Profile
Antoine Bilodeau is a full professor in the Department of Political Science at Concordia University. He is the director of the Immigration Research Initiative (IRI) and a member of the Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship (CSDC), the Équipe de recherche sur l’immigration au Québec et ailleurs (ERIQA) and the Groupe de recherche sur les sociétés plurinationales (GRSP).
His research interests focus on the political integration of immigrants and on the dynamics of openness to immigration and ethnocultural diversity in Quebec and elsewhere in the world. His research has been published in the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, the International Migration Review, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Nations and Nationalism, the International Political Science Review, Publius, Democratization, the Canadian Journal of Political Science, Politics and Religion and Territory, Politics and Governance.
In recent years, A. Bilodeau has received the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Award for Research (2023), the Concordia University Research Award (2016/2017) and the John McMenemy Prize twice (in 2020 and 2011) for the best paper published in the Canadian Journal of Political Science.
antoine.bilodeau.ca
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Debates on secularism and sense of belonging among racialized immigrants in Quebec: Better understanding the impact of "focalizing events". Canadian Journal of Political Science Concordia University Publication 2023-06-01 Une crédibilité variable : l’influence de l’accent et de la couleur de la peau dans l’évaluation des experts scientifiques au Québec et en Ontario Les recherches sur la diversité ont depuis longtemps établi que les attitudes à l’égard des membres de groupes minoritaires sont influencées par divers marqueurs d’appartenance, notamment la couleur de la peau. Mais si ces marqueurs sont principalement visuels , qu’en est-il des marqueurs auditifs , comme l’accent d’une personne immigrante? Cette recherche tente de comprendre l’effet des marqueurs visuels et auditifs sur la perception de la crédibilité des individus par le groupe majoritaire. Ces effets sont-ils additifs, de sorte que le groupe majoritaire juge plus négativement les membres d’une minorité à la fois auditive et visible, ou sélectifs, de sorte qu’un des marqueurs suffit à modifier la perception de la crédibilité? Pour étudier ces questions, nous utilisons les données d’une expérience en ligne réalisée au Québec et en Ontario et visant à comprendre comment les répondants perçoivent la crédibilité de divers experts scientifiques d’origines et d’accents différents. Les résultats suggèrent que le fait d’avoir un accent étranger et de faire partie d’une minorité visible nuit à la possibilité d’être considéré comme un expert crédible par les membres du groupe majoritaire. De plus, il existe des différences importantes quant à l’effet des marqueurs d’appartenance en Ontario et au Québec, les répondants du Québec se concentrant davantage sur les marqueurs auditifs que ceux de l’Ontario. Concordia University Publication 2025-01-01 Subjective Perceptions of Difference in Multi-level States: Regional Values, Embeddedness, and Bias in Canadian Provinces Abstract Subnational variations in political culture and policy attitudes are a hallmark feature of multilevel systems of government, yet we know comparatively little about how and why citizens of these systems subjectively perceive regional differences in political values. Using data from a specially commissioned survey under the auspices of the Provincial Diversity Project, this article analyses subjective perceptions of difference across provinces in Canada. It shows that individuals believe their regions have distinct political values, but also that they systematically overestimate that difference. In their estimations of regional distinctiveness, individuals are informed by the value profiles of the regions in which they live, but also by their own policy preferences. The findings clarify the salience of internal boundaries within multilevel or federal states, and enable us to understand how myths of distinctiveness flourish, but also provide an important extension on debates about misperceptions in politics. Concordia University Publication 2024-10-10 In the eye of the beholder: national boundary perceptions and their identity implications across immigrant generations in multinational states The concept of national boundaries has been employed extensively in the social sciences, with most research focusing on the host society's perspective. This study innovates by measuring immigrants’ perceptions of how boundaries of their host nation are drawn and examining how such perceptions impact their national identifications in a multinational context, more specifically in the province of Quebec in Canada. It relies on a stratified sample of first- (n = 1129) and second-generation immigrants (n = 1286) as well as non-immigrants (n = 1472). We show that boundary perceptions impact the availability and attractiveness of different identity options, including identification with Quebec, the country of origin, and Canada. First, while perceptions of ascriptive boundaries to Quebec push first- and second-generation immigrants away from Quebec identity, the reactive effect of strengthening identification with the country of origin and Canada is limited. Second, although the second generation perceives Quebec boundaries as more ascriptive than the first generation, it is not more strongly impacted by their boundary perceptions in their identifications. Third, perceptions of attainable boundaries promote all three national identifications, but only for the first generation. Finally, we demonstrate that attention to boundary perceptions adds important explanatory leverage beyond the impact that discrimination has on national identifications. Concordia University Publication 2024-06-28 Populists without parties: are left-wing and right-wing populists in Quebec disengaged citizens? The literature on populism is vast, with most studies exploring this phenomenon in contexts where populist parties play a central role in steering populist ideas and mobilizing their supporters. Yet, populist ideas can be supported by a widespread share of the population even in the absence of populist parties. This study investigates and compares how left- and right-wing populists engage with politics when no populist party represents their voice in the political system. Relying on a survey of 5633 respondents in Quebec (Canada), we examine how support for populist ideas relates to different forms of political participation. Our findings indicate that left-wing populists are less likely to vote than other citizens, specifically at the provincial level. This finding, however, does not hold for their right-wing counterparts. Moreover, right-wing populists exhibit a greater propensity to engage in non- and semi-institutional forms of action that enable them to express their grievances directly to elected officials. With these forms of action not observed among left-wing populists, our study points to fundamental differences in the expression of left- and right-wing populisms. Despite these differences, our study indicates that all populists perceive more than other citizens that violence can be a legitimate mean of action. Concordia University Publication 2024-04-09 Overcoming origin-based preferences by selecting skilled immigrants? Preferences in immigrants’ national origin and social class in Quebec Although most liberal democracies have abandoned preferences for national origins in immigrant selection policies, large segments of the local populations continue to prefer immigrants that they perceive to be of similar cultural, religious, and ethnic backgrounds as them. What remains unknown is whether governments can count on the promotion of successful economic integration to ensure acceptance of the greater ethnocultural and religious diversity of immigrants that now settles in host-countries through what has been identified as building a middle-class nation. Relying on an original survey experiment of 2400 respondents in Quebec, we compare reactions to immigrants of different professional status and two national origins (France and Algeria) to investigate if certain types of economic immigration can reduce origin-based preferences. Our results show that origin-based preferences shared by majority group members can be attenuated, but not eliminated by selection based on social class. That said, expectations that immigrants will contribute to Quebec's economy translate into greater acceptance of immigrants of all national origins and social classes. Concordia University Publication 2024-02-26 Minority Affirmations and the Boundaries of the Nation: Evidence From Québec Cultural criteria, like language skills and values, are salient features of nationalism discourse, reflecting imagined boundaries that separate ingroup from outgroup member when thinking about the nation. Despite their salience, the relationship between cultural membership criteria and other civic (attainable) or ethnic (ascriptive) national boundaries, along with their implications for intergroup relations, is contested. Using surveys from N = 6448 majority group members in the Canadian province of Québec, we argue cultural boundaries are empirically distinct from civic and ethnic ones. Cultural and civic criteria are both prominent prerequisites for membership into the Québécois national community, but cultural criteria show markedly divergent relationships with outgroup attitudes. The results underline the importance of conceptualizing cultural boundaries as a distinct set of national membership criteria and question the construct validity of blended ethnocultural boundary measures or approaches that aggregate civic and cultural criteria together as equally “attainable” markers of national membership. Concordia University Publication 2024-01-20 Public Attitudes Toward Immigrants and Immigration in Smaller Canadian Communities Abstract: Canadian immigration programs are increasingly emphasizing regionalization in order to contribute to the population base of smaller Canadian communities and to address local labour market needs. Despite frequent Canadian national surveys of public attitudes toward immigrants and immigration, however, little is known about the warmth of the welcome presented to immigrants in regions outside of the large metropolises. The current study involved a representative survey of attitudes toward immigrants and immigration in eleven smaller communities across Canada, including Kamloops (BC), Wood Buffalo (AB), Prince Albert (SK), Brandon (MB), Thunder Bay (ON), Greater Sudbury (ON), Saint-Hyacinthe (QC), Bathurst (NB), Charlottetown (PEI), Cape Breton (NS), and St. John's (NL). The study also examined the extent to which individual demographic characteristics and two community variables – the size of the community and the immigrant share of the community population – predicted these attitudes. While there were differences between the surveyed communities, overall, residents of these communities were relatively satisfied with Canada's immigration levels, were quite willing to believe that refugee claimants are "real" refugees and that the Federal Government has control over who can immigrate, and supported bringing in immigrants who have the work skills that the country needs. They were less sure of the integration of immigrants into Canadian society in terms of adopting Canadian values. Younger, female, White and highly educated residents of these communities were more likely to hold positive immigration attitudes. Furthermore, immigrant respondents were more likely to hold positive attitudes toward immigration and less likely to believe that immigrants are not adopting Canadian values and that the government has lost control over who can immigrate. At the community level, residents in communities in which immigrants constitute a higher share of the population were more likely to express negative attitudes toward immigrants and immigration. Overall, the findings provide some optimism for the positive reception that immigrants are likely to receive in smaller Canadian communities. They also demonstrate, however, that attitudes in these communities are not uniform and provide information for community leaders and policy-makers about who is most likely to benefit from interventions to promote more positive attitudes. Résumé: Les programmes d'immigration canadiens mettent de plus en plus l'accent sur la régionalisation afin de contribuer à la base démographique des petites communautés canadiennes et de répondre aux besoins du marché du travail local. Malgré les fréquentes enquêtes nationales canadiennes sur les attitudes du public à l'égard des immigrants et de l'immigration, on sait peu de choses sur la chaleur de l'accueil réservé aux immigrants dans les régions situées en dehors des grandes métropoles. La présente étude a consisté en une enquête représentative des attitudes à l'égard des immigrants et de l'immigration dans onze petites collectivités du Canada, notamment Kamloops (BC), Wood Buffalo (AB), Prince Albert (SK), Brandon (MB), Thunder Bay (ON), le Grand Sudbury (ON), Saint-Hyacinthe (QC), Bathurst (NB), Charlottetown (IPE), Cape Breton (NÉ), et St John (TN&L). L'étude a également examiné dans quelle mesure les caractéristiques démographiques individuelles et deux variables communautaires - la taille de la collectivité et la proportion d'immigrants dans la population de la collectivité - permettaient de prédire ces attitudes. Bien qu'il y ait des différences entre les collectivités étudiées, dans l'ensemble, les résidents de ces communautés étaient relativement satisfaits des niveaux d'immigration du Canada, étaient tout à fait disposés à croire que les demandeurs d'asile sont de « vrais » réfugiés et que le gouvernement fédéral a le contrôle sur les personnes qui peuvent immigrer, et soutenaient l'arrivée d'immigrants qui ont les compétences professionnelles dont le pays a besoin. Ils étaient moins convaincus de l'intégration des immigrants dans la société canadienne en termes d'adoption des valeurs canadiennes. Les résidents de ces collectivités, plus jeunes, de sexe féminin, de race blanche et ayant un niveau d'éducation élevé, étaient plus susceptibles d'avoir une attitude positive à l'égard de l'immigration. En outre, les répondants immigrants étaient plus susceptibles d'avoir des attitudes positives à l'égard de l'immigration et moins susceptibles de croire que les immigrants n'adoptent pas les valeurs canadiennes et que le gouvernement a perdu le contrôle sur les personnes qui peuvent immigrer. Au niveau communautaire, les résidents des communautés dans lesquelles les immigrants constituent une part plus importante de la population étaient plus susceptibles d'exprimer des attitudes négatives à l'égard des immigrants et de l'immigration. Dans l'ensemble, les résultats permettent d'être optimiste quant à l'accueil positif que les immigrants sont susceptibles de recevoir dans les petites collectivités canadiennes. Ils démontrent également que les attitudes dans ces collectivités ne sont pas uniformes et fournissent des informations aux dirigeants communautaires et aux décideurs politiques sur les personnes les plus susceptibles de bénéficier d'interventions visant à promouvoir des attitudes plus positives. Concordia University Publication 2024-01-01 Victoria M Esses, Alina Sutter, Leah Hamilton,
Bilodeau, A. , Paolo Aldrin Palma, Aurélie Lacassagne, Keith Neuman, Danielle Gaucher
Understanding Intergenerational Immigrant Family Belonging and Mental Health in Ethnolinguistically Diverse Québec, Canada Concordia University Publication 2024-01-01 Marginalized, but not demobilized: Ethnic minority protest activity when facing discrimination In a context of backlash against diversity in many countries, we know little about how ethnic minorities respond politically when they personally experience discrimination. Moving beyond the study of electoral participation, this research investigates whether experiences of discrimination push ethnic minorities toward an alternate political pathway for those who feel sidelined by the political community: protest activity. The study also examines whether the context of discrimination (i.e. public or private sphere) has different consequences for protest participation, and whether intragroup contact enhances the effects of discrimination on protest participation. Relying on a survey of 1647 respondents from racialized backgrounds in Canada, our findings indicate that discriminatory experiences increase participation in protest activities irrespective of its context, and that the positive relationship between discriminatory experiences and protest activity is stronger among respondents with greater intragroup contact. Concordia University Publication 2023-09-30 Bilodeau, A. , Stephen White, Clayton Ma, Luc Turgeon, Ailsa Henderson
Residential concentration and political engagement among racialized Canadians: The moderating role of intragroup contact Concordia University Publication 2023-09-13 Federalism of Immigration in Canada: New Dynamics Panel discussion exploring the evolution of immigration federalism in Canada. Hosted at Université de Montréal with speakers from Concordia, IRPP, and UdeM.
Other Concordia University Activity 2025-01-15 Other
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