The Border and Immigrants in Ottawa-Gatineau: Governance Practices and the (Re)Production of a Dual Canadian Citizenship†

Abstract

Canada's National Capital Region, the metropolitan area of Ottawa-Gatineau, is unique in that it is located on the most politically and symbolically charged border within the country: between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Although this border has little impact on individuals' everyday mobility, major differences in policies, institutions, and public resources affect residents on either side. In particular, each province has its own governance structures and practices in immigration and settlement. The paper demonstrates that these different structures and practices in immigration and settlement across the border generate two distinct processes of citizenship formation at the local level that serve to (re)produce Canada's two dominant ideals of national identity and citizenship. This case contributes to border studies by showing (1) how internal borders serve to (re)produce multiple, national ideals of identity and citizenship at the city scale, (2) the existence of scalar contradictions in the transborder governance of citizenship and identity, and (3) the significance of processes of identity and citizenship formation in understanding the level of integration between cross-border cities. © 2013 © 2013 The Author(s). Published by Routledge.