Most Canadians support immigration of STEM workers from Asia: report
Credit to Author: Joanne Lee-Young| Date: Thu, 31 Oct 2019 00:27:07 +0000
Many Canadians support the immigration of skilled and talented workers from Asia, especially ones who have a background in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, concludes the latest gauge of Canadian attitudes toward Asia.
But the Asia Pacific Foundation’s latest 2019 poll also finds a significant level of opposition to the idea and said that view needs to be dealt with by government.
A random survey of over 1,520 Canadian adults found 53 per cent think the “benefits outweigh concerns regarding Asian talent immigration,” the report said. But “a sizable 36 per cent … feel otherwise.”
“It’s important to look at the concerns raised here. We need to address them,” said Sreyoshi Dey, program manager, surveys and polling at the Vancouver non-profit that focuses on building ties, especially economic ones, between Canada and Asia.
The report concluded some of the primary concerns of those surveyed “over recruiting Asian talent are increased labour market competition and foreign influence on Canadian culture.”
“Policies extending Canadian workers’ job protection would mitigate the impact of changes in the labour market and further protect Canadians who are vulnerable to international competition. In cases of concern about Asian influence on Canadian culture, … actions can be taken to promote Canadian culture and values among incoming international workers through social integration practices, education, and training, thereby enabling them to adapt to life in Canada.”
“On the other hand, the concerns about Asian influence on Canadian culture may be driven by a lack of awareness and could be alleviated … through education and other public programs,” said the report.
The poll showed that the Canadians surveyed were less receptive to immigration of talented workers from China than from other countries in Asia.
However, Dey and others at the Asia Pacific Foundation were surprised the gap wasn’t wider, considering the trade war between the United States and China and the bilateral tension between Canada and China stemming from the Canadian arrest the chief financial officer of China’s Huawei Technologies Co. at the request of the U.S.
The report didn’t make mention of other sources of recent, China-related unease in Canada such as the mass protests in Hong Kong against the Beijing-backed government or rising concern over internment camps holding an estimated one million Uighur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province.
“Compared to other Asian countries (India, South Korea and the Philippines), support for workers from China falls by approximately 10 percentage points,” said the report. “Chinese investors and international students get support by just under 50 per cent, while the other 50 per cent were either undecided or abstained to give their support.”
Highly educated workers with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering or mathematics from China still received support from 65 per cent of Canadian polled, but this figure was also below those posted by workers of the same kind from the other Asian countries.
But Dey pointed out that only three per cent of those surveyed think that place of birth should be a priority when recruiting international talent and only nine per cent think it should matter when recruiting internationally for STEM skills.
Some 40 per cent of survey respondents said Canada should focus its immigration policy on individual characteristics while 58 per cent said Canada should give priority to at least one characteristic of the immigrants’ origin country and not just individual characteristics. These include focusing on “source countries that uphold values that are important to Canadians, have good bilateral relations with Canada and are of economic importance to Canada.”