Feeling Accepted by the Host Society

Social Origins and Political Consequences

- Some Exploratory Findings in Quebec Antoine Bilodeau
Concordia University
Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship

The Larger Project:

Ethnic minorities & Sub-state Nations
How do ethnic minorities relate to national and sub-state
nations (Quebec, Scotland, Catalonia)?
How are loyalties and attachments expressed?
Does one pole wins more easily the loyalties of minorities?

Questions:
What factors structure the expression of these dual (or unique)
loyalties in minority state nations?
Todays presentation focuses on the importance of feeling
accepted by the political community (national or sub-state)
What origins?
What consequences?

Feeling accepted: what importance?

I. Bloemraad and impact of proactive support for
naturalization in Canada
Importance of support but maybe also the symbolic value of
reaching out to newcomers

White, Bilodeau and Nevitte (2013)

Feeling accepted key factor in shaping feeling toward Canada

Joined a new group recently?

How much did you feel accepted?
How did it structure your involvement and relationship with this
group?

Feeling Accepted: Dimension of

integration or Driver of Integration?
As a dimension of
integration

Feeling
accepted

As a driver of
integration

Question:
What are the origins
of such feelings?

Immigration status
Linguistic integration
Experience of discrimination

Question:
What are the consequences
of such feelings?

Importance of elections
Duty to vote
Evaluation of govt. responsiveness
Attachment to host society
National identity

Research Design
2012 Quebec Election Visible Minority Survey
Funded by the SAIC Programme de soutien la recherche en
matires daffaires intergouvernementales et didentit
qubcoise
Online survey Lger Marketing
807 respondents of visible minority background
All respondents are Canadian citizens

Measuring the feeling of being accepted

How much do you feel accepted by Quebec / Canada (1-10)
1 (not accepted at all); 10 (completely accepted)

Two questions:
Who feels accepted? (origins)
What are the political consequences of feeling accepted?

Feeling Accepted by Quebec

and Canada
10
9

9.6

12.5

8
Proportion reporting each score

31.9

22.2

20.5

14.8
13.1
14.5

7
6.3

8.7
8.8

5
4

1.7

0.9

0.9

5.3
3.6
Canada (mean score: 7.9)

4.3

Quebec (mean score: 6.8)

2.3

1.3

11.2

3.6
5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Feeling Accepted - Origins:

1. Immigration Status
10.0

Immigrants (0-10 years)

Immigrants (11-20 years)

9.0

Immigrants (more than 20 years)

Feeling accepted (0-10)

Second generation
7.8

8.0

7.9

8.1

7.4
7.0

6.0

6.7

6.6

6.0

5.0

4.0
Quebec

Canada

8.0

Feeling Accepted Origins:

2. Language Spoken at Home
10.0
French
9.0

English

Feeling accepted (0-10)

Other language
8.0

8.0

8.0

7.5

7.0
6.5

6.0

5.0

4.9

4.0

3.0
Quebec

Canada

7.8

Feeling Accepted Origins:

3. Experience of Discrimination
10.0

Feeling accepted (0-10)

9.0
8.0

Never (59%)
A few isolated incidents (10%)
Once a year (6%)
Several times a year (18%)
At least every month (6%)

8.3

7.7

8.1
7.7
7.1

7.0
6.0

6.6
6.0

5.9
5.5

5.0
4.0

3.7

3.0
Quebec

Canada

Consequences for Integration to

Quebec Political Community
84
86

Importance of provincial
elections (0-100)

79
71
82

Vote in provincial elections is

duty (%)

87
76
72
32

Qc. Govt. does not care at all

what people think (%)

16
24
40
84
81

Attachment to Quebec (0-100)

70
58

Very strong (10)

Strong (8,9)
Moderate (6,7)
Weak (0-5)

38
39

Feel more Quebecer than

Canadian (%)

20
9
0

20

40

60

80

100

Consequences for Integration to

Canadian Political Community
82
80

Importance of federal elections (0-100)

73
63
85
82

Vote in federal elections is duty (%)

78
69
44
38
41

Fed. Govt. does not care at all what people think (%)

61
80
79

Attachment to Canada (0-100)

68
54
Very strong (10)
Strong (8,9)
Moderate (6,7)
Weak (0-5)

38
31
32

Feel more Canadian than Quebecer

16
10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Conclusions
Feeling accepted: what importance?
Appears helpful both as a dimension of integration and a driver of
integration

What origins?
Different levels and origins for Quebec and Canada

What consequences?
Broadly same consequences for Quebec and Canada

The big questions:

What is the role of the broader context in shaping the sense of
acceptance?
What policies lead immigrants to feel more accepted?
Are these findings unique to Quebec?