A Diverse Minority of Intolerance: Ethnic Relations in a Multicultural Society

Abstract

This study contributes to the international literature on ethnic relations and multiculturalism by empirically examining the claim that ethnic diversity can undermine social cohesion. The specific focus is on analyzing the attitudes of Canadians toward different ethnic groups to assess the level of ethnic intolerance. Canada serves as an ideal case study for this investigation due to the long-standing federal policy of multiculturalism. The multicultural we is an ideal, composed of many us which are opposed to others, all of which are themselves composed of individuals manifesting a heterogeneity of attitudes and opinions. By studying out-group attitudes, the study seeks to assess the viability of multiculturalism in addressing the challenges posed by ethnic diversity. The study has three primary objectives: firstly, to examine if the distribution of ethnic intolerance varies across different ethnic groups in Canada; secondly, to investigate whether Canadians perceive the Canadian mosaic in a vertical (hierarchical) or horizontal (egalitarian) manner, drawing from group position theory; and finally, to explore whether ethnic groups in Canada hold their own subjective group position hierarchies distinct from the national average. To achieve these objectives, the paper conducts an original quantitative analysis of the 2014 Provincial Diversity Project Survey.