Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T05:09:58.011Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Venue Shopping and Legitimacy: Making Sense of Harper's Immigration Record

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 July 2018

Mireille Paquet  and
Lindsay Larios
Mireille Paquet*
Affiliation:
Concordia University
Lindsay Larios*
Affiliation:
Concordia University
*
Department of Political Science, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve West, Montreal QC, H3 G 1M8, email: [email protected]
Department of Political Science, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve West, Montreal QC, H3 G 1M8, email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Canadian immigration policies went through numerous changes under the Conservative party leadership of Stephen Harper from 2006 to 2015. This article provides an empirical account of immigration policy change during this era and suggests that of state-centred venue shopping can effectively account for the Harper's immigration record. In particular, it documents the ways in which immigration policies have expanded into international and regional venues, opened new venues to non-state actors, further decentralized into subnational venues and reinvested into traditional administrative and executive venues for policy making. The analysis suggests that the redeployment of the state into new and expanding venues aims to demonstrate state capacity and legitimacy as a nodal actor in immigration policy.

Résumé

Cet article présente une analyse empirique des changements aux politiques liées à l'immigration effectuées par le gouvernement de Stephen Harper entre 2006 et 2015. Plutôt que de présenter ces changements comme s'expliquant uniquement par le néolibéralisme ou l' idéologies conservatrice, cet article propose qu'ils doivent être compris comme des indicateurs de déplacement des lieux de prises de décision et de mise en oeuvre des politiques d'immigration du Canada. Par le biais du concept de “venue shopping”, l'analyse empirique démontre que les changements de politique d'immigration sous Harper ont impliqué l'expansion vers des institutions régionales et internationales, l'inclusion d'acteurs non étatiques, la décentralisation, mais aussi le renforcement des capacités des détenteurs du pouvoir exécutif. L'analyse suggère que ces redéploiements sont motivés par un désir de démontrer et de maintenir la légitimité et la capacité de l’État canadien à être l'acteur central dans la gouvernance des politiques d'immigration au pays.

Type
Research Article/Étude originale
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 51 , Issue 4 , December 2018 , pp. 817 - 836
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

The authors would like to thank the editors and reviewers of the journal for their helpful comments and suggestions as well as the members of the Concordia Centre for Immigration Policy Evaluation, Alexandra Dobrowolsky, Jane Jenson, Lorenza B. Fontana and Audrey Lespérance. An earlier version of this article was presented at the 2017 Canadian Political Science Association Annual Conference.

References

Aberman, Tanya. 2014. “Gendered Perspectives on Refugee Determination in Canada.” Refuge: Canada's Journal on Refugees 30 (2): 57–66.Google Scholar
Alboim, Naomi, and Cohl, Karen. 2012. Shaping the Future: Canada's Rapidly Changing Immigration Policies. Toronto: Maytree Foundation.Google Scholar
Ali, Loft Ali Jan. 2014. Welcome to Canada? A Critical Review and Assessment of Canada's Fast-Changing Immigration Policies. RCIS working paper no. 2014/6. Toronto: Ryerson Centre for Immigration and Settlement.Google Scholar
Banting, Keith. 2012. “Remaking Immigration: Asymmetric Decentralization and Canadian Federalism.” In Canadian Federalism: Performance, Effectiveness and Legitimacy, ed. Bakvis, Herman and Skogstad, Grace. Don Mills: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Banting, Keith. 2016. “Beyond Government by Surprise: Governance in the Immigration Sector.” Canadian Diversity 13 (1): 8–10.Google Scholar
Baumgartner, Frank R. and Jones, Bryan D.. 1991. “Agenda Dynamics and Policy Subsystems.” The Journal of Politics 53 (4): 1044–74.Google Scholar
Baumgartner, Frank R. and Jones, Bryan D.. 2009. Agendas and Instability in American Politics. 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Boswell, Christina. 2007. “Theorizing Migration Policy: Is There a Third Way?” International Migration Review 41 (1): 75–100.Google Scholar
Boucher, Anna. 2013. “Bureaucratic Control and Policy Change: A Comparative Venue Shopping Approach to Skilled Immigration Policies in Australia and Canada.” Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice 15 (4): 349–67.Google Scholar
Bradford, Neil and Andrew, Caroline. 2012. “The Harper Immigration Agenda: Policy and Politics in Historical Context.” In How Ottawa Spends 2011-2012. Trimming Fat or Slicing Pork? ed. Doern, G. Bruce and Stoney, Christopher. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press.Google Scholar
Canada. 2012. Speaking Notes for the Honourable Jason Kenney, P.C., M.P., Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism. Toronto, March 1. Ottawa: Citizenship and Immigration Canada.Google Scholar
Canada. 2015. 2014-15 Report on the Beyond the Border Action Plan Horizontal Initiative. Ottawa: Public Safety Canada.Google Scholar
Canada. 2016. Beyond the Border Action Plan. Ottawa: Public Safety Canada.Google Scholar
Carver, Peter J. 2016. “A Failed Discourse of Distrust Amid Significant Procedural Change: The Harper Government's Legacy in Immigration and Refugee Law.” Review of Constitutional Studies 21 (2): 209–34.Google Scholar
Chapnick, Adam. 2011. “A “Conservative” National Story? The Evolution of Citizenship and Immigration Canada's Discover Canada.” American Review of Canadian Studies 41 (1): 20–36.Google Scholar
Czaika, Mathias, and De Haas, Hein. 2013. “The Effectiveness of Immigration Policies.” Population and Development Review 39 (3): 487–508.Google Scholar
Dauvergne, Catherine. 2016. The New Politics of Immigration and the End of Settler Societies. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Dobrowolsky, Alexandra. 2013. “Nuancing Neoliberalism: Lessons Learned from a Failed Immigration Experiment.” Journal of International Migration and Integration 14 (2): 197–218.Google Scholar
Dufour, Frédérick Guillaume and Forcier, Mathieu. 2015. “Immigration, néoconservatisme et néolibéralisme après la crise de 2008: le nouveau régime de citoyenneté canadien à la lumière des trajectoires européennes.” Revue Interventions économiques 52: 1–25.Google Scholar
Elgersma, Sandra. 2015. Immigration Policy Primer. Ottawa: Library of ParliamentGoogle Scholar
Forcier, Mathieu, Dufour, Frédérick Guillaume and Halsall, Jamie. 2016. “Immigration, Neoconservatism and Neoliberalism: The New Canadian Citizenship Regime in the Light of European Trajectories.” Cogent Social Sciences 2 (1): 1–18.Google Scholar
Freeman, Gary P. 2006. “National Models, Policy Types, and the Politics of Immigration in Liberal Democracies.” West European Politics 29 (2): 227–47.Google Scholar
Garnier, Adèle. 2010. Are States in Control of their Borders? Testing the Venue-shopping Approach in the Australian Context. Leipzig: Graduate Centre Humanities and Social Sciences of the Research Academy.Google Scholar
Goldring, Luin and Landolt, Patricia. 2013. Producing and Negotiating Non-citizenship: Precarious Legal Status in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Griffith, Andrew. 2013. Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias? Resetting Citizenship and Multiculturalism. Ottawa: Anar Press.Google Scholar
Guiraudon, Virginie. 2000. “European Integration and Migration Policy: Vertical Policy-Making as Venue Shopping.” Journal of Common Market Studies 38 (2): 251–71.Google Scholar
Guiraudon, Virginie. 2002. “Logiques et pratiques de l'Etat délégateur : les compagnies de transport dans le contrôle migratoire à distance. Partie 1.” Cultures & conflits 45:1–10.Google Scholar
Guiraudon, Virginie. 2003. “The Constitution of a European Immigration Policy Domain: A Political Sociology Approach.” Journal of European Public Policy 10 (2): 263–82.Google Scholar
Guiraudon, Virginie and Lahav, Gallya. 2000. “A Reappraisal of the State Sovereignty Debate: The Case of Migration Control.” Comparative political studies 33 (2): 163–95.Google Scholar
Islam, Md Karum. 2013. “Levels and Trends of Temporary Foreign Workers in Canada: A Sociological Analysis.” American Journal of Sociological Research 3 (4): 90–100.Google Scholar
Kaunert, Christian and Léonard, Sarah. 2012. “The Development of the EU Asylum Policy: Venue-shopping in Perspective.” Journal of European Public Policy 19 (9): 1396–1413.Google Scholar
Lavenex, Sandra. 2006. “Shifting Up and Out: The Foreign Policy of European Immigration Control.” West European Politics 29 (2): 329–50.Google Scholar
Lahav, Gallya and Guiraudon, Virginie. 2006. “Actors and Venues in Immigration Control: Closing the Gap Between Political Demands and Policy Outcomes.” West European Politics 29 (2): 201–23.Google Scholar
Leach, Belinda. 2013. “Canada's Migrants without History: Neoliberal Immigration Regimes and Trinidadian Transnationalism.” International Migration 51 (2): 32–45.Google Scholar
Lenard, Patti and Straehle, Christine, eds. 2012. Legislated Inequality: Temporary Labour Migration in Canada. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.Google Scholar
Lowe, Sophia, Richmond, Ted and Shields, John. 2017. “Settling on Austerity: ISAs, Immigrant Communities and Neoliberal Restructuring.” Alternate Routes: A Journal of Critical Social Research 28:14–46.Google Scholar
Marwah, Inder, Triadafilopoulos, Triadafilos and White, Stephen. 2013. “Immigration, Citizenship, and Canada's New Conservative Party.” In Conservatism in Canada, ed. Farney, James and Rayside, David. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
Omidvar, Ratna. 2016. “The Harper Influence on Immigration.” In The Harper Factor: Assessing a Prime Minister's Policy Legacy, ed. Ditchburn, Jennifer and Fox, Graham. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.Google Scholar
Paquet, Mireille. 2013. “Beyond Appearances: Citizenship Tests in Canada and the UK.” Journal of International Migration and Integration 13 (2): 243–60.Google Scholar
Paquet, Mireille. 2014. “La construction provinciale comme mécanisme : le cas de l'immigration au Manitoba.” Politique et sociétés 33 (3): 101–30.Google Scholar
Richmond, Ted and Shields, John. 2005. “NGO-government Relations and Immigrant Services: Contradictions and Challenges.” Journal of International Migration and Integration 6 (3–4): 513–26.Google Scholar
Root, Jesse, Gates-Gasse, Erika, Shields, John and Bauder, Harald. 2014. Discounting Immigrant Families: Neoliberalism and the Framing of Canadian Immigration Policy Change. Toronto: Ryerson Centre for Immigration and Settlement.Google Scholar
Satzewich, Vic. 2007. “Business or Bureaucratic Dominance in Immigration Policymaking in Canada: Why was Mexico Included in the Caribbean Seasonal Agricultural Workers Program in 1974?” Journal of International Migration and Integration 8 (3): 255–75.Google Scholar
Schattschneider, Emer Eric. 1960. The Semisovereign People: A Realist's View of Democracy in America. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.Google Scholar
Schertzer, Robert. 2015. “Intergovernmental Relations in Canada's Immigration System: From Bilateralism towards Multilateral Collaboration.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 48 (02): 383–412.Google Scholar
Simmons, Alan B. and Keohane, Kieran. 1992. “Canadian Immigration Policy: State Strategies and the Quest for Legitimacy.” Canadian Review of Sociology 29 (4): 421–52.Google Scholar
Soennecken, Dagmar. 2014. “Shifting Up and Back. The European Turn in Canadian Refugee Policy.” Comparative Migration Studies 2 (1): 101–122.Google Scholar
Stasiulis, Daiva and Yuval-Davis, Nira, eds. 1995. Unsettling Settler Societies: Articulations of Gender, Race, Ethnicity and Class. London: Sage.Google Scholar
Tolley, Erin and Young, Robert, eds. 2011. Immigrant Settlement in Canadian Municipalities. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press.Google Scholar
Tolley, Erin. 2017. “Political Players or Partisan Pawns? Immigrants, Minorities, and Conservatives in Canada.” In The Blueprint: Conservative Parties and Their Impact on Canadian Politics ed. Lewis, J.P. and Everitt, Joanna. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 101–128.Google Scholar
Veugelers, John W.P. 2000. “State Society Relations in the Making of Canadian Immigration Policy during the Mulroney Era.” Canadian Review of Sociology 37 (1): 95–110.Google Scholar
Walsh, James. 2008. “Navigating Globalization: Immigration Policy in Canada and Australia, 1945–2007.” Sociological Forum 23 (4): 786–813.Google Scholar
Walsh, James. 2011. “Quantifying citizens: Neoliberal Restructuring and Immigrant Selection in Canada and Australia.” Citizenship Studies 15 (6–7): 861–79.Google Scholar
Winter, Elke. 2014. Becoming Canadian: Making Sense of Recent Changes to Citizenship Rules. IRPP Study. Montreal: IRPP.Google Scholar
Zhu, Yidan. 2016. “Immigration Policy, Settlement Service, and Immigrant Mothers in Neoliberal Canada: A Feminist Analysis.” Canadian Ethnic Studies 48 (2): 143–56.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Paquet and Larios supplementary material

Tables S1-S4

Download Paquet and Larios supplementary material(File)
File 51.1 KB