Re-chercher l’amour transnational

le couple ensemble, le couple éloigné et le projet d’ immigration du conjoint

Abstract

This article explores the lived experience of Canadian women in transnational love relationships with a non-Western partner. Periods of physical co-presence and geographical separation were contrasted. It emerges that the Canadian women divide their relationship into two main phases: times of togetherness, which are associated with positive, even euphoric, emotional states; and times of separateness, which are mainly associated with toxic emotions. Hence, for the women, a conjugal life with their partner under the same roof, in the same country, becomes an ultimate goal. However, due to the mobility constraints their non-Western partner often faces, their goal can only be achieved through the « sponsorship » of their spouse’s immigration to Canada, a cumbersome and time consuming process.