Minority representation and political participation of ethnic minorities: A case study of Chinese Canadians in democratic Canada

Citizenship, minority rights and political participation are interrelated critical elements in modern democracy. Citizenship entitles people to basic rights and obligations of members of state. Minority rights, based on the political equality principle, are indispensable to the development of democracy. Successful practice of citizenship and minority rights is achieved through the meaningful political participation of citizens. A comprehensive review of the existing academic studies on the above topics sets the framework of this thesis. Through a case study on Chinese Canadians, this thesis discusses the theories and exercise of political participation of ethnic minorities in Canada. It concludes that the continuing development of Canadian democracy requires the existing participatory democracy be enhanced with increased political equality, multiethnic representation and inclusive politics.;Chinese Canadians are studied here as a typical case of an ethnic minority group in political participation. Their role in Canadian democracy is unique and important. Prior to the mid 20th century, Chinese Canadians and other Asian Canadian groups were disenfranchised both provincially and federally. Their historical exclusion resulted from anti-Asian racism in Canada. Through decades of struggles for inclusion via advocacy of minority rights, the Chinese group has developed from "aliens" to "participants" with improved social-economic status and active political involvement. However, the core values and group identification of voters from the Chinese Canadian community may still differentiate their voting behaviour from that of other groups. The voting behaviour of Chinese Canadians is linked to their political concerns. Despite a continuous increase in the naturalization rate, there has been little improvement in their overall electoral turnout at the federal level. Similar to other ethnic minorities, the Chinese Canadians' ethnicity, possession of social capital, knowledge of politics and socio-economic status are all crucial factors that influence their political participation. But in-group differences do exist between generations and among different social strata, which is partially attributed to differences in immigration experiences.;This study emphasizes that the concept of a multicultural citizenship recognizes the distinctiveness of ethnic minority groups in political resources, interests and preferences. Multicultural citizenship encourages the participation of ethnic minority groups in Canada, and it strengthens the main access for ethnic minorities to exercise their citizenship rights. Aiming at the inclusion and empowerment of historically disenfranchised groups, multicultural citizenship can facilitate the citizens' sense of belonging and encourage ethnic voters to become more confident "exerters". Minority participation and a more inclusive politics, such as better parliamentary representation of ethnic minorities in Canada, will provide a healthier political environment for all ethnic groups and will strengthen Canadian democracy.;A liberal democracy, based on majority rule, adopts political equality to reduce the possibilities of minority's subjection to majority "tyranny". Ethnic minority rights are crucial in the discussion of political equality in the Canadian context where diversity penetrates into social and political spheres in many ways. The political participation of ethnic minorities is a key indication of their exercise of citizenship rights.