CBC: What newcomers think about Canada's immigration challenge

As we begin a new year and the run-up to a federal election, we know there will be much debate over how Canada should best deal with pressing matters like affordability, housing, health care and the threat of U.S. tariffs.

Immigration is another one of those political issues sure to make headlines in 2025 here and south of the border — and it's a topic over which Canadian attitudes have shifted dramatically in recent years.

In recent months, the federal government has taken measures to cap the number of new arrivals by reducing the number of new permanent residents and making changes to the temporary foreign worker program. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cited the need to stabilize population growth while housing stocks catch up and to rein in abuses of the system by "bad actors."

But amid all the passionate debates and policy proposals, a key voice has been absent: that of immigrants themselves. This set CBC News on a path to ask recent newcomers directly and in depth about their experiences in their adopted country.

We teamed up with Pollara Strategic Insights to conduct a survey of 1,500 people who came to Canada from across the world in the past 10 years: whether as immigrants through government programs; as students on visas; as refugees seeking asylum or as temporary workers.