Social Integration and Shared Citizenship in Canada

Immigrant Integration in a Multination / Multilevel State

Keith BantingQueen’s University

CÉRIUM Annual Conference Université de Montréal April 2008

Images from Europe

Images from Australia

Images from the United States

Images from Canada?

Growing Concerns in Canada

Flashpoints Growing problems in economic integration Residential segregation Gang violence and terrorism arrests Sharia law and public funding of faith-based schools Debate over reasonable accommodation in Quebec Debate over dual citizenship

Canada has its own social integration debate

Focus on social integration

Nature of the integration agenda Challenges go beyond economic integration

Challenge of social integration High level of immigration Diverse diversity

High levels of immigration / racial diversity Diverse sources of immigration

Multination state: role of founding peoples Not simply “old” versus “new” Canadians Divisions with the ranks of the “old” are critical

Nature of social integration: two approaches

Cultural: “Who is Us?” Shared national identity, values and history Belonging, attachment, commitment, solidarity

Participative: “How do we live together?” Legitimacy of diverse identities and values Consensus on liberal democracy and citizenship rights Engagement in civic and political processes

Does Canada have a problem? Who is us?

Measures of belonging and attachment Not simply “new” versus “old” Canadians Lower attachment among québécois and Aboriginals Newcomers attachment grows with time Difference between white and racial minority immigrants Second generation Differences between Quebec and the rest of Canada

Does Canada have a problem? How do we live together?

Measures of engagement and participation Civic engagement

Putnam: “hunkering down” in U.S. Canadian evidence more reassuring Interpersonal trust / engagement

Political participation High level of naturalization (84%) Newcomers and racial minorities do report voting Minorities are underrepresented in elected bodies and

public bureaucracies

Framing a Policy Response “Who is Us?”

Building a “people” with a common culture Common language Shared sense of identity and national values Deeper understandings of history

Instruments Immigration policies and naturalization policies Settlement and integration services Citizen education: grand historical narrative Celebration of nation symbols: ceremonies, holiday, flag Oaths of allegiance

Framing a Policy Response“How Do We Live Together?”

Reinforce rights culture Democratic rights and equalities Anti-discrimination and human rights legislation

Civic networks Support civic associations Encourage participation in civic associations

Political participation Voting at the municipal level Representation in legislatures and city councils

The Canadian ResponseConstraints on a cultural strategy

Cultural instruments Language priority in immigration Citizenship tests Citizenship ceremonies and lots of flags

Constraints on cultural strategies Multination state

Identities of the “old” Canadians preclude common culture Multiculturalism as a defining feature? Contested

Multilevel state Different pathways to integration across the country Larger obstacle to cultural strategies

Tip balance to participative strategy

“Shared Citizenship”

Citizenship in multinational / multilevel state Nature of “shared citizenship” Key issue:

How to strengthen “shared citizenship” in a society without a common culture?

Canadian echoes of T.H. Marshall Civil, political and social rights Assumes rights will generate attachment

Shared citizenship in practice

Multinational / multilevel constraints Instruments on which country relies to mitigate its internal

divisions are themselves shared by the more powerful of those divisions

Variable geometry of citizenship rights Some rights established on pan-Canadian basis

Charter of Rights Controversial among founding peoples Framework for immigrant integration (eg Sharia)

Some rights established in a more variegated pattern Social rights and retrenchment Social rights and federalism

Conclusions

Nature of the problem Economic and social integration Is social integration a problem: Cultural versus participative

answers Nature of the policy response

Integration strategies shaped by domestic politics Canadian drivers: multinational / multilevel state

Limits the scope for a cultural strategy Tips balance to a rights-based, participative strategy Variable geometry of “shared citizenship”

Effectiveness A leap of faith Future of Canada assumes “Who is us?” is the wrong question