Canadians Hesitant About Cheap Imports But Support Asian Investment, National Survey Finds

VANCOUVER - Canadians appear to be growing wary of the impacts of globalization. While they still support Canada being open to the inflow of foreign products, capital and people, they are less supportive than they were two years ago. In a national opinion poll released today by the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, an overwhelming 71% said they thought Canadian industries should be protected from imports from countries with very low wages.

The survey, undertaken across Canada at the end of March, found that while a majority of people continue to see a benefit in immigration from Asia, the main source of immigrants to Canada, the support is down sharply. In the latest survey, 57% saw the inflow from Asia as beneficial to Canada. However, in a similar survey in 2006, 78% of respondents agreed that "the overall impact of Asian immigration on Canada is positive." The decline was evident right across Canada, but was steepest in Quebec where support for Asian immigration plummeted from 83% to just 44%.

There is also considerable sentiment against recruiting temporary workers overseas to help ease labour shortages. Nationwide, 52% were opposed while 44% were generally in favour. Only in the Prairie provinces was there support for importing short-term workers. Opinion in B.C., which is facing a shortage of workers, was evenly split for and against. On the other hand, there was strong support for encouraging foreign students who study in Canada to stay on to work here.

Commenting on the results, Yuen Pau Woo, President and Co-CEO of the Asia Pacific Foundation, noted that the latest survey was taken at a time of considerable concern about an economic downturn and job losses, especially in Ontario and Quebec. "Support for globalization tends to follow the state of the economy, and the survey results reflect current concerns about economic conditions," Woo said. It will be a test of government leadership to resist calls for protectionism and to maintain our openness to the world - in trade, investment and immigration, he said.

While the poll revealed hesitancy about the inflow of people from Asia, there was strong support for allowing in Asian capital. Almost twice as many people - 59% in favour to 31% opposed - believe Canada will benefit from more Asian investment. This support was down only slightly from the response two years ago. But those polled this time agree with the government that investment here by enterprises controlled by foreign governments should be restricted: 64% supported special curbs on government-controlled foreign business while 25% opposed any special conditions.

Contradicting the general trend of sagging support for a more open economy, in two areas where Canada is undertaking projects that directly support globalization - the development of the West Coast Gateway ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert and an Atlantic Gateway on the East Coast - public support was strongly favourable.

The survey for the Asia Pacific Foundation was carried out between March 15 and March 20, 2008, by Angus Reid Strategies which conducted an online survey among a randomly selected, representative sample of 2,659 adult Canadians. The margin of error for the total sample is +/- 2%, 19 times out of 20. The results were statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and regional Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. The survey includes samples of 602 adult residents of Atlantic Canada, 605 adult residents of Quebec, 619 adult residents of Ontario, and 640 adult residents of British Columbia. The margin