Abstract
Ethnic and immigrant communities have become a powerful constituency for winning federal
elections. The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) has done an excellent job of recruiting,
maintaining and increasing the support of this constituency over the past three elections, bringing
a triple threat on the basis of values, policies and optics. The Conservatives have communicated
common values between the base and ethnic communities, enacted policies on the basis of these
values and look more like Canada than the other political parties.
Despite receiving a majority government in the 2011 election, which is largely attributed to
ethnic voters, the Conservative government has tightened legislation around immigration,
making it more difficult to come to Canada. This research study explores the relationship
between politics and policy and why immigrant communities are increasing their support for the
Conservative party despite stricter immigration policies.
Qualitative interviews with seven political and community leaders outline that the CPC was able
to institute its policy agenda because of good politics. This paper proposes seven perspectives on
why immigrant communities are voting for the CPC despite some perceived unfavorable
policies.
Political parties have the advantage of presenting issues selectively rather than identifying their
position on all policy matters. Politicians control the message and citizens rely on politicians to
tell them what the important and relevant issues are. The average voter does not have the time to
delve into policy and relies on those responsible for policy setting to steer them in the right
direction because there is asymmetric knowledge between politicians and voters. It is rational for
the average voter to be apathetic towards policy matters due to the large amount of time and
effort needed to maneuver in the political landscape. There is little incentive for an individual to
become well versed on all policy matters. The average citizen therefore relies on a leader that
they believe has their interest at heart. This is where ethos becomes very important. The
character and credibility of a leader is a powerful rhetorical tool and Minister Jason Kenney has
been a consistent figure for immigrant communities. Pathos is also a very important tool in
persuading voters. The CPC’s emotional appeals on same-sex marriage, crime and family values
appear to have made an impact on immigrant communities. Ethnic and immigrant communities have become a powerful constituency for winning federal
elections. The Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) has done an excellent job of recruiting,
maintaining and increasing the support of this constituency over the past three elections, bringing
a triple threat on the basis of values, policies and optics. The Conservatives have communicated
common values between the base and ethnic communities, enacted policies on the basis of these
values and look more like Canada than the other political parties.
Despite receiving a majority government in the 2011 election, which is largely attributed to
ethnic voters, the Conservative government has tightened legislation around immigration,
making it more difficult to come to Canada. This research study explores the relationship
between politics and policy and why immigrant communities are increasing their support for the
Conservative party despite stricter immigration policies.
Qualitative interviews with seven political and community leaders outline that the CPC was able
to institute its policy agenda because of good politics. This paper proposes seven perspectives on
why immigrant communities are voting for the CPC despite some perceived unfavorable
policies.
Political parties have the advantage of presenting issues selectively rather than identifying their
position on all policy matters. Politicians control the message and citizens rely on politicians to
tell them what the important and relevant issues are. The average voter does not have the time to
delve into policy and relies on those responsible for policy setting to steer them in the right
direction because there is asymmetric knowledge between politicians and voters. It is rational for
the average voter to be apathetic towards policy matters due to the large amount of time and
effort needed to maneuver in the political landscape. There is little incentive for an individual to
become well versed on all policy matters. The average citizen therefore relies on a leader that
they believe has their interest at heart. This is where ethos becomes very important. The
character and credibility of a leader is a powerful rhetorical tool and Minister Jason Kenney has
been a consistent figure for immigrant communities. Pathos is also a very important tool in
persuading voters. The CPC’s emotional appeals on same-sex marriage, crime and family values
appear to have made an impact on immigrant communities.
Refereed
Yes
