Visible minorities and ‘White’–‘non-White’ conjugal unions in Canadian large cities

Abstract

The study investigates assortative mating patterns with respect to race (visible minority status) in Canada. Using the 2001 Census data, the article analyses the occurrence of White/non-White unions in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver. Log-linear models indicate that the relative levels of interracial relationships vary across racial groups, immigration status, and place of residence. First, the highest odds of cohabiting or marrying a White person are found among Blacks. Whereas the high level of racial exogamy of Blacks is observed in all metropolitan areas under study, the relative position of other groups varies. Second, the highest levels of racial exogamy are found among couples comprising an immigrant and a nonimmigrant but this effect varies across racial groups. Third, our hypothesis that residents of Montreal (Quebec) will interpartner less was confirmed only for unions between two native born Canadians. Finally, we found that French Canadians are not more inclusive of their linguistic counterparts than Anglophones.

Signs of transcendence? A changing landscape of multiraciality in the 21st century

“…Data from the National Household Survey in 2011 indicate that couples in mixed unions accounted for 4.6% of all married or common-law coupons in Canada; this proportion is up from 2.6% in 1991 and 3.1% in 2001. Mixed unions are found to be more common among Canadians from certain visible minority groups, with Japanese, Black, and Latino groups boasting the highest numbers (Hamplová & le Bourdais, 2010;Statistics Canada, 2013). Although Chinese and South Asians have relatively low proportions of mixed unions, the fact that they are the two largest visible minority populations in Canada suggest that the number of mixed race children resulting from these unions would be still substantial.…”

Population Composition by Race and Ethnicity: North America

“…These figures show the impact of continual immigration from non-European nations, as well as the population momentum created by their presence. Visible minorities refer to "persons, other than Aboriginals, who are non-Caucasian in race or non-white in skin color" (Hamplova andLe Bourdais, 2010: 1538). A minority but growing share and size of the population identifies with one or more of the visible minority categories, growing from 11%, or 3.1 million persons, to 19%, or 6.2 million persons, during this period.…”

Parenting Mixed Children: How to Start the Conversation about Identity

“…In fact, multiculturalism is viewed as a positive and integral part of Canadian identity (Lalonde, 2002). Although researchers often argue this claim, it is important to recognize that Canada was the first country ever to adopt a policy of multiculturalism with the goal to harmonize race relationships (Hamplova and Le Bourdais, 2010). This is important when examining interracial unions because "levels of interracial or intercultural marriage are commonly used to measure "the openness of societies and the degree of equality among people of various ethnic, racial, or cultural origins" (Hamplova andLe Bourdais, 2010, p. 1537).…”

“…Although researchers often argue this claim, it is important to recognize that Canada was the first country ever to adopt a policy of multiculturalism with the goal to harmonize race relationships (Hamplova and Le Bourdais, 2010). This is important when examining interracial unions because "levels of interracial or intercultural marriage are commonly used to measure "the openness of societies and the degree of equality among people of various ethnic, racial, or cultural origins" (Hamplova andLe Bourdais, 2010, p. 1537). Research has shown that metropolitan cities like Vancouver and Toronto report the highest levels of interracial unions, and that these numbers will continue to increase as Canada continues to accept immigrant populations (Hamplova and Le Bourdais, 2010).…”

“…Although there are no official numbers related to how many of these couples go on to have children, data would suggest that these numbers would also be high as Canada has continued to see an influx in immigration (Hamplova & Le Bourdais, 2010). Researchers have begun to pay particular attention to the parenting practices of interracial couples and the implications of these practices on multiracial children.…”