Ethnic and National Sense of Belonging in Canadian Society

There has been long-standing debate among Western nations regarding the best approaches for the integration of immigrants into host societies. The core of this debate is between the proponents of assimilation and multiculturalism. Using a large sample of Canadians, we investigated the link between their sense of belonging to their ethno-racial heritage (ethnic belonging) and to Canada (national belonging) in order to seek answers to the question of whether multiculturalism policies work to strengthen or weaken residents’ loyalty to the nation. Our analyses showed that increases in ethnic belonging significantly predicted increases in national belonging, both for ethno-racial minorities and Whites, after controlling for demographic variables. These findings extend our understanding of acculturation and integration, provide empirical support for multiculturalism, and suggest that active support of immigrant and non-immigrant individuals in maintaining connections to their ethno-racial heritage increases individuals’ loyalty to the nation.