How Canada’s fractured immigration consensus is starting to show up at ballot boxes

It’s no secret the long-held Canadian consensus on immigration has fractured — pulled apart by a rapid increase in new arrivals post-pandemic and growing affordability challenges. Now, that fracture is starting to show up at the ballot box.

The Parti Québécois won a minority mandate in Quebec on a platform that included promises of tighter immigration controls, which the party linked to protecting French culture and easing pressure on public services and housing.

And when Albertans head to the polls Monday to vote on whether to hold a future referendum on separation from Canada, they’ll also be answering five separate questions on immigration being pushed by the government of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

— Should provincially funded services should be restricted to citizens, permanent residents and those with “Alberta-approved” immigration status?

— Should non-permanent immigrants should be charged a fee for accessing health care and education services?

— Should non-permanent residents should have to reside in Alberta for at least 12 months before qualifying for provincially funded social supports?

— Should voters should have to present proof of citizenship when voting provincially?

Jason Kenney, a former Alberta premier and federal immigration minister, said Canada needs a broader debate on immigration policy based on facts.

“We do need a serious debate on immigration because demography is destiny. There are very few things that are more important,” Kenney told The Canadian Press in an interview.

“But we have to do it in a disciplined and respectful, thoughtful way, as much as possible, based on evidence and data and experience around the world.”

Kenney warned that debates on immigration policy can easily become sidetracked by more extreme political views — by accusations of racism from the far left and by actual racism on the far right.

While Kenney said he doesn’t see the immigration questions on the Alberta ballot as race-based or xenophobic, the Alberta separatist movement itself is something else entirely.

“If you listen to the key separatist leaders like Mitch Sylvestre, who’s the leader of the primary separatist organization, he says that in his republic of Alberta, no one will have citizenship unless you’re born there,” Kenney said.

“So I do think there are some currents on the extreme right of Alberta politics that we should all be concerned about. I do not think that necessarily means we cannot have an adult, grown-up conversation about immigration policy.”