Should You Support Immigration If You're an Immigrant?

Increasing numbers of immigrants are taking harder stances against immigration. Why is this happening?

People

Mar 24, 2025

Lavan Kandiah

Other Professional

Toronto, Canada

Immigration has always been a hot-button political issue during tense times in history. In the growth of right-wing politics we’ve seen in recent years, the supposed dangers of immigration and immigrants has played a large role in election campaigns and discussions of why Canada is falling apart at the seams; but an interesting aspect of this is the increasing support that anti-immigration platforms have received from people who are themselves immigrants. This raises an interesting question: why are immigrants increasingly supporting anti-immigration politicians? Does this go against their own interests?

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2024 saw 58% of Canadians say they believed Canada was accepting too many immigrants, the highest measure since 1988. In the US, many immigrant communities, which have mostly been reliably left-leaning in previous years, voted for Trump in large numbers despite his anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies. It may seem counter-intuitive that immigrants who benefited from historical policies that welcomed immigrants and refugees are increasingly turning away from them; but a closer look at the reasons for this indicate that motives are driven by a range of factors.

There’s no doubt that xenophobia and racism have increased in the current political climate. 39% of Canadians in 2023 believed Canada was accepting too many racial minorities; hate crimes have also doubled since 2015. But interestingly, xenophobia or negative attitudes towards foreigners are not the biggest drivers of anti-immigration sentiment; 68% of Canadians thought immigration was a net benefit for the economy, while the number of people who believe immigration has a positive community impact significantly outnumber the ones who don’t; the biggest reservations regarding immigration are about its effect on housing affordability and job availability. We don’t know what percentage of this 68% are immigrants themselves, but it’s clear that a dislike for foreigners or racial minorities alone don’t explain the harder stances we’ve witnessed against immigration. Increased costs of housing, scarce employment opportunities and overstretched health services are often mentioned as motivations for cutting immigration.

It is true that immigration has contributed to increased housing costs in Canada. The government has admitted that its immigration policies in recent years were too high, leading to healthcare and housing strains; increasing immigration, while needed, has also contributed to more competition for jobs. However, the larger issue of chronic underfunding for construction, and the need for immigration to fill particular positions are often brought up as counter-arguments, and by the government itself.

While it is difficult to pinpoint the root cause of such complex issues, immigration is often used as a scapegoat for domestic issues. It is simpler to cut immigration than it is to spend billions on affordable housing or healthcare, especially in times of difficulty. It is also a very common finding throughout history that difficult times lead people to turn inwards and favour more government attention on domestic issues. After 9/11, during the last recession in 2008, and during the migrant crises that began in 2015, xenophobia and attitudes favouring stricter immigration went up in many countries that were accepting refugees and migrants. When people feel under threat, when prices go up, and when jobs are scarce, there is a stronger likelihood that immigration is seen less favourably, due to perception that they bring competition, crime, or receive unfair advantages to get ahead of struggling locals, regardless of how accurate or inaccurate these perceptions are. In Canada, high inflation, layoffs and ever-increasing housing costs have been in the spotlight for several years now, leading many politicians who have centred their campaigns around slowing immigration to see increased support, both from native-born Canadians and naturalised Canadians alike.

While not all opposition to immigration is driven by fear or misinformation, xenophobia and suspicion for foreigners is a strong driving force, and politicians know how to use this to their advantage; there’s a very clear historical pattern of politician approval ratings going up when there’s a perception of a threat to the country, whichever country that may be. This is called the “rally around the flag effect”. Justin Trudeau’s approval ratings went up during Trump’s first threat of tariffs in 2016, and again shot up in 2025; George W. Bush’s approval ratings hit the highest seen in US history immediately after 9/11; several leaders around the world saw approvals jump when COVID first hit. Today, politicians often amplify existing concerns for political gain, and can reliably count on higher approval ratings without doing anything meaningful at all. Unfortunately, much like blanket issues like “the economy” and “people feeling left behind”, immigration is a reliable talking point for politicians to weaponise whenever they want to rally support.

So does an immigrant supporting anti-immigration policies go against their own interests? Yes and no. It is safe to say that individuals who came to Canada as immigrants who have a less favourable attitude towards immigration are responding to economic, social, and political realities that shape their perceptions of immigration; however, these perceptions are often shaped by misunderstandings of the role that immigration plays in exacerbating issues, political scapegoating, and in extreme cases, xenophobia. While it is natural for people to prioritize their own stability and well-being, it is equally important to ensure that discussions concerning immigration are informed by facts rather than assumptions.

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