The Meaning of Being Canadian: A Comparison between Youth of Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Origins

The meanings attached to national identity are the most salient citizenship issue today. We analyzed over 300 written responses of Canadian high school youth, of immigrant and non-immigrant origins, to the question of "What does it mean for me to be/become a Canadian?" The participants related a greater sense of national identity than of ethnic and/or supranational belonging. Youth of immigrant origins used a discourse of becoming and understand multiculturalism to recognize ethnic identities associated with Charter rights. The findings are contextualized in social unrest in other countries, a global migration pattern, and new forms of economic, social, and political domination. (Contains 1 figure and 6 tables.)