Framing Canadian Immigration Discourse Under the Conservative Government (2006–2015): Breaking Path Dependence?

Abstract

The implementation of comprehensive immigration and refugee policy reform under the Conservative government led by Stephen Harper in Canada has brought important changes to a key pillar of Canadian nation-building policy and raised many questions about the future course of Canada’s traditionally inclusionary immigration model. Based on content analysis of immigration-related discourse during the period of Conservative rule (2006–2015), as deconstructed in political platforms and speeches, this paper identifies which frames prevailed among the Conservatives’ political elite. My goal is to conceptualize various strategies employed in the construction and transformation of the discourse surrounding the immigration issue. At the rhetorical level, the Conservatives have broken with a traditional liberal discursive orientation based on incorporation and promotion, and gradually constructed a nationalistic/patriotic frame emphasizing economic goals, civic integration, and security-based exclusion of undesirable potential immigrants.