Refugee Numbers, Asylum Claims in Canada in near free fall and trust of refugees remains low

November 18, 2025

Canada's federal government immigration plan for 2026–2028 looks to stabilize permanent resident admissions and curb the numbers of temporary residents that were seen as addressing labor shortages. The plan favors economic immigration while preserving a stable level for family reunification and a targeted allocation for refugees and protected persons (13%), deemed necessary to meet Canada's humanitarian commitments. For the first 8 months of 2025 the percentage of refugees in the overall migration intake was at 12.5% compared with 15% for the first 8 months of 2024. As the percentage of refugees admitted declined, the numbers of asylum claimants has gone into a veritable free fall (see slide 6). As the shift is occurring, the Canadian public exhibits low trust in refugees when compared with economic immigrants and international students. A Leger survey for the Association for Canadian Studies reveals that more Canadians say they distrust rather than trust refugees. Trust of refugees is especially low amongst immigrants. The survey was conducted by Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies with 1537 respondents in Canada over the period October 24-26, 2025 A margin of error cannot be associated with a non-probability sample in a panel survey for comparison purposes. A probability sample of 1537 respondents would have a margin of error of ±2.5%, 19 times out of 20.