Poll: Canada over-accommodates minorities

Published: April 17, 2008 at 12:30 PM
Order reprints
OTTAWA, April 17 (UPI) -- Visible minorities in Canada get too much government attention, a majority of Canadians said in a Globe and Mail/CTV News poll published Thursday.

Asked if the country makes too many accommodations for visible non-Caucasian minorities, 61 percent of people overall said yes, while in Quebec, the yes votes accounted for 72 percent, the newspaper said.

Forty-seven percent of 1,000 people polled said newcomers integrate into Canadian life at an acceptable pace, but 45 percent felt the opposite, saying immigrants hold on to their customs and traditions too long.

Opinions varied among urban and rural Canadians on whether accepting diverse ethnic and religious groups enriched the country. Among people living in cities of more than 1 million, 65 percent agreed, compared with 53 percent who live in communities of fewer than 30,000.

The most recent census data indicates Canada's population of 33.4 million is composed of 16 percent visible minorities. Respondents were asked if that was too much, and 55 percent said it didn't matter. Ten percent said it was too small and 9 percent said it was too much.

The poll was conducted Thursday through Sunday, and has a 3.1 percent margin of error, the report said.


© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


Report: Rowe won't attend Jackson memorial (<1 min)
Indonesia province declares AIDS emergency (2 min)
China violence death toll rises to 156 (3 min)
U.S., Russia reach accord on Afghanistan (6 min)
Blasts kill 7 U.S. troops in Afghanistan (7 min)
Brussels studies derivatives reform (10 min)
Rare sheep may aid medical diagnostics (13 min)
US and Russia agree to reduce their number of nuclear warheads, which makes Obama look good and...
New University of Chicago policy allows men and women to share dorm rooms. Giggity 101
What happens when some loser posts a comment saying "we need to take the country back from these...
Marion Barry is going with the "biatch changed her mind about a weekend vacation" defense. Wait,...
"I got seven ****ing cows out, maybe going to the ***king highway And you need to let everybody...
Saudi Arabia acknowledges Israel's existence long enough to promise to ignore any Israeli jets on...