Paul Anka is lamenting the surge of crime in Canada, blaming it on the country's mass immigration. The Ottawa-born singer appeared on Bill Maher's 'Club Random' podcast, where the topic turned to life in Canada — past versus present.
Maher kicked off the discussion with a story about a night out where he kept tipping a bartender, who eventually told him he had tipped enough. 'That's Canada,' Maher said. 'I mean, I always think of that as Canada as opposed to America, you know, just nicer.'
Anka, 84, agreed, calling Canada 'different, homogenous' compared to the United States. 'We're not a homogenous nation here,' the 'Puppy Love' singer said of the U.S. 'You look at homogenous nations, Asian, wherever, different cultures, we're not homogenous. That's part of what we have to deal with. But that's the greatness of America.'
Regarding Canada, Anka said it was once 'homogenous' — but not anymore. 'Only now are they feeling it,' he explained. 'A city like Toronto, there's over 400,000 immigrants, and their crime rate has gone through the roof.' Maher agreed: 'Canada and England both.'
Maher then went on a rant about England, noting that he has never been a fan of London, even in the 1980s, but remarked, 'I'm not saying it was better then, it was an all-White city.' He continued: 'You know, there was an England, and I'm not saying it was all better. And I think London now is like — I mean, it's like I think 70% minority or something. This is called 'progress.''
The 'Real Time' host added that there appears to be no stopping point before liberals recognize that enough change has happened. 'I'm always having to beg progressives to, like, enjoy the product you're selling — progress,' he detailed. 'They really hate progress. You know, there's something about their psyche that has to say, 'No, we haven't done enough.'' Maher added: ''Yeah, of course, we haven't done enough, but we did this.' Could you just take the W once in a while?'
Canada's Immigration Policies Under Fire
Canada's immigration system was once admired globally, but no longer. Despite Prime Minister Mark Carney's pledge to clean up the mess created by his predecessor Justin Trudeau, the system continues to bring in people faster than they can be absorbed. A report from the Auditor General in March showed the current immigration plan still calls for permanent residence numbers to fall within a range of 350,000 to 420,000 from now until 2028.
While the government promotes their immigration plan as being about jobs and the economy, only about 245,000 of those new permanent residents are considered part of the economic immigrant stream. In 2015, Canada was taking in roughly 579,000 immigrants. By 2024, that number blew up to 1.36 million. The numbers are sliding a bit, but not nearly enough to balance out the system.
Population Decline and Temporary Residents
According to Statistics Canada, Canada's population in 2025 dropped by 100,000 people, marking the first time Canada has seen a yearly net decline in citizens since Confederation. However, StatsCan noted the overall population decrease should be 'interpreted with caution,' as increased work extensions and study permits could lead to more updates in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Canada's temporary population is 2.6 million, or about 6.5% of the total population of 41 million, according to the latest estimate. The Carney Liberals are still promising to get Canada's temporary population below 5% of the total, down from a high of 7.5% in October 2024, but that aim remains higher than it should be.
— Additional reporting from Brian Lilley and Eddie Chau
