Social Capital and Political Participation of Canadians.

This paper evaluates the importance of social capital for political participation of native-born Canadians and immigrants. The Survey of Social Engagement in Canada, a large survey of Canadians conducted by Statistics Canada in 2003, is used in order to test the role of social relations and connections in accounting for political participation. Analyses show that although the "usual suspects" play important roles in explaining political activities, the main culprit is social capital. Among social capital measures, though all arc important, associational involvement and social networks, followed by trust and volunteering, are the best predictors of political participation. Moreover, the effect of social capital varies by period of immigration. Theoretical and policy implications of findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]