Erin TolleyMetropolis Project

8th National Metropolis ConferenceVancouver, British Columbia

25 March 2006

The opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Metropolis, Citizenship and Immigration or the Government of Canada.

We See Diversity, But Is ItReally Represented?

Overview

• Comparative project

• Elected officials at three levels of government in 11 Canadian cities

• Key questions:– Do elected officials “mirror” the

population? – Any explanations? Patterns?– And why might it matter?

Patterns Observed

• Not a “mirror” on the population

• Under-representation of ethnic and racial minorities, women, non-Christian religions, young people, blue collar backgrounds

• Elected officials have lived in communities longer than general pop’n and tend to identify more frequently with a religion; European heritage, well-educated

Three Categories of Possible Explanations

• Social, economic and human capital (eg. money, networks, education)

• Numbers, time and space (eg. critical mass, residential concentration)

• Processes and systems (eg. institutional barriers)

Our “Strangely Successful” Capital

• Ottawa is a case study of a “strangely successful” city

• Profile of elected officials is not representative of the general population

• And yet, policies are generally inclusive and responsive to diversity

Diversity in Ottawa

Immigrants 19%

Visible minorities 18%

Aboriginal 1%

Christian 72%

Muslim 5%

Non-official language

as mother tongue20%

Figures expressed as a percentage of the population.

Source: 2001 Census

Diversity in Ottawa (cont’d)

Ethnicity% of pop’n

(2001)% change

(1996-2001)

Canadian 35 37

English 24 -13

French 21 -8

Chinese 4 44

Filipino 1 35

Russian 1 34

East Indian 2 22

Source: 2001 Census

Elected Officials in Ottawa

• 38 elected officials in Ottawa at three levels of government

• Numerical under-representation of most groups: women, immigrants, visible minorities, Aboriginals, religious minorities

Elected Officials (cont’d)

• 11% immigrants (compared to 19% in general population)

• 3% visible minority (compared to 18%)

• 22% women (compared to 51%)

• None of non-Christian faith (compared to 8%)

• 7% with no religious affiliation (compared to 15%)

• Ethnicity largely consistent with patterns in general population

Elected Officials (cont’d)

• Well-educated; almost all have a university degree

• Most have lived in Ottawa for at least 15-20 years

• 62% have prior electoral experience

So Why “Strangely Successful?”

• Policy record is better than profile of elected officials might suggest

• Number of initiatives to ensure diverse viewpoints included. For example:

Equity and Diversity Advisory CommitteeCommunity and Police Action CommitteeOttawa 20/20 consultationsEmployment equity and audit

And Does Representation Really Matter Then?

• Of course it does!

• Democratic and legislative imperatives

• Pragmatic reasons too (eg. improved / more efficient decisions, increased “buy-in,” decreased apathy / civil unrest, promotion of “Canadian model”)