Canada immigration news: Most Torontonians think their communities do enough for newcomers, until the conversation turns to housing, where the Toronto Newcomer Support Poll finds a clear exception and a city giving itself a C grade.
The Toronto Newcomer Support Poll, run by Canada Pulse Insights for CityNews, found most Toronto and GTA residents say their communities provide enough settlement programs, language learning and job help. Housing is the one gap: only about a quarter say there is not enough suitable and affordable housing for newcomers, while 29% say there is too much.
By Maplestime News Desk | Winnipeg, Manitoba | November 12, 2026
Sources: CityNews, Immigration.ca | Last updated: November 12, 2026
Key Takeaways
- 57% say their communities provide enough settlement and integration programs, 61% say enough language learning options and 56% say enough help finding work.
- 52% say there are enough supports for refugee settlement.
- Housing is the exception: 28% of Torontonians and 25% of GTA residents say there is not enough suitable and affordable housing for newcomers, while 29% in each say there is too much.
- 43% of people in Toronto and the GTA gave their communities a C grade on newcomer supports, and the average grade was C+.
- On federal funding, Toronto splits 29% too much, 29% not enough and 42% enough, while the GTA splits 31%, 23% and 46%.
- The Toronto Newcomer Support Poll surveyed 510 Toronto adults and 825 GTA adults from September 14 to 25, 2026, with margins of error of plus or minus 4.3 points in Toronto and 3.4 points in the GTA.
Where does the Toronto Newcomer Support Poll say support falls short?
Housing, and only housing. On every other measure the Toronto Newcomer Support Poll asked about, a majority of Torontonians said their communities do enough. Settlement and integration programs drew 57% saying enough, language learning drew 61%, help finding work drew 56% and refugee settlement supports drew 52%.
The housing numbers tell a different story. Only 28% of Torontonians and 25% of GTA residents said there is not enough suitable and affordable housing for newcomers. At the same time, 29% in each group said there is too much. The middle is missing. People agree housing is the pressure point, but they disagree sharply on whether the answer is more of it or less of it.
That split is the story. Newcomers need a place to live before language classes or job help can do much good, and Toronto is the city where that first step is hardest. The poll suggests residents know it, even if they cannot agree on what to do about it.
Related: Rent Comparison Winnipeg vs Toronto 2026 — Where $1,500 a Month Still Rents a Life
Toronto City Hall at Nathan Phillips Square. Photo: Arild Vågen, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
How do immigrants and Canadian born residents see it differently?
On most questions, the Toronto Newcomer Support Poll found immigrants and Canadian born residents answered alike. Refugee settlement was the one clear split. Among immigrants, 38% said their municipality provides too much support for refugee settlement, against 30% of Canadian born residents. And 49% of immigrants said the support is enough, with 12% saying not enough, compared with 53% enough and 16% not enough among Canadian born residents.
Age drew a sharper line. People aged 35 to 54 were the most likely to say there is too much support for newcomers, at 39%, against 23% of younger residents and 28% of older residents. The middle aged group, the one most likely to be paying a mortgage and raising children, is also the group most likely to say the welcome has gone far enough.
What grade did Toronto and the GTA give themselves?
A C, mostly. In the Toronto Newcomer Support Poll, 43% in both Toronto and the GTA gave their communities a C grade on newcomer supports, and the average grade across the region was C+. In Toronto, 11% handed out an A, 29% a B, 11% a D and 6% a failing grade.
A C+ average is not a failing mark, but it is not a proud one either. It reads like a city that thinks its programs work well enough for the people who can reach them, while knowing the front door, a home newcomers can afford, is still jammed.
What about federal funding?
Toronto is split down the middle on federal money for newcomer supports: 29% say too much, 29% say not enough and 42% say enough. The GTA leans a little more generous, at 31% too much, 23% not enough and 46% enough.
One timing note matters. The Toronto Newcomer Support Poll ran from September 14 to 25, before the federal budget and before the new immigration plan, which sets permanent resident admissions at 380,000 a year through 2029 and aims to move up to 200,000 longtime temporary residents to permanent residence by the end of 2027. Ask the same questions today and the answers may look different.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did the Toronto Newcomer Support Poll find?
The Toronto Newcomer Support Poll found most Toronto and GTA residents say their communities provide enough settlement programs, language learning and job help, but housing is the exception, with too little affordable housing for newcomers the main complaint.
How many people were surveyed?
The poll surveyed 510 Toronto adults and 825 adults across the GTA, in Peel, Durham, York and Halton, from September 14 to 25, 2026, through an online panel run by Sago. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.3 points in Toronto and 3.4 points in the GTA, 19 times out of 20.
Who conducted the poll?
Canada Pulse Insights conducted the Toronto Newcomer Support Poll for CityNews, with files from The Canadian Press. It was published November 11, 2026.
Condominium towers by a frozen Lake Ontario shoreline in Toronto. Photo: Wikimedia Commons contributor, via Wikimedia Commons
Maplestime will provide updates from this Toronto newcomer supports story as announcements are made.
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If your city had to grade itself on newcomer support, would housing drag it down to a C too? Tell us in the comments. And share this with every Torontonian and GTA neighbour.
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