Nearly half of recent newcomers to Canada say they are worried about not getting job opportunities due to calls for

reduction in immigration

by some politicians and some are worried the country could follow the United States’ recent crackdown, according to a recent Leger Marketing Inc. survey.

“That anxiety is real,” said Lisa Covens, a senior vice-president at Leger who led the study of about 2,000 temporary residents, such as foreign students and workers, and permanent residents and new Canadians. “When the political debate starts to question your contribution, it sort of shakes your sense of security, even if their personal experience has largely been positive in Canada. So, it’s concerning.”

The fear of not getting a job is higher among

foreign students

and workers, with 76 per cent of them saying they are worried, while 42 per cent of permanent residents and 29 per cent of those who recently became Canadian citizens share similar worries.

“Most new newcomers do feel personally welcomed,” Covens said. “But the rising anti-immigrant rhetoric globally is impacting newcomers in Canada.”

For example, she said some of the newcomers’ concerns seem to be linked to the “headlines that they are seeing around them,” even though they are often talking about what’s happening in the U.S. About four in 10 newcomers believe the recent crackdown by the U.S. on immigrants might also happen in Canada.

Canada’s latest immigration plan, released earlier this month, focuses more on transitioning temporary residents who are already in Canada into permanent residents as opposed to bringing in more people from outside.

The government almost halved the number of temporary residents it wants to bring in, from 673,650 in 2025 to 385,000 in 2026 and 370,000 in 2027 and 2028.

For permanent residents — people who tend to eventually become citizens — the headline targets were similar to last year at 380,000 people in each of 2026, 2027 and 2028.

However, Ottawa also intends to provide permanent residency to 33,000 work-permit holders and 115,000 people categorized as “protected persons in Canada” in 2027 and 2028 through one-time programs. This is likely to push the number of newcomers higher than the headline number of 380,000.

From a financial perspective, Leger said there is still room for financial institutions to partner with newcomers since a

lmost half of them still have investments in their country of origin. Of this group, 43 per cent are students, 37 per cent are permanent residents and 22 per cent are new Canadians.

“It does seem that money is kind of moving as people become citizens and are here longer,” said Covens.

  • Canada’s new immigration targets likely higher than headline number
  • Canada to announce new immigration targets. What’s the right number?

However, 30 per cent of newcomers were surprised at the fees charged by lenders due to everyday banking, and 17 and 15 per cent of them found it challenging to access credit cards and

mortgages,

respectively.

“It’s not 80 per cent, but that’s almost two in 10 people finding it challenging,” Covens said. “That’s a big chunk that still needs to figure things out.”

• Email: nkarim@postmedia.com