70% in Edmonton, Calgary feel rate of immigration needs to decrease: CityNews poll

Alberta’s premier has called on Canada’s Liberal government to slow the rate of immigration, and the vast majority of people in Edmonton and Calgary agree, according to a new Maru public opinion poll for CityNews.

Danielle Smith asked Ottawa to “immediately reintroduce sensible and restrained immigration policies,” as part of a dinner-hour TV address on Sept. 17.

“The Trudeau government’s unrestrained, open-border policies, permitting well over one million newcomers each year into Canada is causing significant challenges,” Smith said before announcing an $8.6 billion investment in new schools.

The Maru survey of 400 people in Calgary and 400 in Edmonton concluded in early September that roughly 70 per cent think Canada should reduce immigration or stop it altogether.

“Now it’s very hard for the house, for the hospital. Too many people now here in Edmonton,” Pedro Del Cruz told CityNews at the Mill Woods LRT Station. He moved to Canada from the Philippines 30 years ago.

“I don’t think there’s too much immigration. I think it gives a different vibe to the city,” said Maria Verwindt, who came to Canada from the Netherlands in the 1970s.

Alberta’s population grew by more than 200,000 people in 2023. That’s a 4.4 per cent increase, by far the fastest growth in the country, according to Statistics Canada.

Smith says Alberta does not have enough houses, schools, hospitals, or jobs for everyone.

But critics say Smith is scapegoating immigrants, when it was her government that ran a campaign calling for people to move to Alberta.

“We have a government that is not willing to invest or to plan for that growth and now… really this a bit of a dog whistle, to point at one part of the population to distract from their own failures in governing,” said Lizette Tejada, the Alberta NDP’s critic for immigration and multiculturalism.

Mixed messages?

Smith herself has delivered mixed messages on immigration. She recently asked Ottawa to approve more newcomers for economic reasons, and in January she proudly proclaimed a desire to grow Alberta to 10 million people by 2050 so the province would gain political power.

“Let’s have an aggressive target to double our population. People are going to want to come here, and we have to embrace them, and we want to build this place out,” Smith said on the Shaun Newman Podcast in January.

Smith backtracked on those comments in August after receiving heavy criticism from the political right, including People’s Party Leader Maxime Bernier who called her a “fake conservative.”

WATCH: Smith says Alberta can’t handle more asylum seekers

Edmonton city councillor Anne Stevenson knows Albertans are struggling to find doctors and school spaces but pointed out those are the responsibility of Smith’s government.

“Rather than immigration, the most likely cause of that is chronic underinvestment in the social systems that our communities rely on,” Stevenson told CityNews.

“I think looking to blame a specific group is unlikely accurate and can lead to further division in our community.”

Tim Cartmell, also an Edmonton city councillor, said rapid population growth has strained city services as well and contributed to property tax increases.

He believes cities need more money from the province for things like roads, transit and policing.

“All I know is that there’s more people here and all I know is that the provincial government invited those people to come here. So here we are. What we could really use is a little bit of support to provide amenities and services,” Cartmell said.

More poll results

The poll was broken down into types of immigration. It found support for more international students and temporary foreign workers is just five per cent in Calgary, for example.

Immigration for more skilled workers scored higher but just 17 per cent in Alberta’s big cities want more of that.

Roughly half of Edmontonians and Calgarians believe immigrants are having a positive impact, but as many as 30 per cent think immigration should be stopped altogether. 

In Mill Woods, one of Alberta’s most diverse neighbourhoods, many CityNews spoke with said immigration is fine, but the premier’s comments were not.

“I think that’s wrong for her to say because we’ve been short on health care and education for quite some time,” said an Edmontonian named Doris.

“If housing is a concern, it’s the government who’s to be blamed, not immigrants. If hospitals and schools are lagging behind, it’s the government,” said Parminder Bassi, who moved to Edmonton from Surrey in 2023.

“We have tons of space, tons of land, tons of opportunity. Why not give it to other people?” said Chantel Frzop.

Calgary’s mayor thinks Smith blaming Alberta’s growing pains on immigration is unfair and could be harmful to newcomers.

“To say that there’s too much immigration also neglects to add that a lot of people who move to this country are valued for their skills and for the services they provide us. This country was built on immigration,” Jyoti Gondek told CityNews.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently announced cuts to the number of temporary workers and student permits.

Still, Federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller believes asylum seekers should be spread out across Canada. Based on current population, Alberta’s share could be as high as 28,000 people — but Smith has also objected to that.