First White Settlers in Canada

Through the narration of white settler society construct, that is, the notion that Canada is a nation founded by the French and British, only certain interests are taken into account. Daiva Stasiulus and Radha Jhappan’s article “The Fractious Politics of a Settler Society in Canada,” demonstrate how this construct is problematic in Canada’s nation building process. Ultimately, both Stasiulus and Jhappan demonstrate how white settler society construct has been a main cause of social inequality and lack of diversity both historically and presently in Canada.

The authors begin by outlining the historical problems which white settler society construct presented. First, they point out that as white settlement began in earnest, the confiscation of the Aboriginals land was justified in terms of their failure to qualify as a ‘civilized’ community (98). As Stasiulus and Jhappan outline, the violence that went into colonizing the Aboriginal community, is therefore seen as justifiable because the Aboriginal communities’ different world-views, cultures, notion of property and ‘pagan’ beliefs are presented as evidence for their unfit ownership to the land.

A second limitation of white settler society construct that Stasiulus and Jhappan outline is that fact that settlement and immigration in Canada was considerably more ethnically and racially diverse than the white British settler agenda suggested. Indeed, it was this diversity which compelled the conscious construction of a racial/ethnic hierarchy. What was soon implemented was a ‘white Canada’ immigration policy that was designed to aggressively recruit what was considered the ‘best classes’ of British men and women. Non-European immigrants would be excluded unless their cheap labor was needed, in which case they could be granted lesser access to settlers and citizens’ rights.

Finally, Stasiulus and Jhappan point out that the assumptions of the white settler society construct were not only racist but also androcentric. The authors argue that they focused primarily on men’s activities in the public sphere (in production and in government), and women are regarded as little more than breeders to reproduce ‘the nation, the empire and the future race.’ In reality, the authors point out that, women played multiple roles, depending on their race/ethnic class. For example, Caribbean women were only immigrated to Canada not as reproducers but as domestic workers. Clearly, these factors not only determined the kind of work women preformed, but also as the authors point out, their role in controlling and oppressing other women.

Issues that Stasiulus and Jhappan outline, raise questions about the concept of Canada’s nation.