Canadians of a Different Color: Analyzing Nativism in Modern Canadian Voters

Abstract

Nationalism can be defined as the evaluation of one’s culture against another with one’s culture held superior over another. This definition explains a reality for Canadians—it is how they identify with their culture and nation. One of the effects that changes nationalism over time is nativism, or threats to the reality of the nation. Attitudes towards others who threaten national identity are seen as nativist. I test to see how demographics and party preferences affect a voter’s likelihood of nativist attitudes and what causes increases in these attitudes. I use the 2004-2006 and 2008 Canadian Election Survey data to find what causes increases in nativist attitudes. Examination follows on how these demographics and preferences interact in order to establish causes for nativism. Conservatism is found as a major contributor to nativist attitudes: however, demographics such as age, population, and income are not possible or useful in this analysis.