, of the overall population, it said.

Canada's economic-class immigration system should return to its successful roots by prioritizing highly skilled newcomers based on expected earnings levels.

Canada still important to Canadians' identity

Still, a large majority of respondents to the diversity study found the country very or somewhat important to their sense of identity, at 87 per cent. That varied little among demographics, whether the respondent was a third-generation Canadian or had recently immigrated.

That held true even as other identities, like language or ethnicity, remained important to almost the same proportion of respondents.

The researchers noted that ongoing social studies can help inform politicians and citizens about the country's state as it goes through challenges.

Rajat Chaturvedi, Bhateja's husband, echoed that sentiment.

Canada embraces people of different [cultures], he said. You get to meet them and you learn so much from … their experiences. It definitely is a better place.