How do State and Substate Conceptions of Nationalism Influence Public Attitudes towards Refugees: Public Opinion of Afghan and Ukrainian Refugees in Canada and Quebec

The existing literature assumes that nationalist conceptions are shared among the populace. However, individual attitudes may vary within states, across people, especially in the substate context. Composite nationalism – where the nation is multinational and accommodates people from diverse cultural backgrounds – dominates in Canada, and the country is recognized as one of the most inclusive in the world. However, integrationist nationalism – where the nation plays a culturally neutral role and emphasizes constitutional patriotism – dominates in Quebec, which is seen as less inclusive compared to the rest of Canada. I theorize that those individuals living in a region with a less inclusive conception of nationalism will be less accepting of refugees compared to individuals in the rest of the state. Using a mixed-methods logit regression analysis, I test these propositions regarding public attitudes toward refugees, including Afghans and Ukrainians, based on data from the 2022 Focus Canada Survey.