Reassessing Immigration in Canada: Goals, Perceptions, and Policy Challenges
The Max Bell School's 2025 annual Jack Layton Lecture, in partnership with the Douglas Coldwell Layton Foundation.
Reassessing Immigration in Canada:听Goals, Perceptions, and Policy Challenges with听
- David Coletto,听the founder, Chair, and CEO of Abacus Data.听He is one of Canada鈥檚 best known and most respected public opinion analysts, pollsters, and social researchers. He works with some of North America and Europe鈥檚 biggest and most respected brands, associations, and unions and is frequently called upon by news organizations, to assess public opinion as events happen.听Earning a PhD in Political Science from the University of Calgary in 2010, David is an expert on survey research methodology, corporate reputation, public affairs, voting behaviour, and the intersection of public opinion and public policy. He is a professor in the Graduate Program of Political Management at Carleton University where he teaches courses in polling, political marketing, and designing public affairs strategies.
- Mikal听Skuterud听is a labour economist in the Department of Economics at the University of Waterloo. His research focuses on immigration policy, job search, and labour market regulations affecting working hours. He developed an early interest in labour markets while working in a warehouse in Mississauga, leading to studies in Labour Studies at McMaster University and Economics at UBC. His PhD research at McMaster examined the impact of Sunday shopping deregulation and internet-based job search. He previously worked at Statistics Canada, where his interest in immigrant labour market integration deepened鈥攁 theme that continues to guide his research today.
- Shamira Madhany joined WES in 2018 after more than two decades of government service in Ontario. Her last position was Assistant Deputy Minister for Health, Education, and Social Policy, in Cabinet Office. She also served as Chief Diversity and Accessibility Officer, ensuring that 62,000 employees met accessibility and inclusion goals. Shamira has extensive experience working with employer associations, licensing bodies, non-profit organizations, and the post-secondary sector. She served as the chief architect of several government programs that enable internationally educated professionals to obtain employment in their fields. Shamira is a guest lecturer at Queen鈥檚 University and the University of Toronto Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy.
The event will be moderated by听Jennifer Welsh, Director of the Max Bell School of Public Policy.
Since the late 1990s there has been something close to a Canadian consensus around immigration, with surveys consistently showing a substantial majority of the population in favour of relatively high levels of immigration. But that consensus has come under strain in the past few years, with growing unease about the purported costs of immigration, and skepticism about its alleged benefits. The rising concern over immigration has also implicated a number of related policy areas, including temporary foreign workers, refugee resettlement, housing availability and costs, and international student visas, and has been linked to broader debates about economic growth and productivity. This roundtable will present new data on Canadians鈥� views around immigration, discuss the economics of Canada鈥檚 past and current immigration levels, and identify the key structures and mechanisms needed for successful immigration policy.
