Poll: most Toronto-area residents say their communities offer enough support to newcomers

TORONTO — A new poll finds that most residents of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area believe their communities provide enough support to newcomers to Canada in areas such as integration, language learning and job searching. The overall rating of services remained average, however, amid a clear division over housing and government funding.

According to a poll conducted by Canada Pulse Insights, support for settlement programs does not mean residents are fully satisfied with their performance. Many gave their communities middling grades even as they acknowledged that basic services are available.

Language and job support receive positive ratings

Sixty-one per cent of participants said the language-learning options available to newcomers are sufficient, while 57 per cent said settlement and integration programs meet needs at the required level.

Fifty-six per cent said the help provided for finding jobs is sufficient, compared with 52 per cent who expressed the same view about support for refugee resettlement.

The results reflect participants' views on how adequate services are within their communities. They do not directly measure the number of programs or their actual effectiveness for each newcomer.

Housing divides Toronto and suburban residents

On suitable and affordable housing for newcomers, 28 per cent of Toronto residents said the available options are insufficient, compared with 25 per cent in the rest of the GTA.

On the other hand, 29 per cent of participants in both areas considered the support provided in this area to be more than it should be, which reflects differing assessments of newcomers' needs and the scale of resources devoted to them.

These figures do not mean that most respondents consider housing to be available at suitable prices. They express an assessment of community support aimed at newcomers, not the condition of the housing market for all residents.

Notable difference over help for refugees

The poll showed broad similarity between the views of participants born in Canada and those who immigrated to it, with one clear exception: support for refugee resettlement.

Thirty-eight per cent of immigrant participants said their communities provide more support than necessary to refugees, compared with 30 per cent of those born in Canada.

Forty-nine per cent of immigrants said the level of support is appropriate, while 12 per cent considered it insufficient. Among those born in Canada, the corresponding figures were 53 and 16 per cent.

The poll did not specify how long the immigrant participants have lived in the country, which limits the ability to interpret the differences by settlement experience or date of arrival.

Split over federal funding

Toronto residents were divided almost evenly over federal funding for receiving newcomers: 29 per cent said it is excessive, 29 per cent said it is insufficient, and 42 per cent considered it at the appropriate level.

In the rest of the GTA, 31 per cent said funding is higher than it should be, compared with 23 per cent who considered it insufficient and 46 per cent who described it as appropriate.

The 35-to-54 age group had the highest share of those who see the support as excessive, at 39 per cent, compared with 23 per cent among younger respondents and 28 per cent among older ones.

Middling grades despite praise for services

Forty-three per cent of participants in Toronto and the surrounding area gave their communities a C when assessing support for newcomers.

In Toronto, 11 per cent gave an A and 29 per cent a B, while 11 per cent gave a D and six per cent a failing grade.

In the suburbs, A and B grades stood at about 14 and 29 per cent respectively, while four per cent gave their communities a failing grade. The average rating across the two areas was a C+.

Responses were collected between Sept. 14 and 25, 2026, before the most recent federal budget was announced. The sample included 510 adults in Toronto and 825 in surrounding areas, including Peel, Durham, York and Halton, through an online panel.

The report cited margins comparable to those of a similar probability sample, but an online poll does not have a directly comparable probability-based margin of error.

The government later announced a target of welcoming 380,000 permanent residents a year, along with an additional plan to regularize the status of up to 200,000 people already in Canada during 2027. The poll results therefore do not reflect direct reactions to those decisions.

The findings highlight a challenge for local and federal governments: maintaining services that many consider sufficient, while addressing the disagreement over housing and funding and improving the quality of support on the ground.