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 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

Methodology The web surveys of 1500 Canadians and 1000 Americans were done by web panel during the week of June 15th, 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.

Part 1 Geographic Knowledge Attachment/Identities Travel Patterns Migration

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

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 Poll IASC June 2009

Men self-report higher knowledge of geography than women I have a very good knowledge of the geography of… The WorldUnited States/CanadaState/Province CanadaUSCanadaUSCanadaUS Male Female Source: ACS-Leger Poll IASC June 2009

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

Attachment to Country Rises with age Very Attached to Canada (percentage in brackets represents the percentage of English Canadians that are very attached to Canada) Very Attached to the United States Age% Attached Age (52) (60) (74) (76) (78)84 50 and over 65 and over77 (88) Source: ACS-Leger Poll IASC June 2009

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

Canada’s allophones travel most; White and African Americans least Have you traveled outside of your home country over the past three years and if so, which of the following places did you visit? EnglishFrenchAllophoneCaucasianAfrican Americans Hispanic United States for Canadians and Canada for Americans Mexico Europe Asia Latin America Other Places No, have not traveled outside home country in the past three years Source: ACS-Leger Poll IASC June 2009

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

British Columbians most travelled Have you traveled outside of your home country over the past three year and if so, which of the following places did you visit? North East Mid West SouthWestMaritimesQcOntarioMB/SKAltaBC United States for Canadians and Canada for Americans Mexico Europe Asia Latin America Other Places No travel outside home country in the last 3 yrs Source: ACS-Leger Poll IASC June 2009

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

Americans more likely to say they’ll move than Canadians Source: ACS-Leger Poll IASC June 2009

In the next five years, will you live in... ? EnglishFrenchAllophoneCaucasianAfrican Ameri can Hispanic In the same city In another city In another state/province In another country I don’t know Ethno-racial Minorities most likely to say they’ll move…

Stronger geo-knowledge=stronger attachment to country; USA≥Canada Cross- tabulation of knowledge of geography with attachment to Country Do you have a very good knowledge or somewhat good knowledge of the following: United States/Canadian Geography Are you very attached to Very good knowledgeSomewhat good knowledge The United States 81.0%73.0% Canada 73.5%57.1%

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

Canada receives far higher percentage of immigrants than USA but immigration spread across more cities south of the border % ‘s of respective country’s total immigration (000’s) Total US Total Canada New York, NJ, Los Angeles Toronto Miami-Fort Lauderdale Washington Chicago Montreal San Francisco- Oakland Vancouver Houston Boston Dallas Atlanta

Two out of three Canadian immigrants in MTV-one in four of US immigrants in New York and LA % ‘s of respective country’s total immigration New York, NJ Los Angeles Toronto Miami Washington Chicago Montreal San Francisco- Oakland Vancouver Houston Boston Dallas Atlanta Source: Source:

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

Canadians that prefer homogeneous neighbourhoods much more likely to agree there are too many immigrants in their city or town Canada I prefer to live in a neighborhood made up mostly of people who share my ethnic or racial background There are too many immigrants in my city/town ↓ Strongly agreeSomewhat agree Somewhat disagreeStrongly disagree Strongly agree 45.1%10.7%4.6%2.7% Somewhat agree 25.5%25.7%17.0%7.2% Somewhat disagree 19.0%42.4%48.2%22.9% Strongly disagree 7.2%17.9%26.0%62.8% I don't know / I prefer not to answer 3.3% 4.2%4.5% Source: ACS-Leger Poll IASC June 2009

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 Immigrants should be encouraged to give up their customs and traditions and become more like the rest of the population We should try harder to accept immigrant's customs and traditions AgreeDisagreeAgreeDisagree United States Caucasian African American Hispanic Canada English French Allophone Source: ACS-Leger Poll IASC June 2009

Give up customs and traditions Too Many Immigrants in my Country USAStrongly AgreeSomewhat AgreeSomewhat Disagree Strongly Disagree Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree CanadaToo Many Immigrants in my Country Strongly Agree Somewhat Agree 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

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 Poll IASC June 2009

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

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 Poll IASC June 2009

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

Caucasian/WhiteEnglish Canada % AgreeI can carry on a conversation in Spanish I can’t carry on a conversation in Spanish I can carry on a conversation in French I can’t carry on a conversation in French Government should provide services in both languages We should try harder to accept immigrant's customs and traditions Immigrants should give up customs and traditions Prefer to live in a neighborhood Amongst racial and language majorities in Canada and the USA respectively second language knowledge=more openness to diversity

Avenues for Future Research

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)

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?).

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?