Cross-Nativity Partnering and the Political Participation of Immigrant Generations

Abstract

This article defines cross-nativity intermarriage in four generations of Canadians and explores whether cross-nativity partnering is associated with political assimilation—in this case, similarity in voting and political activities between immigrants with native-born partners and third-plus-generation immigrants. We find that foreign-born residents with Canadian-born partners do not differ from third-plus-generation residents who have Canadian-born partners in their propensities to vote or in the number of political activities in which they participate. Conversely, the foreign-born with foreign-born partners are less likely than the third-plus generation to have voted in a previous federal election; if the foreign-born immigrated later in adolescence or in adulthood, they also are less likely to participate in other political activities. Differences in demographic and socioeconomic characteristics underlie the greater likelihood that second and third-plus generations will engage in political activities.