What Is Multiculturalism In Canada

The government of Canada decided that the country could be a mosaic of cultures where people from different countries could keep their nationalities and still be called canadian therefore allowing an influx of different cultures. The royal commission came up with the idea of "cultural pluralism" and encouraged the government to reflect this in their policies. Pierre Elliot Trudeau, the prime minster in 1917 accepted this policy called the multiculturalism policy. In 1988, the governement of Canada also imposed the "Multiculturalism Act" . The factors influencing these two policies/acts were quite similiar to one another. In mid-1960s, the troubled English-French realtions in Canada desperately needed a solution. They preferred the idea of a cultural mosaic. After establishing this policy racism reduced significantly as every ethnic group was to be treated the same way, allowing canada to be a cultural hub. In the context of theory so far everything seems to be working smoothly but the real question that we need to ask ourself is whether multiculturalism is working in our society or not ? Do we feel comfortable living amogst all the different kinds of people and are content with our lifestyle? Take education for an example. A university in North America called Stanford had a program in which the curriculum was designed

Canada’s identity comes in many shapes and forms. Multiculturalism has been adopted and is at the forefront of Canadian identity. Following the Second World War, Canada’s multiculturalism policies became more acceptable and even successful in, not only accepting, but inviting multiple ethnic cultures in. In contrast to other countries, multiculturalism adaptation works for the Canadian culture. Canadian policies on multiculturalism have shifted over the past few decades; policies are now implemented for integration, not discrimination.

“Multiculturalism exists when people accept and encourage many cultures to thrive in a society. Multiculturalism can lead to many great outcomes, including racial and ethnic harmony, which simply means that people from different backgrounds get along well together. Living with and accepting different cultures helps us understand each other and discourage hatred and violence.” () Furthermore, various ethnic groups introduce their individual beliefs, traditions, as well as, religions to the Canadian society. Generally speaking, be part of an expanding multicultural society has impacted Canada economically, demographically and socially. Thus, the presence of the variety of different cultures, languages and heritages, results in the need for the county to adapt and change, based on the new reality of Canada.

When Canada first became a country, the immigration policies were very discriminatory. Specific races were wanted or unwanted, even though an attempt was being made to fill the west with settlers. Aboriginals were actually being pushed onto reserves and children into residential schools in an attempt to assimilate their ways of life into the mainstream Canadian culture. Chinese peoples who worked on the Canadian Pacific Railway had to pay a fairly large head tax to enter Canada which was meant to discourage them from moving here (http://mapleleafweb.com). The dislike of these people was not attempted to be hidden, in fact, Canada’s prime minister at one point said, “He has no British instincts or British feelings or aspirations, and therefore ought not to have a vote.” (CBC Archives), showing that anyone who did not fully accept and support the British culture would either not be treated as a true Canadian or would not be accepted into Canada. Canada’s policies have changed significantly, and the people who have immigrated to it shaped it into the place that exists now, a culturally diverse

While the multicultural policy in Canada is in some ways out of date, the policy still remains a crucial aspect of Canadian identity and is still in many ways relevant to the values of the country and the people living within it. The policy was originally put in place to ensure that groups in Canada who were not French or British felt that they were welcomed in Canada, as everyone in Canada should feel free to be whatever culture they identify with, not pressured to fit in with the majority. The original intention of the multicultural policy, which was out in place by Pierre Trudeau was to allow people to celebrate their culture without getting discriminated. Multiculturalism has developed immensely since the policy has been put in place, however,

The term "multiculturalism" has been used by the Canadians in two different perspectives. The first use of this word is descriptive; meanwhile the other one is normative. The former sense implies the description of various religious and cultural groups that the Canadian population consists of. The nation of Canada is based on people from various races, religions and cultural backgrounds and there is a general acceptance of cultural pluralism in the country. Since the nineteenth century, Canada has experienced various waves of immigration (Wayland, 1997). Moreover, it has been reported that by the 1980s approximately 40 percent of the people were of origins other than British and French; the two being the largest and oldest groups of people in Canada (Troper, 1989). The history of Canada gives a great deal of importance to the relationship that existed between the French and the British people. According to the statistics, the major population of the country at the beginning of the 21st century was composed of people from outside French and British heritage; meanwhile there were many people who presented themselves as "visible minorities".

Immigration and racial diversity have always been an important notion of the Canadian identity. Historically, matters pertaining to the aforementioned topics have been dealt solely at the Federal level. The article aims primarily to evaluate three notions that may affect how immigration and racial minorities are viewed by the native-born white Canadian population at a provincial level. Borrowed from the Canadian Election Studies, data collected over a twenty-year period,1988-2008, is utilized to determine if the economy, demographic, and culture impacts the native-white Canadian attitude towards said non-native groups in the respective provinces. (Bilodeau,Turgeon,Karakoc, 581)

The current collective vision of national identity in Canadian society is that Canada is a pluralistic society, where their is many members from all different types of ethnic groups and where Canada accepts all immigrants from around the world. Canada is also known as one of the most multicultural nation states, which allows individuals to practice and maintain their culture and traditions without fear of their rights being restricted. Canada is welcoming and open to the many different cultures and ethnicities from around the world, everyone is also equal under the law. Through Canadian history many members were excluded from our current collective vision. Some members of the current collective vision feel excluded, because of how with a

In a statement to the House of Commons on October 1, 1971, he announced multiculturalism as an official government policy as the Canadian Multiculturalism Act. This Act ensures that everyone can “recognize and promote the understanding that multiculturalism reflects the cultural and racial diversity of Canadian society and acknowledges the freedom of all members of Canadian society to preserve, enhance and share their cultural heritage” (Canadian Multiculturalism Act). Without this, we would not have the Canada we know today, the one where citizens and non-citizens are free to be who they are, or the one with some of the most multicultural places on Earth.

Inextricably related to both international and domestic perceptions of Canada is an inherent multiculturalist society, primarily due to the anterior development of Canada as a composite state between British and French cultures and the ‘progressiveness’ and subsequent benefit (without logical substantiation) perpetually postulated by large segments of Canadian politics and a considerable quantity of Canadian

While the rest of Canada employs the concept of multiculturalism, Quebec emphasizes on another theory: interculturalism, or the notion of support in cross-cultural dialogue and challenging self-segregation tendencies within cultures. In the province, the word multiculturalism announces pejorative meanings. This was due, in part, to the fact that “a federal commission which was charged several years ago with the task of developing policies for Canada, based on its bicultural and bilingual character emerged with a recommendation that Canada think of itself as a multicultural and bilingual country.3”. Francophones, on the other hand, felt that this concept placed them at the same level as minority ethnic groups, thus erasing their thoughts of being seen as one of the country's founding nations.

One of the most important public concerns that people are still facing today is racism. Despite the fact that there are many anti- racist teachings in school and people are generally more aware of the negative impacts of racism, there are still many people who are judgmental and ignorant of cultural differences. There are still a great percentage of people who are against a certain group of people due to their biased opinions about certain races or cultures. The impact of racism can be extremely harmful, even in this so-called 'modern ' world and this way of thinking should not be ignored. This issue is especially important in Canada, since Canada is a multicultural country, full of diverse nationalities, religions and ethnicity. It is very important that immigrants from various countries feel welcome here.

In Canada, Federal multicultural policies shaped a new vision of Canada, in which immigrants to Canada are encouraged to retain their heritage cultural traditions and ethnic identity and language, even as they are supported in their engagement with a new local, regional, and national life. The discourse of Canada as a cultural mosaic in which ethno

A country built on immigration, Canada has long had a reputation of being culturally and ethnically diverse. While multiculturalism is meant to be built on equality and appreciation of different cultures, its concept has gained both support and opposition. On one hand, it allows for more assortment and the voices of minorities have a higher chance to be heard. On the other hand, loss of unity and conflicts may occur due to contrasting worldviews of the citizens. All in all, multiculturalism is a controversial policy that has both advantages and disadvantages, but has proven to be a successful strategy in Canada.

Multiculturalism is the act of giving equivalent consideration regarding various foundations in a specific setting, and it can happen when a purview is made or extended by amalgamating zones with two or more diverse societies or through migration from various locales around the globe. Multiculturalism that seeks in keeping up the peculiarity of numerous societies is regularly differentiated to other settlement arrangements, for example, social mix, social osmosis, and racial isolation. Multiculturalism has been depicted as a "salad bowl" and "cultural mosaic" (Burgess, et al. 2005). In spite of the way that multiculturalism has predominantly been utilized as a term to characterize distraught gatherings, numerous scholars tend to center their contentions on outsiders who are ethnic and religious minorities, minority countries, and indigenous people groups. The term multiculturalism is frequently utilized as a part of a reference to Western country states, which