Immigration Debate in Canada: How Newspapers Reported, 1996–2004

Abstract

Media representations shape public opinion of immigration, affect policy debate, and influence immigration law. This paper examines media coverage of immigration in the context of the development and conception of the Canadian 2002 Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. The paper performs a topoi analysis on a data set of 490 articles published in five prominent Canadian English-language daily newspapers that address aspects of immigration law. The results reveal that danger is the most frequent and a relatively consistent theme associated with immigration in media coverage. Cultural aspects are relatively unimportant compared to humanitarian, political, and economic considerations.Résumé Les observations des médias forment l'opinion publique sur l'immigration, affectent les débats d'orientation et influencent le droit de l'immigration. Cet article étudie la couverture médiatique de l'immigration dans le contexte du développement et de la conception de la Loi canadienne sur l'immigration et la protection des réfugiés de 2002. Une analyse topoi a été effectuée sur un ensemble de données consistant en 490 articles portant sur des aspects du droit de l'immigration et publiés dans cinq quotidiens canadiens anglais. Les résultats indiquent que le thème qui revient le plus souvent et de façon relativement constante dans la couverture médiatique sur l'immigration est celui du danger. Les aspects culturels de la question semblent peu importants par rapport aux considérations humanitaires, politiques et économiques.

Branding ‘Canadian Experience’ in Immigration Policy: Nation Building in a Neoliberal Era

“…Policy documents issued by CIC are a vehicle for elites to construct national interests and national belonging. Our analysis examines how media represents, transmits and, at times, critiques political discourse, while simultaneously upholding the ideological investments of elites (Bauder 2008).…”

Introduction: the language of inclusion and exclusion in the context of immigration and integration

“…Generally, there are many possible 'frames' to every story. Research has shown that cultural climate, economic interests and political contestation determine which frame becomes dominant (Scheufele 1999;van Gorp 2005;Bauder 2008aBauder , 2008bHorsti 2008;Matthes and Kohring 2008). Frames are especially pertinent in policy contexts, where they organize consent and legitimation.…”

“…In research on problematizations of migration, four topoi have been identified (Bauder 2008a(Bauder , 2008b: economic, humanitarian, endangering and cultural. Cutting across the topoi is the portrayal of migrant men as a threat and women as victims (Schrover 2009(Schrover , 2010b.…”

Mystery Ships and Risky Boat People: Tamil Refugee Migration in the Newsprint Media

“…In a Canadian context, danger and fear have been the dominant aspect of the debate leading up to immigration policy reform (Bauder, 2008b).…”