The Conservatives are saner (for lack of more politically correct term) than the GOP, and Canada’s immigration policies have arguably led to better political integration of visible minority groups in general. It probably also helps that Canada doesn’t have a history of racialized slavery and resultant political polarization.
To my knowledge the Chinese Canadian community is more disproportionately composed of wealthy Chinese/Taiwanese/Hong Kong emigres, international students in university, etc compared to Chinese Americans. This may skew perceptions of political leanings.
I don't think your explanation is wrong per se, but its a bit incomplete. It sort of gives the impression that Conservative appeal to Chinese Canadians is solely based on "keep taxes low, business friendly". You'd be surprised how much of Tory campaigning in Chinese communities is based on 'values'. The last couple federal elections, left leaning publications have obtained Conservative Mandarin or Cantonese campaign materials. Common themes include drugs, religious right stuff for Chinese Evangelicals, and implying the Liberals don't support immigrant values.
I don’t have any hard evidence but I suspect this is also true for Indian Canadians.
South Asians in Canada tend to vote left weirdly enough, albeit with a bit more willingness to swing right than their American counterparts. It's a bit odd given that Chinese Canadians vote ~ 20% more Conservative than the general population.
Wow, 20%, if most of Canada voted like their Chinese Countrymen would that mean a Tory country? Are the Conservatives really good in outreach operations (GOP could learn a thing or too about them if they wish to really win elections well)?
I'm not sure if I'd call it good, but they definitely make more of an effort than the GOP. NC Yankee has a theory that half of strong political results is just making an effort with a group. Under FPTP parties will make investments where they need to win and neglect where they don't. For example, the GOP does better with Hispanics in Florida than the Cuban factor would account for. In Yankee's theory, that is because the GOP needs to win Florida to win the Presidency, and they need to do better with Hispanics to do that, so they make more of an effort with them. Thus, you get Rick Scott doing Spanish commercials and stuff like that. I think you get a similar effect in Canada.
Canada has a similar share of whites as the USA but a large chunk of those are Francophones, or progressive city dwellers, who are mostly inaccessible to right wing parties. Thus, in order to win, the Tories had to seek out other groups. There was a concious choice by Stephen Harper, Jason Kenney and the Tory campaign staff to send out reps to minority events, drum up minority candidates and try to use wedge issues and ads to peel minorities away from the Liberals. Overall it was a mixed bag and flopped in some communities, but it paid off amazingly well with Chinese and Jewish Canadians.
May I also suggest that, at heart, Outreach is only a tenth of the battle. Republicans have spoken about Outreach to minority communities since forever. And they put money behind it. But at the end of the day, unlike the Canadian tories, the Republican party has cast its lot with a de facto white nationalist party platform, that went well beyond the southern strategy that preceded it.
In other words, Outreach isn't going to help you and damn bet if you haven't got something to offer. Canadian tories do for minority communities American Republicans to put it mildly, don't
