Using national representative sample survey data from the United States and Canada, the authors compare American and Canadian responses to a set of 14 possible reasons for being active in voluntary associations. They assess the 14 reasons individually and then conduct analyses in which the 14 measures are grouped into two composite scales: collective reasons and self-oriented motivations. The authors also consider theories for explaining how and why Americans and Canadians might differ in their motivations for volunteering. Analyses are conducted on seven background predictors: gender, race, religious affiliation, religious attendance, age, education, and socioeconomic status. Findings show that Americans are more likely than Canadians to mention altruistic rather than personal reasons for joining voluntary organizations, and Canadians are slightly more likely than Americans to emphasize personal reasons for their volunteer work, but this difference is not significant after controls. The implications of the findings for understanding voluntary activity in the two nations are discussed.

Abstract.This paper presents the first multivariate analysis of the combined effects of region and language on voluntary association membership in Canada. National survey data from 2000 indicate that Quebecers have the lowest average number of memberships, with Western Canadians highest and Atlantic and Ontario residents in between. Preliminary results also confirm that francophones report fewer memberships than anglophones. Findings from Poisson regression models, however, indicate a significant interaction between region and language: francophones have lower membership levels only in Quebec, and in Western Canada have higher levels than anglophones or allophones. These results hold even with controls for a number of possible explanatory factors suggested in the literature, including religious and socioeconomic differences across the regions and language groups. The implications for understanding patterns of voluntary association activity in Canada are discussed.Résumé.Cet article présente la première analyse multivariable des effets combinés de la région et de la langue sur l'adhésion d'aux associations volontaires au Canada. Les données nationales de 2000 indiquent que les Québécois ont le plus bas nombre moyen d'adhésions, avec les Canadiens de l'Ouest plus hauts et des résidants de la région atlantique et de l'Ontario entre les deux. Les résultats préliminaires confirment que les francophones ont moins d'adhésions que les anglophones. Les résultats indiquent une interaction significative entre la région et la langue: les francophones ont moins d'adhésion seulement au Québec; dans le Canada de l'Ouest les francophones ont plus d'adhésion que les anglophones et les allophones. Ces résultats se tiennent même avec contrôle d'un certain nombre de facteurs explicatifs possibles suggérés dans la littérature, y compris des différences religieuses et socio-économiques à travers les régions et les groupes linguistic. Nous discutons les implications quant aux modèles d'association volontaire au Canada.

This article uses nationally representative sample survey data to assess the confidence of Canadians and Americans in four major state institutions: the police; the civil service; the federal government; and political parties. Long-standing arguments suggest that Canadians are more trusting of government than Americans. Results, however, indicate small national differences, with variations within countries being much more important, especially for regional and racial subgroups within each nation. Consistent with their traditional minority position in Canada, Quebecers stand out as having the least confidence of respondents in either nation. In contrast, and despite their minority position, nonwhites express more confidence in political institutions than do whites in both countries, especially in English Canada. One exception is somewhat lower confidence in the police among nonwhites, particularly in the northern United States. The findings demonstrate the need to go beyond an exclusive focus on national differences when comparing political attitudes and values in Canada and the United States.

This study uses Canada's 2008 General Social Survey to assess ethnoracial variations in political trust. Patterns differ substantially among Canada's three major minority communities. While French and visible minority Canadians exhibit the highest political trust of all groups in the study, Indigenous Peoples express the lowest trust. The British, Other Europeans, and Mixed-Origins Canadians also indicate below-average trust. Multivariate analyses show certain "ethno-cultural markers" -religion, language, immigration status -are important for understanding the trust levels of the French and visible minorities. However, controlling for socioeconomic factors -education, income -and social engagement influences -voluntary association activity, ethnic diversity of friendshipshas little impact for these two groups. None of the control variables explains the lower trust among Indigenous Peoples. The latter results underscore the unique position of Indigenous Peoples and their longstanding negative experiences with Canada's political system.Résumé. Cet article utilise l'Enquête sociale générale de 2008 pour comparer la confiance politique des groupes ethniques au Canada. Les minorités francophones et les minorités visibles ont la plus grande confiance, et les peuples autochtones ont les plus faibles.Les Britanniques et les autres Européens sont en dessous de la moyenne. Les résultats suggèrent que les minorités francophones et les minorités visibles ont davantage confiance dans le fait que le gouvernement protège leurs droits, mais les peuples autochtones, en raison de mauvais traitements dans le passé et dans le présent, ont une faible confiance dans le gouvernement.