Date of Award

2005

Degree Type

Major Research Paper

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Immigration and Settlement Studies

First Advisor

Myer Siemiatycki

Second Advisor

Wayne Petrozzi

Abstract

Analyzes the patterns of racial minority political representation in the Greater Toronto Areas and sets out to answer three general questions: Why are the rates of racial minority political representation higher in the suburban centres of Mississauga and Brampton than in the City of Toronto? Why have South Asian politicians succeeded in achieving political office at greater rates than other racial minority politicians? And why are the city councils of Toronto's surrounding suburbs still suffering from greater rates of racial minority underrepresentation? This study concludes that a variety of variables have led to a more favourable suburban political opportunity structure: the faster growth rates and higher residential concentration of South Asian communities, higher rates of affluence among South Asian communities, lower incumbency rates, the 'colour coding' of Peel's federal electoral districts, high concentrations of ethnic civil organizations, and the fear of being labeled terrorists.


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