Canadian public divided on denying social services to temporary residents: Poll

The poll published found that 46% of respondents favoured withholding access to provincially funded programmes from temporary workers, as against 51% opposing such a measure

Toronto: Canadian public opinion appears to be divided on denying social services, including public healthcare to temporary residents and requiring proof of citizenship to voting in elections after those issues were raised during a referendum in the province of Alberta last month.

Attendees react during a Forever Canadian referendum night event in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, on October 19. (Bloomberg)

The poll published on Saturday found that 46% of respondents favoured withholding access to provincially funded programmes from temporary workers, as against 51% opposing such a measure.

These were among the findings of a survey conducted by the agency Nanos Research for the outlet Globe and Mail.

Refusing public services like healthcare or education to temporary residents, including workers and asylum seekers, was not contested in Canadian politics before they were out to a vote in the October 20 Alberta referendum. The principal question in that referendum was whether Alberta would remain a province of Canada or the provincial government would commence the legal process required under the Canadian constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not it should separate from the country. That proposition was rejected by nearly 75% of voters.

However, they also voted in favour of other questions, including denial of public services to temporary residents, giving provinces greater say in immigrant intake and requiring proof of citizenship for voting. Those outcomes appear to have influenced overall attitude towards immigration.

Given that this was never considered in Canadian politics earlier, the level of support for denying public services to that cohort is reflective of the anti-immigration sentiment that has emerged in Canada after the government under then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, surged intake particularly with regard to temporary residents, including workers and international students. “You’ll see many Canadians that agree with Albertans or have the same degree of divisions or lack of consensus on these issues,” the agency’s chief data scientist Nik Nanos said, adding, “Generally, Albertans are not the outliers on this.”

The poll also found 61% of those sampled expressing support for requiring voters to supply proof of citizenship in provincial elections.

Immigration levels have hit the headlines in recent days after the new three-year plan was announced by the Canadian government earlier this month. There has been opposition to Ottawa introducing a one-time policy of transitioning 200,000 temporary residents already in the country to permanent status. The additional intake has been assailed by the principal opposition Conservative Party while it has been defended by Prime Minister Mark Carney.