Hierarchical pluralism Examining social attachments in Canada's two national contexts Mai B. Phan and Raymond Breton Presented at the CRONEM annual conference Nationalism and National Identities Today: Multidisciplinary Perspectives University of Surrey, U.K. June 12-13, 2007

Models of Diversity revisited The multiplicity of social connections in a modern context implies the possibility of multiple identifications or attachments and the possibility of choice. Uni-dimensional perspectives like assimilation theories presume that strengthening attachment to one implies weakening in another, competing identity. In the bi-dimensional perspective, identification with and attachment to the ancestral group and the larger community are both possible, and possibly desirable.

Social Dominance Theory The assimilation and pluralism theories assume that all groups have the same opportunity to participate in institutions, to be accepted in social interaction and thus become integrated in the social fabric in the same ways. However, this assumption of equality may not be warranted in all social contexts. Sidanius and his colleagues argue that an additional model is required, that of “social dominance” which takes into account an ethnic hierarchy in the society.

Members of groups lower in the hierarchy would be more likely : to integrate in the ethnic community to persist in assigning importance to their ethnicity and to have a relatively weak sense of belonging to the larger society. Members with higher standing would be more likely: to integrate in the larger society to show a decrease in the importance they attach to their ethnicity and to have a relatively strong sense of belonging to the larger society.

Exploring the data: 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey Measuring attitudinal attachments to Canada: 1. Sense of belonging to Canada 2. Importance of civic* identity (includes responses of Canadian/ Canadienne, Quebecois, Newfoundland, Acadian, French-Canadian or other regional identity) Measuring attitudinal attachments to ethnic group: 1. Sense of belonging to ethnic ancestry group 2. Importance of ethnic identity 3. Importance of ethnic ancestry 4. Importance of ethnic customs and traditions All measures of attachment were dichotomized, with strong responses (4/5) scored “1” and weak/moderate responses scored “0”

Simultaneous Latent Class Analysis Latent Class Analysis is analogous to factor analysis for categorical data, testing the underlying structure of relationships among variables Unlike factor analysis, latent variables constructed from a set of observed, discrete variables may be characterized as multi-dimensional typologies Categories are mutually exclusive, and latent classes can be tested for variability (or equivalence) of structures between different populations (Quebec and the Rest of Canada)

Patterns of attachment: Ethnic

Patterns of attachment: Mainstream

Patterns of attachment: Pluralist

Patterns of attachment: Marginalized

Comparing the regional distribution of attachment types

For white groups, the assimilation model is supported, with rapid decrease in ‘ethnic’ attachments

For visible minorities, there is stronger ethnic retention and less integration into the mainstream

Hierarchical pluralism? Visible minorities and whites have different patterns of attachments across cohorts (even after controlling for income, education, sex, age, reported discrimination and friendship ties) Few differences in distribution of attachment types among different visible minority groups Southern European groups also show similar patterns of social attachment to visible minorities—racialization?

Visible minority groups are over-represented in the “ethnic” attachment group

“Charter” Groups show different propensities to attachments English are over-represented in the “mainstream” attachment group French are over-represented in the “pluralist” attachment group

National majorities and minorities

The probability of ‘pluralist’ social attachments is higher in Quebec than in the rest of Canada

Charter groups: the relationship between national identity and ethnic identity “mainstream” for British-origin whites and “pluralist” for French-origin whites in Quebec: synonymous patterns? The majority of whites in Quebec are native-born with French ancestry; Quebec as a French social context Quebec’s claim as a distinct society and as a national minority heightens awareness of French culture in context of Anglo-hegemony

Retention of ‘ethnic’ attachments across cohorts is more pronounced for VM compared to whites

Visible minorities in Quebec face the most difficulties integrating in the labour market and are more dependent on ethnic networks. As a result, visible minorities as a ‘devalued’ population may be encouraged towards ‘ethnic’ attachments to a greater extent than in the rest of Canada. On the other hand, Quebec has given greater support for ethnic language retention than the rest of Canada, which may come some way to explaining the greater likelihood of visible minorities retaining ‘ethnic’ and ‘pluralist’ attachments across generations.

Defensive structuring on the part of French- speaking Québec: Higher level of social and institutional segregation on the basis of language and religion. The only province with its own Ministry of Immigration and separate immigration policy Resistance to federal multiculturalism policy: interpreted as an attempted reduction of the cultural and political status of French in Canada However, facing demographic, economic and political pressures to accept and integrate immigrants

Quebec’s policy of Inter-culturalism: more explicit conditions on multiculturalism recognition of French as the language of public life; respect for liberal democratic values, including civil and political rights and equality of opportunity; and respect for pluralism, including openness to and tolerance of others' differences. The rate of ‘pluralist’ attachment over successive generations is the same for visible minorities and whites in Quebec

Changing modes of belonging? ‘Quebecois’ and ‘Canadian’ identities losing their ethnic connotation (as exclusively French or British) Quebec is undergoing the challenges of diversity, immigration, nationhood and identity as Canada has faced much earlier in its history