Who Deserves Welfare? : Framing Social Assistance in Canadian News Media

Welfare has long been a divisive issue in Canada, sparking debates across the political spectrum.

In her latest text, political studies scholar Rebecca Wallace explores how Canadian media frames social assistance recipients. Revealing how race and identity shape public perceptions of welfare and redistribution, Who Deserves Welfare? presents a comprehensive analysis spanning several decades, from the 1990s to the 2020s, demonstrating how immigrant and Indigenous welfare recipients are framed differently.

Drawing on a media analysis, a custom-designed survey, and a news framing experiment, Wallace shows how identity plays a crucial role in the media’s representation of welfare recipients and public perceptions of deservingness. Immigrant recipients are often portrayed positively for their economic potential, while Indigenous recipients face negative stereotypes about work ethic. However, Wallace finds that the relationship between media framing and public attitudes is complex when it comes to immigrant and Indigenous recipients, and, troublingly, that positive coverage does not necessarily yield positive sentiment toward redistribution.

Who Deserves Welfare? offers a critical examination of how media framing influences public opinion about welfare and identity, shedding light on the quiet but persistent resentment targeting immigrant and Indigenous communities. By exploring these media portrayals, Wallace invites readers to reconsider the assumptions that underlie both support for and opposition to assistance programs in Canada.