Ethnic and National Sense of Belonging in Canadian Society

Abstract

There has been long‐standing debate among Western nations regarding the best approaches for the integration of immigrants into host societies. The core of this debate is between the proponents of assimilation and multiculturalism. Using a large sample of Canadians, we investigated the link between their sense of belonging to their ethno‐racial heritage (ethnic belonging) and to Canada (national belonging) in order to seek answers to the question of whether multiculturalism policies work to strengthen or weaken residents’ loyalty to the nation. Our analyses showed that increases in ethnic belonging significantly predicted increases in national belonging, both for ethno‐racial minorities and Whites, after controlling for demographic variables. These findings extend our understanding of acculturation and integration, provide empirical support for multiculturalism, and suggest that active support of immigrant and non‐immigrant individuals in maintaining connections to their ethno‐racial heritage increases individuals’ loyalty to the nation.

A qualitative research on emigration and identity in İzmir–Eşrefpaşa

“…As Baumann (2006) highlights, cultural change is actually culture itself, as former habits changes and evolves. Ultimately, multiculturalism as a governmental strategy accepts cultural diversity in the society, besides government policies supporting immigrants' cultural preservation (Wu & So, 2020). Murphy (1965) states that immigrants from various cultures do not experience marginalization, discrimination, bullying and assimilation in communities supporting multiculturalism.…”

Social Change-based Identity Negotiation: Case of “Cina Benteng” and Indigenous Community in Kalipasir Tangerang, Banten

“…The identity negotiations that took place in Kalipasir case were shaped by economic equality between Chinese and non-Chinese groups. Study shows that in a society with a high degree of economic equality, individuals are more likely to be involved in social participation (Wu and So 2020). In this social participation, groups tend to create a shared identity and negotiate their group identity for a larger identity.…”

Parallel lives or active citizens? Examining the interplay between multicultural service provision and civic engagement in Australia

“…To measure belonging, we asked two questions adapted from Wu and So (2020): ‘How would you describe your sense of belonging to Australia?’ and ‘How would you describe your sense of belonging to people with the same ethnic or cultural background as you?’ The responses were collected on a 5-point Likert scale from ‘Not strong at all’ to ‘Extremely strong’. The variable capturing belonging to Australia had mean 3.50 (standard deviation = 1.10) and belonging to the same ethnic or cultural group had mean 3.30 (standard deviation = 1.10).…”

“…The mean was 2.53 (standard deviation = 1.09). To measure perceptions of social exclusions, we adapted three items from Wu and So (2020) asking: ‘How would you describe the way in which the following groups are treated in Australia: people from an ethnic background other than Anglo-Australian; People who speak a language other than English; Migrants’ (α = .89). The mean was 2.75 (standard deviation = 0.87).…”