87 per cent of newcomers to Canada face discrimination: report

追加: 2026-05-05

[00:00:00]For decades, Canada sold itself as a multicultural success story, but this new survey suggests that promise isn't landing the same way for everyone arriving today. For many newcomers to Canada, discrimination isn't the exception, it's the experience. It's called Canada's new voices, a survey from WPP Canada based on more than 150 in-depth interviews with people who arrived after 2021, aimed at helping businesses better understand this growing population. It found nearly nine in 10 newcomers, about 87% say they've experienced discrimination, with the biggest triggers being race, language, or accent, and having their work experience or education dismissed. It means that we still have a lot of work to be done.

[00:00:50]And our purpose is really to bring some of these things to light. The report also revealed something deeper, a growing identity struggle. Many newcomers say being Canadian isn't about history or symbols, it's about values like kindness, fairness, and inclusion.

[00:01:06]Though those surveyed said they felt you can't truly belong unless you're born here, creating what researchers called a birthright barrier. As we began to dig into the life of those newcomers, obviously we began to unearth all of these feelings. So it is very much a qualitative data, but it's also quantitative as well. Some people were saying that, well, I see some ads, I even don't understand the humor. All these ads, all these commercials are created for those who are born in Canada, who understand.

[00:01:40]And these people they were saying, I feel excluded. That lack of belonging is now creating a divide. Researchers say about a quarter of newcomers are pulling back, sticking mainly to their own communities, while nearly a third say they're trying to integrate at any cost, sometimes losing parts of themselves in the process. Only about half say they found a healthy balance. Let's have conversation at our dinner tables and on our way to work on on how we can make this more inclusive for newcomers as they navigate this very challenging time.

[00:02:19]Researchers say that growing sense of not belonging is now making some newcomers reconsider staying in Canada at all. Right now, less than 1/3 of newcomers say they plan to settle here permanently. Melissa Cabraly, City News, Toronto.