More Canadian residents distrust refugees than trust them, with the lowest levels of trust in refugees expressed by immigrants and non-whites, according to a new national public opinion poll.

The polling data comes as recent changes in the federal government’s immigration policies designed to reduce new arrivals in Canada seems to be hitting refugee claimants the hardest.

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Among all respondents to the poll, conducted by Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies, 43 per cent said they distrusted refugees and 36 per cent said they trusted refugees. Another 21 per cent said they didn’t know or declined to answer.

The poll also found that more respondents trusted immigrants than distrusted them, a result suggesting Canadians have distinct views of different

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