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

4. Results and discussion

4.1 Descriptive analysis

As identified in the literature review, identification is about situating an individual actor in society; it is also a statement about categorical membership (Tajfel 1974; Rummens 2001; Ashmore et al. 2004). Individuals may have multiple identities that make up their conception of self, and these identities can be “nested, situational or fluid” (Hedetoft 2002, 6). Levels of identification provide insight into feelings of belonging, perceptions of settlement, overall life satisfaction (Schellenberg 2004a) and can be used as an indicator of integration (Harles 1997). Therefore, this research is an important contribution to existing literature on immigrant integration and identification.

According to Kymlicka, the basis for social unity “is not shared values but a shared identity … People decide whom they want to share a country with by asking whom they identify with, whom they feel solidarity with” (Kymlicka 1998, 173). As Harles explains “perhaps the most profound mark of a well-integrated polity is the strong sense of belonging felt by its members. A fundamental integrative question about immigrants, then, is whether the newcomers’ understanding of themselves – their idea of “us” – includes Canada. Do immigrants in any way “feel” Canadian?” (Harles1997, 717). The 2006 WVS data suggests that the answer to this question is a resounding ‘yes’.

The WVS data indicates that recent immigrants, earlier immigrants, and the Canadian-born collectively express high levels of positive identification as a citizen of Canada, as a citizen of their province/region, and as a citizen of their community (see Figure 4-1 and Figure 4-2). The findings show that 96.6% of the Canadian-born population, 96.2% of earlier immigrants, and 95.4% of recent immigrants either ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that they view themselves as a citizen of Canada as a whole. Levels of identification with one’s province or region are also high: 98.1% of the Canadian-born respondents, 92.9% of earlier immigrants, and 90.4% of recent immigrants either ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that they view themselves as a citizen of their province or region. Furthermore, the results indicate that all three categories express positive identification with their communities: 91.5% of Canadian-born respondents, 87.7% of earlier immigrants, and 86.9% of recent immigrants ‘agree’ or ‘strongly agree’ that they perceive themselves to be a member of their local community.

Figure 4-1: Strongly ‘agree’ with collective identities

Source: World Values Survey, 2006

Figure 4-1 depicts the percentage of respondents who ‘strongly agree’ with the various identities. Overall, it appears that all three groups feel the strongest identification with Canada as a whole, and the weakest identification with North America. This finding is consistent with Laczko’s multinational survey results which concluded that the national society “remains the strongest focus of feelings of closeness, and the larger continent is the weakest focus” (Laczko 2005, 522-525). The findings from the 2006 WVS also indicate that recent immigrants have the highest likelihood of strongly identifying as a world citizen.

When looking at differences between the three groups (Canadian-born, earlier immigrant, and recent immigrant populations), with the exception of identification as a world citizen, the results show a decreased tendency for recent immigrants to “strongly agree” with any collective identity. One possible explanation for this finding is that the lower levels of community identification amongst recent immigrants points to the existence of barriers to full integration. We noted earlier in the review of the literature that identity is an important indicator of both integration and social cohesion. Therefore, lower levels of identification with one’s country, province, or community may have negative effects upon civic engagement and sense of belonging.

However, it is important to ask if it is reasonable to expect recent immigrants to display (in a relatively short period of time) the same levels of identification as do earlier immigrants and the Canadian-born population. The lower levels of identification may also showcase the reality that it takes time to develop a substantial bond with one’s community, province, or country. Therefore, individuals who have had less time to establish a relationship with their community, province, and Canada, may feel less connected.

According to Hedetoft, the degree to which one displays a sense of belonging is “processed through and coloured by memory and by experiences, sensations and ideas encountered in other spheres and in different contexts” (Hedetoft 2002, 3). Hedetoft argues that these feelings of belonging are conditioned by “social and psychological concreteness – persons, landscapes, sensory experiences and ‘mental mappings’ of an immediate and familiar kind” and must always pass “through mental processing, personal and collective experiences, and the … psychological filter of “memory” – all of which shape each individual’s images and perceptions of belonging, giving them depth and value, and engendering the meaning they have for different persons” (Hedetoft 2002, 3). Therefore, the degree to which recent immigrants identify with various Canadian identities may likely be rooted in a sense of familiarity and history which may take time to develop.

Furthermore, as research indicates, identity is always in the process of evolving (e.g. Létourneau, 2001; Bokser-Liwerant, 2002; Croucher, 2004; Rashid, 2007). The extent to which an individual identifies with their community is not fixed but fluid and changing, and involves continuous re-interpretation. Therefore, it can be argued that as recent immigrants invest more into their communities, the degree to which they identify with their local community will also increase. This identification is dynamic, and occurs as a consequence of both internal and external pressures. This argument is supported by very similar expressed levels of identification among the Canadian-born and earlier immigrants to various collective identities.

In fact, the WVS results show that earlier immigrants express the highest levels of identification with Canada as a whole: 48.1% of earlier immigrants ‘strongly agree’ that they view themselves as a citizen of Canada, compared to 44.8% of Canadian-born, and 38.2% of recent immigrants. This finding is supported by results from the 2003 General Social Survey (GSS), which concluded that recent immigrants were “somewhat less likely than earlier arrivals to describe their sense of belonging as ‘very strong’” (Schellenberg 2004b, 6). Schellenberg argues that “this may be due to the fact that they had resided in Canada for less time than others and had had less opportunity to cultivate a strong sense of attachment … feelings of belonging were also associated with the length of time that individuals had resided in a province or city” (Schellenberg 2004b, 6).

A final consideration is necessary when considering the possible reasons behind the lower observed levels of identification as a Canadian citizen amongst recent immigrants. As is addressed later in the paper, there are limitations inherent to the dataset used. Amongst these limitations is the manner in which the series of questions on identity have been posed in the WVS, namely their inclusion of the concept of ‘citizenship’. Given that recent immigrants are less likely than earlier immigrants (and of course the Canadian-born) to hold legal Canadian citizenship (Statistics Canada, 2007b), lower reported levels of identification as a ‘citizen’ of Canada could partially reflect new immigrant participants’ interpretation of the survey question.

Although recent immigrants are less likely to ‘strongly agree’ with most collective identities, when looking at the ‘agree’ responses, Figure 4-2 shows that they are more likely to ‘agree’ that they view themselves as a member of their local community, province, Canada as a whole, and as a citizen of North America.

Figure 4-2: ‘Agree’ with collective identities

Source: World Values Survey, 2006

Figure 4-3: ‘Disagree/strongly disagree’ with collective identities

Source: World Values Survey, 2006

When looking at differences between the three groups (Canadian-born, earlier immigrants and recent immigrants) in terms of negative responses (disagree/strongly disagree), there are variations in responses (see Figure 4-3). Earlier immigrants have the highest rate of disagreeing or strongly disagreeing that they view themselves as a member of their community. This finding raises some concerns which warrant further investigation. Recent immigrants have the highest rate of negatively responding that they view themselves as a citizen of their province or region, Canada as a whole and as a citizen of North America, while the Canadian-born population have the lowest levels of responding that they ‘disagree’ or ‘strongly disagree’.

Figure 4-4: ‘Proud’ to be Canadian

Source: World Values Survey, 2006

In terms of national pride, recent immigrants, earlier immigrants, and the Canadian-born population collectively express high levels (see Figure 4-4). Nevitte explains these findings,

There is also a positive and statistically significant relationship (r=0.243; p<0.01) between national pride and identification with Canada as a whole (Nevitte 2008).

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