Multiculturalism in Canada

Multiculturalism As A Concept

What does multiculturalism mean? If we look up the word "multi" in the dictionary we learn that it means having many of something. In that case we come to a conclusion that multiculturalism indicates many races, cultures, national tradition, religions and languages living together. In those countries where multiculturalism exists there is a significant number of immigrants arriving from different parts of the world. All immigrants carry their own heritage identities with them and have their own rights to preserve these identities for themselves in the new society. They live side by side, near to one another, influencing and continuously contacting each other while cultures develop similarities and differences and exchanges as well. In each of the multicultural states, there are the different heritage identities that exist equally beside the determining and common culture characterizing the adopted country. However, there is no dominant culture as such, there is no agreed way of life.

Canada As A Multicultural State

"Canada features a multicultural society par excellence; comprises a society that has committed itself to multiculturalism as an official political programme...Canada is a nation of immigrants." The Trudeau government made an effort to create multicultural Canada with the Multicultural Act in 1971, which indicated that there was no dominant culture in Canada.

Canadian multiculturalism is based on the Canadians' beliefs that all of the citizens are equal and can keep their identities, can take pride in their ancestry and have a sense of belonging. This acceptance gives Canadians not only a feeling of security and self-confidence, but gives them the ability of accepting diverse cultures. The Canadian experience has shown that multiculturalism encourages racial and ethnic harmony and cross-cultural understanding and discourages discrimination and violence.

Through multiculturalism, Canada recognises the potential of all Canadians, encouraging them to integrate into their society and take an active part in its social, cultural, economic and political affairs.

The notions of the "melting pot" and "mosaic" are strongly connected to immigration. Everyone who considers himself as Canadian must be aware of the fact that their ancestors were immigrants therefore the duality of the sense of identity could be investigated. Regardless of being Native-Canadian, Irish-Canadian or Japanese-Canadian, everyone has a twofold identity. In Canada the important cultural determinant is the representation of the term of mosaic. Canadians have a strong preference for mosaic over the melting pot, which is the characteristically internal perception of the USA.

Multicultural Features

According to Will Kymlicka, Canada was the first to adopt multiculturalism as an official government policy. Multiculturalism involves a basic message; it is a response to the pressures that Canada exerts on immigrants to integrate into common institutions. The adopting of common institutions and promoting a transitional, institutional separateness are intended to ensure that Canada offers immigrants fair terms of integration. Multiculturalism means different things to different people, and it is important to clarify the ways immigrants choose to find their places in the new society. By examining the immigrants' struggle for integrating into the new society, several different ways can be ...