1. Objectifs

Intentions :
« The purpose of this analysis is to explore the generational transfer of ethnic identity at the beginning of the twenty-first century in Canada and in eight census metropolitan areas, i.e., Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Montreal. » (p. 135)

Questions/Hypothèses :
« The analysis in this paper suggest that the new immigrant groups will continue to experience an intergenerational transfer of ethnic identity as their 2nd and 3rd+ generations numbers increase. » (tiré de l’article, page non disponible)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
The study uses « data from the 2001 Census of Canada. Patterns of ethnic-connectedness are addressed using language, marriage type, and responses to the ethnic ancestry question at the time of the 2001 Census ». (p. 135) The analysis is carried out for the population 15 years of age and older from many different ethnicity.

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

« The post-war years in Canada have seen the emergence of the ideals of multiculturalism blossom into policies that have had a major effect on the composition of Canada’s immigrant stream and this, along with time, has had a major effect on the identity of Canada’s immigrants. Changes in the wording of the census ethnic ancestry question since 1971, the legitimization of multiple origin responses, the acceptance of ’Canadian’ as an answer to the ethnic origin ancestry question, and the addition of the ’birthplace of parents’ question for the first time since 1971 present an opportunity to look at the intergenerational transfer of ethnic identity in Canada at the time of Canada’s 2001 Census. While Canada’s census does not ask an identity question per se, it is still possible to examine the data to achieve some understanding of how Canadians identify themselves in terms of ethnicity. Questions such as those dealing with birthplace of parents, mother tongue, language spoken at home, ethnic ancestry, birthplace, and marriage type can tell us about identity and its changes from one generation to another. Ethnic ancestry and ethnic identity, for example, can be the same or different depending on the individual and his/her migration and generational status, language use, marital type if married, or the marital type of his/her parents or ancestors. Levels of ethnic-connectedness can also be examined with Canadian census data. A case in point is the use of an ethnic language spoken at home or mother tongue. Previous research has shown a decline in the use of ethnic languages from the 1st to the 3rd+ generation (Kalbach and Richard 1991; Pigott 2003). » (p. 135)