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Multiculturalism In Canada Essay

Decent Essays

Canada is a country that is well-known for its official adoption of a multiculturalism policy. In fact, Canada was the first country in the world to implement multiculturalism in order to help immigrants integrate into the larger society. The official Canadian Multiculturalism Act stipulates that the “Constitution of Canada recognizes the importance of preserving and enhancing the multicultural heritage of Canadians” (Justice Laws 1985). The Multiculturalism Policy of Canada furthermore promotes “the understanding that multiculturalism reflects the cultural and racial diversity of Canadian society” (Justice Laws 1985). Indeed, “every ethnic group has the right to preserve and develop its own culture and values within the Canadian context” (On Multiculturalism 2013). Moreover, this policy encourages assisting “ethno-cultural minority communities to conduct activities …show more content…

Sheriff essentially argues that racial democracy, a nationalist ideology, is a myth because it is “more tangible than an abstract nationalistic ideology” (2001). Her research primarily focuses on discourse and how the subjects talked about or avoided the topic of colour, race and racism in everyday speech as well as how they described their encounters with racism (Sheriff 2001). Using Sheriff’s argument as a basis for my thesis, I will demonstrate that Canadian multiculturalism is perceived to contest racism despite the fact that it is an inaccurate reflection of reality. I will be analyzing the perceptions of eleven UTM students on matters relating to multiculturalism, racism and nationalism to prove that Canadian multiculturalism is indeed a myth because a) Canadians still face discrimination and b) it acts as a foil for Canadian nationalism. My study will primarily focus on students’ narratives on discrimination and Canadian identity in order to prove my

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