Canadians have been bombarded in the last few months with discussions about immigration.

There has been criticism of the way students are allowed to relocate to Canada, as well as observations about the current scope and reach of the temporary worker program. When we add academic efforts to define what a “settler” is, we have the perfect recipe for politicians and influencers to go on social media and portray themselves as the true defenders of Canadian values.

In August, we reported on how Canadians were slightly more likely to prefer the American “melting pot” approach to immigration (44 per cent) than the long-standing concept of the “mosaic” (40 per cent). “Melting pot” or not, the views of Canadians of all ethnic origins are never homogeneous—especially on morality.

When we take a look at the perceptions of Canadians on issues related to human relations, a clear trend emerges. Contraception and divorce, which have been legal since the late 1960s across Canada, are respectively regarded as morally acceptable by 73 per cent (down three points since 2024) and 70 per cent (down two points) of respondents. Canadians of East Asian descent are more likely to find no moral qualms about contraception and divorce (84 per cent and 80 per cent respectively) than their counterparts whose heritage is European (62 per cent and 68 per cent respectively)........

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