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Voluntary Association Activity in Quebec and English Canada: Assessing the Effects of Region and Language

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 March 2007

Monica Hwang ,
Robert Andersen  and
Edward Grabb
Monica Hwang
Affiliation:
University of Waterloo
Robert Andersen
Affiliation:
McMaster University
Edward Grabb
Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario
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Abstract

Abstract. This paper presents the first multivariate analysis of the combined effects of region and language on voluntary association membership in Canada. National survey data from 2000 indicate that Quebecers have the lowest average number of memberships, with Western Canadians highest and Atlantic and Ontario residents in between. Preliminary results also confirm that francophones report fewer memberships than anglophones. Findings from Poisson regression models, however, indicate a significant interaction between region and language: francophones have lower membership levels only in Quebec, and in Western Canada have higher levels than anglophones or allophones. These results hold even with controls for a number of possible explanatory factors suggested in the literature, including religious and socioeconomic differences across the regions and language groups. The implications for understanding patterns of voluntary association activity in Canada are discussed.

Résumé. Cet article présente la première analyse multivariable des effets combinés de la région et de la langue sur l'adhésion d'aux associations volontaires au Canada. Les données nationales de 2000 indiquent que les Québécois ont le plus bas nombre moyen d'adhésions, avec les Canadiens de l'Ouest plus hauts et des résidants de la région atlantique et de l'Ontario entre les deux. Les résultats préliminaires confirment que les francophones ont moins d'adhésions que les anglophones. Les résultats indiquent une interaction significative entre la région et la langue: les francophones ont moins d'adhésion seulement au Québec; dans le Canada de l'Ouest les francophones ont plus d'adhésion que les anglophones et les allophones. Ces résultats se tiennent même avec contrôle d'un certain nombre de facteurs explicatifs possibles suggérés dans la littérature, y compris des différences religieuses et socio-économiques à travers les régions et les groupes linguistic. Nous discutons les implications quant aux modèles d'association volontaire au Canada.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 40 , Issue 1 , March 2007 , pp. 209 - 232
Copyright
© 2007 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

We thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for providing funding for this study, and the directors of the Economy, Security and Community Survey for making the data source available.

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