One-quarter of Canadians back ‘Trump’

A sizeable minority of Canadians -- 25 percent -- would like to see restrictions on immigration and refugees akin to what US President Donald Trump has proposed, according to a survey released on Monday.

Most support Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s openness toward refugees, but public opinion is "showing signs Ottawa may be testing the limits of how many migrants Canadians are willing to accept," said Sachi Kurl, executive director of polling firm Angus Reid.

The Angus Reid survey results come as a wave of border jumpers from the United States crossed on foot to file refugee claims in Canada.

Members of Parliament, meanwhile, are scheduled to vote this week on a motion condemning "Islamaphobia," which has taken on heightened significance in the wake of a Quebec mosque attack that left six people dead.

A debate over whether to screen refugees for "Canadian values" also has flared up in a race for the leadership of the opposition Tories, with several candidates calling for tighter border security and restrictions on migrants.

Canada took in 55,000 refugees in 2016, and plans to resettle about 40,000 this year.

The Angus Reid poll found that nearly 60 percent support Canada’s current quota or higher, while about 40 percent say the target is too high.

Overall support for Canada’s refugee intake has increased since October 2015 when Trudeau’s Liberals came to power in a general election.

The online survey of 1,508 Canadians was taken February 6 to 9 and has a plus or minus 2.5 percent margin of error.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump believes in a free and independent press but he will not hesitate to point out flawed reporting, the US Vice President Mike Pence said on Monday.

"Rest assured the president and I both strongly support a free and independent press but you can anticipate that the president and all of us will continue to call out the media when they play fast and loose with the facts," Pence told a news conference at the Nato headquarters in Brussels. "When the media gets it wrong, President Trump will take his case straight to the American people to set the record straight," he added.