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IASC Mandate

Boundaries of Identity: Geographic Knowledge, Identities and Migration in Canada and the United States. Susan Hardwick and Jack Jedwab July 2 nd Ottawa Public Library Main Branch 120 Metcalfe, Room 1A - 1B. IASC Mandate.

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IASC Mandate

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  1. Boundaries of Identity: Geographic Knowledge, Identities and Migration in Canada and the United States Susan Hardwick and Jack Jedwab July 2ndOttawa Public Library Main Branch 120 Metcalfe, Room 1A - 1B.

  2. IASC Mandate • A division of the Association for Canadian Studies (ACS), the International Association for the Study of Canada (IASC) is a think-tank that will promote bilateral and multilateral exchange of knowledge between Canada and other countries on issues of mutual concern and interest. It will pursue its mandate through by organizing forums, generating publications and engaging in research partnerships

  3. Methodology • The web surveys of 1500 Canadians and 1000 Americans were done by web panel during the week of June 15th, 2009. They were commissioned by the new International Association for the Study of Canada (IASC) with the support of the Association of American Geographers from the firm Leger Marketing. A probabilistic random sample of the same size would yield a maximum margin of error of 3.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

  4. Part 1 • Geographic Knowledge • Attachment/Identities • Travel Patterns • Migration

  5. United States more vizmin than Canada. Higher percentage of Asians in Canada; higher percentage of Hispanics and Black in the US Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  6. Other than knowledge of cities, Americans and Canadians give themselves similar marks on geo knowledge; smaller the area the greater the knowledge Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  7. Men self-report higher knowledge of geography than women Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  8. With the exception of Franco-Quebecers, Canadians and Americans report similar rates of attachment to country Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  9. Attachment to Country Rises with age Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  10. Canadians much more likely to go over to the other side; also more likely to go overseas Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  11. Canada’s allophones travel most; White and African Americans least Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  12. Why do Canadians travel more? • Closer proximity of Canadians to USA border • Higher percentage of immigrants and second generation • Higher percentage of Asian and European immigrants in Canada

  13. British Columbians most travelled Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  14. Americans prefer homogeneous neighbourhoods more than Canadians; francophones, white Americans and Hispanics prefer them the most Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  15. Americans more likely to say they’ll move than Canadians Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  16. Ethno-racial Minorities most likely to say they’ll move…

  17. Stronger geo-knowledge=stronger attachment to country; USA≥Canada

  18. Part 2 • Immigration • Integration • Attachment to Religion and Ethnicity/Ancestry • Language

  19. Canada receives far higher percentage of immigrants than USA but immigration spread across more cities south of the border

  20. Two out of three Canadian immigrants in MTV-one in four of US immigrants in New York and LA Source:

  21. Americans more likely to agree there are too many immigrants in the country-but percentage drops in city or town Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  22. Canadians that prefer homogeneous neighbourhoods much more likely to agree there are too many immigrants in their city or town Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  23. Canadians more likely than Americans to think that immigrants should give up their customs and traditions; African and Hispanic Americans most supportive of multicultural principle Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  24. Though fewer Canadians agree there are too many immigrants, those who do believe so more likely to want immigrants to give up customs and traditions than Americans

  25. African Americans strongly value their ethnicity and faith, Canada's francophones value ethnicity but not religion, Canada’s allophones value both most in the country Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  26. Allophone Canadians and African Americans score themselves highest on knowledge of ethnic and religious customs Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  27. Neither in Canada or the US does attachment to ethnicity undercut attachment to country; indeed those reporting stronger ethnicity possess stronger national affinities Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  28. Canadians somewhat more bilingual (English/French-English/Spanish) than Americans and supportive of services extended in both languages Source: ACS-Leger PollIASC June 2009

  29. Amongst racial and language majorities in Canada and the USA respectively second language knowledge=more openness to diversity

  30. Avenues for Future Research

  31. Controlling for proximity to the borders (Canada/US and Mexico/US) in each country look more deeply at the following • Travel patterns of Canadians and Americans based on proximity • Knowledge of what’s on the other side. What do Canadians know about the United States and Americans about Canada • Does proximity result in different attitudes towards the national neighbour? • Proximity and security. Do those closer to the border have different perception of security than those further from the border? • What role does the composition of neighborhood play in the sense of security or comfort? • Temporary migration, integration and identity issues • Comparing the experiences of similar communities in Canada and the US (i.e. Asians in the two countries)

  32. Build on the notion that an interesting paradox exists in the US as compared to Canada whereby people in the US are more likely to feel there are too many immigrants yet seem more likely to favor encouraging immigrant groups to maintain their own cultural identities. . • How do the travel patterns and behaviors of these two groups differ and how these experiences may or may not play into shaping their attitudes toward immigration (and their overall global awareness?).

  33. Further explore some of the reasons why Americans more strongly prefer to live in homogenous neighborhoods than Canadians do. What is the composition of the neighborhood in which the communities currently live and how does this affect their views? (We may want to focus on 2-3 cities in Canada and 2-3 in the US for this comparative analysis of residential preferences, perception of immigrants and diversity, and identity. How do gender, age, income and family status influence opinion on such issues The finding on the strong preference of African Americans to hold onto their own culture and ethnic/racial identity and related desire to maintain their group’s distinctive cultural traditions might be an interesting place to begin to understand the impact of race on the construction of identity. Thus we may want to develop this finding from our poll into a larger project centered in understanding more about how visible minorities in Canada who have lived there for more than two generations and who may or may not cling to the identities of their own ethnic/racial group and maintain their own cultural traditions as compared to African Americans?

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