Canadians are showing little sympathy for employers who claim they cannot find workers and must turn to foreign labour, according to new federal research that suggests public sentiment on immigration is hardening.A 2025 annual tracking study commissioned by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada found focus group participants were largely unconvinced by arguments that lowering immigration levels would hurt businesses dependent on migrant workers.Blacklock's Reporter says the qualitative research, conducted by Ipsos at a cost of $162,467, reported that even Canadians with relatively moderate views on immigration were “unpersuaded” by employer complaints about labour shortages.Participants questioned whether low wages and poor working conditions were the real drivers behind staffing gaps at businesses relying on foreign labour. A small number went further, suggesting temporary foreign workers may suppress wages for Canadians and that some employers use the Temporary Foreign Worker Program to reduce costs.Overall sentiment toward immigration skewed more negative than positive, researchers found, with many participants expressing concern that “too many” newcomers have arrived in recent years.In an effort to test attitudes, researchers presented focus groups with potential consequences of reducing immigration levels, including possible hardship for employers. .Participants were asked to weigh trade-offs. Instead, many ranked increased taxation and longer health-care wait times as their top concerns.By contrast, they showed the least concern for potential negative impacts on small or rural communities and on businesses dependent on foreign labour.Among participants most skeptical of immigration, some rejected the premise of trade-offs altogether, arguing that many of the highlighted challenges were already longstanding problems. Even those who were less hardened in their views but believed permanent residency targets were too high remained unconvinced by warnings of economic fallout.The findings come after cabinet introduced tighter restrictions in 2024 on migrant hiring, including cutting certain 12-month work permits to six months and reducing the cap on low-wage temporary foreign workers to 20% of payroll from 30%. Employers applying for permits were also required to demonstrate they had attempted to recruit Canadians and asylum seekers with valid work permits already in the country.Researchers noted that participants holding the most negative views on immigration also tended to express broader distrust of government administration.The report suggests that, despite repeated warnings from business groups about labour shortages, many Canadians remain unconvinced that expanding foreign worker programs is the solution — and are instead questioning whether employers should raise wages or improve working conditions to attract domestic workers.
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