Immigration Levels Plan Day is Here: This is What’s Top of Mind for Canadians Today

Immigration a Lesser Concern for Canadians Coming into the Budget Release 

A new Abacus Data poll released ahead of the federal budget shows that immigration is still a significant concern for Canadians. It isn’t the top concern, though, and how much people worry about it depends heavily on where they live and how they vote. 

The top concerns Canadians are facing overall are:  

• Cost of living – this is the biggest concern for Canadians, with 63% selecting this as one of the top three concerns.  

• The economy (38%) 

• Trump and his administration (38%) 

• Housing affordability and accessibility (33%) 

• Healthcare (31%); and then  

• Immigration (24%). 

While immigration is out of the top five when it comes to the leading concerns for Canadians, it still ranks ahead of crime and public safety; job security and unemployment; climate change and the environment; inequality and poverty; the rise of AI; China and Russia; and Indigenous reconciliation. So, immigration still ranks quite highly among the concerns Canadians are facing today.  

Does This Mean Immigration Levels Will Increase? 

No, it doesn’t. The Abacus data was released today, November 5th – the same day the budget and levels are being released. It’s highly unlikely that it would have any bearing on the government’s planning at this point.  

However, it’s likely the government has been keeping a pulse on public sentiment towards immigration over time. Given that it’s slowly been improving throughout 2027, I would rate it as more likely than last year that the government will increase any of the planned immigration levels in 2027. But, odds are still lower than in previous years, and we’ll have to wait and see what happens when they release the budget and immigration targets later today.  

Other Key Insights from the Abacus Data 

• 31% in Alberta vs. 18% in B.C. rank immigration a top issue 

• 40% of Conservative voters vs. 14% of Liberal voters see it as a major threat 

• 57% of strong government disapprovers see it as a leading threat.  

In other words, how Canadians vote seems to have an impact on their perception of immigration. We covered this recently, noting that the Canadian Conservative Party wanted lower levels of immigration overall in the upcoming Immigration Levels Plan.  

Where they live also plays a role. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the recent referendum results, immigration ranks higher as a top issue in Alberta (31%). It also ranks higher in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (30%) than in British Columbia (18%) or Quebec (20%).  

Cost of Living the Highest Priority for Canadians in the Budget 

The Abacus poll data also revealed what Canadians are hoping to see in the federal budget – though it’s worth noting that most Canadians are pessimistic about whether the government can do anything about the cost of living in Canada.  

Here’s what Canadians expect to see:  

• About 44% anticipate additional help with groceries and other everyday essentials. Some other commentators expect the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit to be increased.  

• 48% expect gas tax relief measures to continue. 

• 55% expect measures to speed up housing construction. 

• 28% believe the budget is likely to include lower taxes for individuals and families.  

Some also expect to see greater federal investment in education and healthcare. These expenses are managed at the provincial level with federal funding, so this ‘investment’ would be in the form of federal transfers to the provinces.  

What’s Next? 

Canada’s finance minister revealed that the budget this year is called Masters of our Destiny Budget 2026. It will be tabled in Parliament at 4pm Eastern today, and it’s likely there will be a flurry of governmental press releases and media releases following that.  

If you want to learn what’s happened when it comes to Canadian immigration, join our email community to get our insights as they drop.