Multiculturalism versus ‘e pluribus unum’: Canadian-American differences or borderlands convergence?

Abstract

Seymour Martin Lipset posits a ‘continental divide’ separating political value systems in Canada and the United States, attributing this to the two countries’ differing foundational experiences. Central to Lipset’s argument is the contrast that he draws between values respecting immigration and cultural diversity, a contrast captured in the metaphors, ‘mosaic’ and ‘melting pot’. Critics of Lipset’s thesis, such as Grabb and Curtis, argue that the pattern of cross-national value difference he identifies is entirely the result of the distinctiveness of the American South and Québec; Canadians and Americans living outside these regions constitute a single, homogeneous cultural unit. Advocates of the so-called ‘borderlands thesis’ suggest a convergence of values among populations living close to the Canada-US border. This article, based on a paired comparison of students at Brock University and the University at Buffalo, finds some support for the borderlands thesis as well as continuing Canada-US difference in some areas, though not always in line with Lipset’s arguments.