Politique canadienne

A19(a) - Agenda setting, policy change and policy effects

Date: Jun 5 | Heure: 01:45pm to 03:15pm | Salle:

Chair/Président/Présidente : Catherine Xhardez (Université de Montréal)

Discussant/Commentateur/Commentatrice : Catherine Xhardez (Université de Montréal)

Participating in Integration Activities and Participating in the Host Community: A Study of Integration Programs’ and their Policy Feedback Effects: Valérie-Anne Mahéo (Université Laval), Thomas Gareau-Paquette (Cornell University), Alexander Ross (Unviersité Laval)
Abstract: This study examines how participation in Quebec's Programme d'accompagnement et de soutien à l'intégration (PASI) shapes recent immigrants' integration and civic engagement through policy feedback effects. While existing research has explored policy feedback mechanisms among general populations, little attention has been paid to how public integration programs and services specifically may generate resource and interpretive effects for newcomers. Drawing on a three-wave panel survey of recent immigrants in Quebec, we first investigate the factors influencing program uptake, testing competing hypotheses about whether PASI activities primarily reach those most in need or those best equipped to navigate administrative systems and access these services. We then employ matching techniques to assess the causal impact of program participation on three key outcomes: civic engagement, sense of belonging, and linguistic participation. Our findings suggest that integration services effectively reach more vulnerable populations (including non-francophones, racial minorities, and those outside Montreal) and generate significant positive effects on engagement and provincial attachment, though with limited impact on French language use. This study advances both policy feedback theory and immigrant integration research by demonstrating how targeted government programs can serve as catalysts for civic and political incorporation among newcomer populations.

Reassessing Canadian Agenda-Setting Studies Under American Influence in the Digital Age: Samuel Goertz (University of Alberta), Jared Wesley (University of Alberta)
Abstract: This paper explores agenda-setting in Canadian political science in the twenty-first century, with particular attention to the influence of the United States. The central question of this research is whether existing scholarship can adequately explain Canadian agenda-setting dynamics in the 2020s and how we account for the pervasive American influence on our media, government, and public agendas. Based on a review of the literature, I argue that Canadian agenda-setting studies are in serious need of revitalization: not only to reflect the vastly changed landscape of digital versus traditional media but also to address the complexities of cross-border agenda-setting, which current research only hints at. Furthermore, while there is considerable work on the cultural impact of Americanization, little focuses on the American influence over Canada’s public agenda—what issues Canadians prioritize and how these priorities are shaped by American public, governmental, and media agendas. Additionally, there is a lack of emphasis on individual-level factors that shape how Canadian citizens are impacted by this influence. This paper takes as central the work of Stuart Soroka’s Agenda-setting Dynamics in Canada (2002), a foundational study that I use to trace the evolution of agenda-setting in Canadian political science, while identifying gaps in public agenda dynamics and cross-border influence. Adapted from a state-of-the-field paper, this work is structured as a “literature review with teeth,” providing a comprehensive overview of key inquiries and pointing to deficiencies and opportunities for further study. Ultimately, this paper clarifies the unique challenges facing Canadian agenda-setting in an era of pervasive American influence.

Challenging Canada’s Citizenship Regime Amidst Social Crises: Examining Government Recognition in Voluntary Sector Mobilization for Underrepresented Communities in Urban Ontario: Arvind Krishendeholl (University of Toronto), Linda White (University of Toronto), Alison Smith (University of Toronto)
Abstract: Theories of social inclusion and pluralism have been subject to considerable discussion amongst students of political science, particularly amidst times of social change and conflict. Canada, where its diversity is touted on the international stage, has often been a focal point in examining the conceptualization and significance of equitable policy design in effectively addressing the evolving socioeconomic needs of its pluralistic society. This paper offers new insights into Canada’s citizenship regime by investigating, through a qualitative study, the emergence and continued recognition of Black-led, Black-focused, and Black-serving (B3) voluntary sector organizations as influential policy vehicles advocating for the social well-being of underrepresented communities in urban Ontario since the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on John Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Framework (MSF), this paper identifies three key focusing events that have contributed to this shift in government recognition of representational activities pursued by these groups: (1) the renewal of the Black Lives Matter movement in social discourse, (2) the implementation of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, and (3) the release of socio-demographic healthcare data during the pandemic. In addition to examining the convergence of these events, this paper will further investigate the political and policy dimensions of this new, strengthened relationship, and its broader implications for state-societal relations for Canada’s increasingly diverse communities and the state.