What September 11th teaches us about Canada

While there is no doubt that September 11th has seized the attention of the Canadian public and raised concerns about security, terrorism and border controls, research on our collective reactions to the tragedy and its fallout over the past year reveal some important findings about who we are as a nation.

Environics was fortunate in having long-term tracking data on a number of key areas, ranging from attitudes to multiculturalism and immigration to defence spending and feelings of personal security. By examining the data collected before and after 9/11, we have arrived at a number of important conclusions about Canada.

Many of the predictions that Canada would become a less tolerant or less open society appear to be unfounded. But it's clear as well that the 9/11 attacks have tested the mettle of our society in a way that none of us could have expected on that fateful morning.

Most important is that we appear to have great confidence in the strength of our society and our openness to other peoples and cultures. In the weeks following September 11th, many commentators speculated that Canadians would demand reduced levels of immigration and would be less tolerant of multiculturalism, especially with regard to those of Middle Eastern origin or followers of Islam.

Instead, we found that attitudes toward the number of immigrants that Canada accepts remained stable throughout this period of crisis. Since 1998, about one-half of Canadians have said that the country accepts "about the right number" of immigrants (as opposed to too many or too few). Immediately after September 11th, that number dropped to 47 per cent; hardly a sign that Canadians wanted to slam the door on immigration. By October, responses to this question were restored to their previous levels.

Across the board, Canadians maintain positive and stable attitudes toward related matters, such as the perceived impact of immigration on our communities, culture and schools, and the contribution that immigrants make to our society. The same can be said about multiculturalism, which has gone from a government buzzword in the early 1970s to being an accepted part of the Canadian identity today.

This is not to say that our society has achieved perfection. Canadians are well aware that we struggle with racism and intolerance. In the focus groups we conducted after September 11, many Canadians reported incidents in their community directed at those presumed to be of Middle Eastern origin or of Islamic faith. Canadians with these backgrounds themselves reported that they had experienced verbal abuse, vandalism and, in limited cases, violence in response to the attacks. In some cases, racist incidents affected people of different skin colour, manners or dress who were not Muslims or from the Middle East at all.

As disturbing as these incidents are, the focus groups found that there were many instances in which Canadians took this opportunity to demonstrate solidarity with those of other backgrounds, whether it was a friendly smile on the bus, an understanding ear or attending one of the many rallies supporting the inclusiveness of our society. Canadians accept many things, but racism is not one of them.

The aftermath of September 11 also proved that we hold our rights and freedoms, as outlined in the Charter, very dear to us. Although some polls immediately after the 9/11 attacks indicated an apparent readiness to accept some curtailment of these rights, a deeper investigation found that Canadians retain a strong faith in due process and staunchly reject any compromise on freedom of expression and conscience.

Even if we were ready to accept concepts of preventative arrest, support for these efforts were highly conditional and based on due process. And Canadians have made it clear that any curtailment of Charter rights would need to be justified on the basis of reality, not fear. Our history has taught us that when we compromise the rights and freedoms of our citizens at times of crisis, we live to regret it later. Canadians want governments to think before they act.

Although the nature of the relationship between Canada and the United States has evolved dramatically over the last 20 years, the events of September 11 shed new light on the current state of this relationship.

We found that Canadians are willing to accept higher levels of co-operation with the United States on mutual security issues and border control, and they do not feel this would erode Canadian sovereignty. Granted, Canadians are used to working within multilateral and bilateral frameworks. However, Canadians see this issue as one of mutual responsibility, not one of the powerless succumbing to the powerful. We share the objective of efficient borders and domestic security; it is not surprising that we would share the responsibility.

This attitude reflects the increased confidence that Canadians have about who we are and the values that are most important to us. Our research in Canada and the United States shows that, contrary to some opinions, our social values are diverging from, rather than merging with, those found in the U.S. We have noted a strong increase in feelings of nationalism and entrepreneurship among Canadians, which some observers may be confusing with "becoming Americans."

Our research finds that Americans are more deferential to authority and are more trusting in traditional power structures -- whether it is in the family or in society at large -- than are Canadians. While Americans felt it was necessary to close ranks in the weeks following September 11 -- even to the point of stifling any criticism or satire within that country -- Canadians still felt that they had the right, if not the obligation, to hold governments, politicians and others up to critical scrutiny.

We have acquired our own identity beyond that of "Americans with socialized health care." We are no longer as anxious about Canadian nationalism as we used to be. We understand that co-operation does not necessarily mean co-option. Although we chafe at the negligence of the U.S. in not recognizing the valuable role that we play as friends and allies, we see ourselves as equal partners, not as clients or supplicants.

Of the many lessons learned since September 11, at least this is positive: we can have greater confidence in the strength of our society and the willingness of Canadians to live together in harmony.

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Originally published in the Winnipeg Free Press, September 11, 2002. The public opinion research discussed in this article was conducted by the Environics Research Group for the Government of Canada (I led this research on behalf of Environics).