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The Development of Dual Loyalties: Immigrants' Integration to Canadian Regional Dynamics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2010

Antoine Bilodeau ,
Stephen White  and
Neil Nevitte
Antoine Bilodeau*
Affiliation:
Concordia University
Stephen White*
Affiliation:
University of Regina
Neil Nevitte*
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
*
Antoine Bilodeau, Department of Political Science, Concordia University, 1455 boul. de Maisonneuve Ouest, Montréal, Québec H3G 1M8,514.848.2424 #5067; antoine.bilodeau@concordia.ca.
Stephen White, Department of Political Science, University of Regina, Regina, SKCanadaS4S 0A2, 306-585-4156.
Neil Nevitte, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, 100 St. George Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G3, n.nevitte@utoronto.ca.
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Abstract

Abstract. The transformations in recent patterns of immigration have the potential to reshape the trajectory of Canada's regional political dynamics. Drawing on data from the 1993–2006 Canadian Election Studies, this analysis explores how immigrants adjust to the prevailing regional political norms in Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia. Do newcomers adopt the political orientations (feelings towards Canada and their province, confidence in provincial and federal governments, perceptions about how the province is treated by the federal government and support for the Liberal party) that resemble those of their native-born provincial counterparts? The results suggest that immigrants, especially newer waves from non-traditional source countries, tend to develop orientations that are more federally oriented than the local populations in their province. This tendency is most pronounced in Quebec where both groups of immigrants from traditional and non-traditional source countries internalize political grievances and norms less efficiently than their counterparts in other provinces.

Résumé. Les transformations récentes des tendances migratoires pourraient avoir un impact sur l'évolution des dynamiques politiques régionales au Canada. Cette enquête s'appuie sur les données de sondage de l'Étude électorale canadienne de 1993 à 2006 et vise à déterminer si les immigrants adoptent les attitudes et les comportements politiques dominants de leur province de résidence (Québec, Ontario, Alberta et Colombie-Britannique). Les immigrants adoptent-ils des attitudes et des comportements politiques (attachement au Canada et à la province de résidence, confiance envers les gouvernements fédéral et provincial, perception du traitement réservé par le gouvernement fédéral à la province de résidence et appui au Parti libéral du Canada) qui ressemblent à ceux des populations locales de leur province? Les résultats de l'enquête suggèrent que les immigrants, surtout ceux d'origines dites non traditionnelles, ont tendance à développer des comportements et des attitudes politiques plus orientés vers le gouvernement fédéral que ceux affichés dans leur province. Cette tendance est particulièrement marquée au Québec où les immigrants, tant d'origines traditionnelles que non traditionnelles, semblent assimiler moins efficacement que les immigrants des autres provinces les griefs et les normes politiques de la population provinciale.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 43 , Issue 3 , September 2010 , pp. 515 - 544
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association 2010

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