For decades, Canada has sold itself as a multicultural success story, but a new survey suggests that promise isn’t landing the same way for everyone arriving today. For many newcomers, discrimination isn’t an exception; it’s the experience.
The new survey from WPP Canada titled “Canada’s New Voices,” found nearly nine in 10 newcomers say they’ve experienced discrimination.
The survey was conducted based on more than 150 in-depth interviews with people who arrived after 2021 and was aimed at helping businesses better understand the country’s growing population.
The biggest triggers of discrimination were race, language, or an accent and having their work experience or education dismissed.
Language and accents were directly cited in 31 per cent of cases but were underlying triggers potentially facilitating discrimination in up to 80 per cent of all incidents.
The report also reveals a growing identity struggle. Many newcomers say being Canadian isn’t about history or symbols, it’s about values like kindness, fairness, and inclusion.
“It means we still have a lot of work to be done. and our purpose is to really bring some of these things to light,” said WPP President Kevin Johnson.
“As we began to dig into the lives of those newcomers obviously, we began to unearth all of these feelings. So, it’s very much qualitative data but it’s also quantitative as well,” said Johnson.
Although some, 16 per cent, of those surveyed said they felt you can’t truly belong unless you’re born here, creating what researchers call a birthright barrier.
“Many people think the topic has already been explored from above and beyond from all perspectives. It’s not. Some people were saying, ‘I see some ads. I don’t understand the humor, all these ads all these commercials are created for those people born in Canada who understand,’ and these people were saying I feel excluded,” said Aleksei Rogatinskii, VP of Strategy at WPP.
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, and potentially limiting their opportunities and community connections.
While nearly a third say they’re trying to integrate at any cost … sometimes losing parts of themselves in the process. Only about half, 46 per cent, say they’ve found a healthy balance.
“I want this to create conversation amongst the general population. Let’s have conversations at our diner tables and on our way to work on how we can make this more inclusive for newcomers as [they]navigate this very challenging time,” said Johnson.
Researchers say that growing sense of not belonging is now making some newcomers to reconsider staying in Canada at all as less than one-third, 29 per cent, of newcomers say they plan to settle here permanently.
