Sense of belonging to Canada, the province of residence and the local community

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• Regional variations in sense of belonging
• Immigrant status and sense of belonging

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The 2013 General Social Survey on Social Identity asked Canadians aged 15 years and older to describe their sense of belonging to Canada, their province of residence and their local community.^{Note 1} Those born outside Canada were also asked to describe their sense of belonging to their country of origin.

In 2013, almost two in three people (63%) reported having a very strong sense of belonging to Canada. Just under half (45%) said they had a very strong sense of belonging to their province of residence, and nearly one in three (32%) expressed that same sense of belonging to their local community.

The sense of belonging tended to be stronger among women and older people.

In 2013, 77% of seniors aged 75 years and older expressed a very strong sense of belonging to Canada, compared to 56% of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 (Table 1).

In addition, 64% of women expressed that sense of belonging to Canada, compared to 62% of men.

Regional variations in sense of belonging

In 2013, among the 10 provinces, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Saskatchewan residents were the most likely to report a very strong sense of belonging to Canada (70% each), while Quebec residents were the least likely (44%) (Chart 1).

Description for Chart 1

Sense of belonging to the province of residence also varied regionally, with residents of Newfoundland and Labrador (65%) and Quebec (52%) being most likely to have a very strong sense of belonging to their province.

Residents of Newfoundland and Labrador also ranked the highest in their sense of belonging to their local community (47%), while Albertans ranked the lowest (29%).

Immigrant status and sense of belonging

Immigrants were more likely than non-immigrants to report having a very strong sense of belonging to Canada (67% versus 62%).

However, this difference was not evident for all age groups. For example, among youth aged 15 to 24, there was no observed difference between the non-immigrant and immigrant populations (Chart 2). Conversely, among seniors aged 65 to 74, 80% of immigrants expressed a very strong sense of belonging to Canada, compared with 73% of non-immigrants.

Description for Chart 2

In 2013, longer-term immigrants, that is, those who immigrated before 2000, were more likely to express a very strong sense of belonging to Canada (71%) than to their country of origin (29%).

This difference was less pronounced among immigrants who immigrated between 2000 and 2013, with 60% of them expressing a very strong sense of belonging to Canada and 44% having a strong connection to their country of origin.

Table 1
People who described their sense of belonging to Canada, to their province of residence and to their local community as being very strong, 2013

Table summary
This table displays the results of People who described their sense of belonging to Canada, to their province of residence and to their local community as being very strong, 2013. Very strong sense of belonging to Canada, Very strong sense of belonging to the province of residence and Very strong sense of belonging to the local community, calculated using Percentage units of measure (appearing as column headers).

	Very strong sense of belonging to Canada	Very strong sense of belonging to the province of residence	Very strong sense of belonging to the local community
	Percentage
Total	63	45	32
Men (ref.)	62	43	30
Women	64Note *	46Note *	34Note *
Age group
15 to 24 years	56Note *	40	29
25 to 34 years	55Note *	37Note *	25Note *
35 to 44 years (ref.)	60	40	29
45 to 54 years	63Note *	44Note *	32Note *
55 to 64 years	68Note *	50Note *	34Note *
65 to 74 years	74Note *	55Note *	41Note *
75 years and older	77Note *	57Note *	43Note *
Province
Newfoundland and Labrador	66Note *	65Note *	47Note *
Prince Edward Island	62Note *	48Note *	37
Nova Scotia	70	46Note *	35
New Brunswick	67	41	37Note *
Quebec	44Note *	52Note *	32
Ontario (ref.)	70	39	32
Manitoba	67	37	32
Saskatchewan	70	50Note *	34
Alberta	68	44Note *	29Note *
British Columbia	67	45Note *	32
Note * significantly different from reference category (ref.) at p < 0.05 Return to note * referrer Source: Statistics Canada, General Social Survey, 2013.

Note