Family, Religion, and Civic Engagement in Canada

This article examines whether the family and religious networks and attachments that are central to the migration experience facilitate the political and civic integration of foreign-born Canadians. Using data from the 2002 Ethnic Diversity Survey, we investigate whether immigrants and newcomers who are more closely integrated into these networks are also more likely to vote in national and sub-national elections and to join voluntary associations. We found that ascriptive bonds had a relatively more positive effect on the democratic engagement of members of the general population than on immigrants and newcomers who had arrived in Canada since 1991. For both immigrants in general and new arrivals, institutional or solitary forms of religious worship were important determinants of political and civic engagement at the local level. However, family networks did not realize their potential to stimulate voting and associational activities. Immigrants who expressed higher levels of trust in family members were less likely to vote in federal, provincial and municipal elections, with all else held equal.