Diasporic Differences: Political Participation among South Asian-Canadian Voters

• In Event: International Politics Are Racial Politics

Abstract

As most marginalized groups struggle to attain adequate political representation in Parliament, Sikh-Canadians have achieved more than double their proportion of the population. This is further demonstrated by Jagmeet Singh, the first visible minority leader of a major federal political party. To date, the existing research studying the political attitudes of visible minorities in Canada seldom isolates South Asian-Canadian political attitudes, let alone Sikh-Canadians. Due to their demonstrated electoral success, it is imperative to understand the factors that motivate Sikhs to engage in Canadian federal politics. Using the Canadian Electoral Studies from 2019 and 2021, this paper examines Sikh-Canadians, in comparison to other, well-represented South Asian groups to isolate the factors that mobilize Sikh- (n=248), Muslim- (n=313) and Hindu- (n=440) Canadians to politically participate in federal elections. I will operationalize political engagement through voter turnout which will be explored through the determinants of citizenship, age, socioeconomic status, religiosity, civic duty, and civic engagement. The results point towards social networks as a key determinant for Sikh-Canadian voter turnout. It will be argued that Sikhs foster civic networks at places of religious worship where Sikh temples (gurdwaras) act as sites of political participation and congregation. This examination of Sikh-Canadian political behaviour contributes to a nuanced understanding of a historically understudied and politically important minority group in Canadian politics. This paper concludes with a call for election surveys to be conducted in non-English languages to obtain a comprehensive look at the political behaviours of immigrant and visible minority groups in Canada.

Author

• Rupinder Liddar, McGill University