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Drawing on the Canadian case, this study examines whether, in a multinational state, majority and minority nations emphasize different criteria when tracing the borders of their respective national community. It does so by comparing native‐born French speakers in Quebec and native‐born English speakers in the rest of Canada from three different perspectives. We examine (a) the way ascriptive and attainable groupings of characteristics are constructed in Quebec and in the rest of Canada, (b) the importance given to attainable and ascriptive characteristics, and (c) the implications of ascriptive and attainable characteristics for attitudes toward immigration and generalized trust. The findings suggest that majority‐group members in Quebec and in the rest of Canada broadly draw the boundaries of their nation in similar ways and with similar implications.