ARCHIVED – Recent Immigrants, Earlier Immigrants and the Canadian–Born: Association with Collective Identities

1. Introduction

When attempting to gain insight into the effectiveness of Canada’s integration policies and programs, the degree to which immigrants associate with their community, province, or country may be a useful indicator. Due to the increase in the ethno-cultural and linguistic diversity of immigrants to Canada over the past 15 years [note 2], the degree to which immigrants identify as a citizen of Canada and as a member of their local community may prove to be particularly significant.

Collective identities are statements about categorical membership, which can be understood to be, on the one hand, socially constructed, yet on the other, not unreal or without meaning. Levels of identification provide insight into feelings of belonging, perceptions of settlement, and overall life satisfaction and therefore can be used as an important indicator of social integration. High levels of identification have “widespread instrumental value in virtue of satisfying desires or needs to belong (or to identify with others, or be recognized by others) and thereby secure goods such as psychological security, self-esteem and feelings of being at home in the world” (Mason 2000, 54).

According to the results from Cycle 17 of Statistics Canada’s General Social Survey (GSS) on social engagement, levels of life satisfaction were the highest among individuals who reported a very strong sense of identified their level of belonging to their community (Schellenberg 2004a). Moreover, results from the Canadian Community Health Survey indicate that “close to two-thirds of those who felt a very strong or somewhat strong sense of community belonging reported excellent or very good general health. By contrast, about half (51%) of those with weak sense of belonging viewed their general health favourably” (Shields 2008, 5).

This study draws on data from the fifth wave (2006) of the World Values Survey (WVS) and builds on the work of Neil Nevitte to analyse respondents’ association with various collective identities (citizen of the world, North America, Canada, province/region and local community). The analysis compares the responses of the Canadian-born with recent immigrants and established immigrants.

This paper undertakes to answer the following questions:

  • How do recent immigrants, earlier immigrants and the Canadian-born compare in the degree to which they identify/associate with various collective identities (i.e., the world, North America, Canada, province/region and local community)?
  • Are the Canadian-born more likely to identify as Canadian citizens than earlier and recent immigrants?
  • Are there variables that are associated with an individual’s likelihood of identifying as a citizen of Canada?
  • Do individuals who strongly identify with other collective identities (e.g., world citizen and local community) demonstrate a greater likelihood of identifying as a citizen of Canada?

The paper proceeds as follows: After a literature review on identity, identification and migration, the next sections present a descriptive analysis, followed by regression results and discussion. The conclusion summarizes the main findings and discusses some policy implications of the research.


Footnotes

[Note 2] According to the 2006 Census, 19.8 percent of the population of Canada is foreign-born, and there has been a considerable shift in the source countries of immigration (Statistics Canada , 2007a). As a result, 70.2% of the foreign-born population report a mother tongue other than English or French (Statistics Canada , 2008a) and 54.3% of the foreign-born population indicate that they are visible minorities (Statistics Canada, 2008b).

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