1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«This paper examines the determinants of ethno-religious intermarriage in Quebec over a century as an indication of integration in a province where minority/majority relations are distinct from the rest of Canada.» (p. 112)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«We use data from 1881 (entire census), 1911 and 1941 censuses (newly available CCRI [Canadian Century Research Infrastructure] samples), to examine ethno-religious intermarriage among couples who were married at the time of the census for three successive generations thirty years apart.» (p. 111)

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

Results show «the importance of contextual variables such as the degree of rurality and the ethno-religious diversity in accounting for variations in intermarriage, both on their own and in addition to spouses’ characteristics despite the probable misallocation as urban of many who married in a rural and often more homogeneous context. […] They point to the importance of structural factors, especially the size of the ethnoreligious groups and the prevailing sex ratios, as well as the diversity of the ethnic composition of the area at the contextual level. The strong impact of the spouse’s ethno-religious identity is mostly attributable to the impact of these structural variables but it is probably also the sign of the spouses’ own preferences and the influence of third parties on them, especially with respect to the Jewish. Within each group the chances of intermarrying increase for spouses who speak either or both of the languages of the Canadian and Quebec majorities, which can increase opportunities (structural) and improve proximity to the other’s culture. Differences according to the spouse’s age and birthplace may reflect the increased propensity to intermarry with time and with time since immigration, partly linked to the specific history of each group and the deeper Canadian roots developed by the second and higher generations within the ethno-religious groups who arrived earlier.» (p. 136-137)