Canada Seminar

Across the Detroit River: Why the American and Canadian White Working-Class Votes Differently

Lewis Krashinsky, William Lyon Mackenzie King Postdoctoral Fellow, Weatherhead Canada Program

Chair: Dean Ray, Postdoctoral Fellow, Weatherhead Scholars Program, and Affiliate, Weatherhead Canada Program

Throughout the American Midwest, white working-class voters are increasingly supporting the Republican Party. This realignment is one of the most consequential developments in contemporary American politics. However, while these American voters have shifted to the right, white working-class voters to the north in the province of Ontario have remained much more supportive of centrist and left-wing parties. Across the Detroit River examines this cross-border puzzle, leveraging the Canada-U.S. comparison to uncover novel inferences on politics in both countries. Utilizing a qualitative study of two communities on either side of the Detroit River and quantitative data from original surveys and experiments, this book puts past accounts to the test and posits new claims about how and why people differ on either side of the Canada-U.S. border.