Canadian Politics

A08(a) - Nativist Politics in Parties and Policy

Date: May 31 | Time: 08:45am to 10:15am | Location: Classroom - CL 232 Room ID: 15735

Chair/Président/Présidente : Mireille Paquet (Concordia University)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Melissa Williams (University of Toronto)

Diplomacy for Votes: Political Parties and Foreign Policy in Canada: Jason VandenBeukel (University of Toronto)
Abstract: How have political parties in Canada reacted to the growing electoral significance of diasporas? In particular, how does the presence of diasporas in Canada affect party positioning on foreign policy? My paper, drawn from my doctoral dissertation, will probe these questions by focusing on the oldest diaspora in Canada: Jewish Canadians. My intention is to use this case to reach a theoretical understanding of when and how parties use foreign policy as an electoral tool to reach out to diasporas more generally. An analysis of Jewish Canadian relations with the Liberal and Conservative parties over the past decade and a half will help to both generate and exemplify this theory, which also draws on extant comparative work. The paper will primarily be made up of an analysis of the two parties’ shifting positions on Israel in terms of diplomatic, economic, and logistical support, and in particular how that affected election results from 2004 to 2015 in ridings with significant numbers of Jewish Canadians. This will include a review of the role that Canada-Israel relations played in local campaigns and how election results shifted in comparison to neighbouring districts. The strong relationship between Jewish Canadians and Israel is reflective of many other diasporas’ relationship with their homeland. My intention is to draw a testable theory from this case that can then be applied to other countries and diasporas to help forge a common understanding of how foreign policy is becoming weaponized in elections, a noted but understudied and undertheorized phenomenon.

Liberal Nationalism Beyond National Identity: Deservingness and Solidarity in Diverse Societies: Keith Banting (Queen's University), Allison Harell (UQAM), Will Kimlicka (Queen's University), Rebecca Wallace (Queen's University)
Abstract: Can liberal nationalism help sustain social solidarity in ethnically diverse societies? Liberal nationalists argue that a nationalism animated not by a historic ethnicity but by a shared political culture can sustain a sense of community and mutual obligation. This thinner form of nationalism, in this interpretation, can strengthen support for redistribution in a diverse society. The difficulty is that attempts to test this hypothesis have produced highly mixed and predominantly negative results. This paper will argue that a better test of the liberal nationalism thesis can be based on the public’s perceptions of the deservingness of members of out-groups such as immigrants and ethnic minorities. If nationhood represents an ethic of membership, we would expect that the public’s judgments of deservingness for support would depend not just on perceptions of need but also on whether the majority sees newcomers or minorities as part of the national community, as part of “us”. This paper will analyze the role of deservingness judgments about immigrants and ethnic minorities in explaining support for redistribution on the basis of a custom-designed survey conducted in 2017 in Canada. This country represents a rich case of these issues since it is home to a complex set of ethnic groups. Canada is also a country that has made concerted efforts over time to build a multicultural conception of nationhood. If minorities here are viewed as not fully part of the shared community, similar dynamics might well be expected elsewhere.

Canada: The First Postnational Nation?: Scott Staring (Georgian College)
Abstract: In an age that has seen the recrudescence of a troubling variety of nationalism in Europe and the US, Canada is being celebrated by some politicians and analysts as the world’s first postnationalist state. Proponents of this view frequently cite as evidence Canada’s high number of foreign-born citizens, its official policy of multiculturalism, its ready embrace of international institutions, and its enthusiasm for international trade deals. In this paper, I argue that Canada’s celebrated diversity and openness is not the product of a nation-state in retreat, but rather the result of a strong and sovereign state that has intervened to create a sense of a shared concern amongst its citizens. This same experience of local concern, I suggest, provides the basis for an empathic connection with people living outside our borders. It is important, therefore, to challenge the simple dichotomy between a divisive and chauvinistic model of nationalism on the one hand, and the idea of a postnational political order, on the other. Drawing on the works of George Grant, John Ralston Saul, Kwame Anthony Appiah and others, I make the case for a moderate, left-leaning Canadian nationalism, one which is both inclusive and outward looking.

Breaking Up the Party: Quebec Nationalism and the Submerging of Nativist Politics in Canada: Joshua Gordon (Simon Fraser University), Sanjay Jeram (Simon Fraser University), Clifton van der Linden (Vox Pop Labs)
Abstract: Canada has been celebrated in popular and academic work for its relative immunity to nativist populism. No competitive nativist party has emerged in federal politics that challenges the mainstream consensus around mass immigration, unlike virtually every other postindustrial democracy. This paper argues that existing explanations for this “exceptionalism” are lacking. In particular, they fail to appreciate the importance of Quebec nationalism in contributing to this outcome. Quebec nationalism fractured the relatively strong anti-immigration sentiment found in rural and small urban areas in both Quebec and Anglophone Canada, and thereby prevented right-wing parties from mobilizing that sentiment in a way that could feasibly win elections. This forced them to moderate their message and court “ethnic voters” in suburban ridings around Toronto and Vancouver. We illustrate this argument using new VoteCompass data and by comparing the Canadian experience to nativist politics in Australia and New Zealand.