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 is defines as “the policy of maintaining a diversity of ethnic cultures within a community” (). Canada does accept people from virtually every culture, but requires that cultural practices do not interfere with social order, or the cultures of other fellow residents. With that being said, compromises are often made and implemented. It is not possible to maintain a diversity of ethnic cultures if cultures contradict and impact each other. Canada has done its best in order to make multiculturalism work.
The Second World War ended in the year of 1945(). Before this time, immigration into Canada was not ideal, especially for the Chinese, Indian, German and Japanese (1). In the year of 1885, Canada proposed its first policy regarding immigration into Canada (1). The “Chinese Head Tax” law was passed in order to filter the overwhelming number of Chinese immigrants into Canada (1). Chinese immigrants were required to pay a fee in order to come into the country. The amount, person, rose from fifty dollars in 1885, to an astounding five-hundred dollars in 1904. Ten years later, another unjust act was expressed, this time focusing on Indian immigrants. All 376 emigrants possessed valid ...
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...ective in hopes of finding ideal immigrants. But what really is the ideal immigrant? Based on the “federal government’s strict qualification criteria, many of those who make the cut each year are well-educated workers from a narrow list of occupations” (p2). Associate dean of law at Queen’s University, Sharryn Aiken believes “the current rules skew the system in favour of relatively privileged newcomers” (p2).
Canada is comprised of many ethnic backgrounds. Multiculturalism plays a major role in today’s mosaic society. Following the Second World War, Canada welcomed multiple ethnic cultures into the country. Even though multiculturalism may not work for other countries, Canada has been quite successful in implementing and maintaining a positive name for multiculturalism. Policies put in place help regulate and draw the line between acceptable and unacceptable.
Multiculturalism policy was first adopted in Canada in 1971, which reaffirms the dignity and value of all its citizens regardless of ethnic origins, race, religious affiliations, or language. Part of this policy, Canada confirms the rights of all the aboriginals along with the recognition of two official languages. Indeed, multiculturalism has great importance since its main purpose is to give equal treatment to all the citizens (Daniel, 2010). It ensures that all individual citizens could still maintain their identities, and have pride with their ancestry. Through this initiative, the Canadian government was able to give their citizens a feeling of self-confidence, making them more open to their diverse cultures. The multiculturalism policy
Canada is an ethnically diverse country. The notion of "multiculturalism" began circulating in Canada in 1971 and is a word that is now commonly used to define this country, unlike the word "melting-pot" which is used to describe Americans' loss of ethnic identity. The broadcasting system in Canada is pressured by the government to acknowledge the culturally diverse society by broadcasting a fair representation of the population in terms of ethnicity. This is achieved through the many acts that have been passed through parliament: the multiculturalism policy of 1971, the Canadian Multiculturalism Act of 1988, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms of 1982, the Ethnic Broadcasting Policy of 1985, and most recent, the Broadcasting Act of 1991. These legislative and policy frameworks have provided guidelines for the management of Canadia...
The period of 1914 to 1939, Canada’s immigration policy got very unfair. Changes were made to the Immigration Act in 1914 that allowed the rejection of anyone from any race that was deemed unsuitable for Canada’s requirements. Also, in that same year, the Komagata Maru came to the coast of Vancouver. It was a ship that carried many from Punjab, India. The ship wasn’t allowed to dock and passengers weren’t allowed to disembark off the ship. The ship hadn’t sailed directly to B.C. from India so only 24 passengers were allowed to disembark; most of them were doctors or Canadian citizens already. Another act to keep out unwanted immigrants from Canada was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923. This act came into effect on July 1st, 1923. It banned all Chinese immigrants from entering Canada, except merchants, diplomats and foreign students. Before the Chinese Exclusion Act was put into place, the Chinese had to pay a head tax of $500 just to get into the country. The numbers of Japanese immigrants were also restricted. The Canadian government restricted only 150 Japanese immigrants to come to Canada in a year. In 1925, the government relaxed restrictions on immigrants coming from many countrie...
Today in Canada it is not uncommon to see people of various races, ethnic backgrounds or cultural groups living within a mutual society; commonly known as multiculturalism. Multiculturalism refers to the presence of, or support for the presence of several distinct cultural or ethnic groups within a society. As the topic becomes more more popular due to news events and social media debates, multiculturalism gets twisted and misunderstood. In essence, multiculturalism is not about dwelling on about our differences, it is about emphasizing our commonality. Diversity of the human race has the power to unify society and make it stronger. Firstly, innovation
The Dual Nation Theory took its heading starting in 1960, with the beginning of the sovereignty movement (Gorman, Robert F. 2008. 2018-2020). It truly took off, however, with the Quiet Revolution, where the idea of “maîtres chez nous” and the shift from being a distinct part of Canada to Quebec being a nation in its own right begins to take hold. Québécois nationalism defined Confederation as being an agreement between two peoples: the French and the English. “Quebec constitutes within Canada a distinct society, which includes a French-speaking majority, a unique culture and civil law tradition” (Chotalia, 1993). This is significant to mention because this is the theory that ultimately leads to the Three Nation Theory.
The Canadian Multiculturalism Act: A Guide for Canadians. Ottawa, Ont: Multiculturalism and Citizenship Canada, 1990. Print.
“Multiculturalism” entered public speech in the late 1960s and early 1970s in Canada that focused on unique cultural diversity, nationalities, and ethnicity across the nation. Multiculturalism and Immigration are important factors in the development of Canada to attain a strong multicultural example of economic stability, social and political growth which leads to the emergence of Canada’s identity and culture.
Every year, over 250,000 people make Canada their new home. Attracted by its education system, economy and universal healthcare system, there are few other places in the world like it. All Canadians are guaranteed equality before the law and equality of opportunity, regardless of where they are from. However, some might argue that Canadian policy has not been put into practice as well as it should be. Is the concept of true equality a far-fetched idea? It seems that Canada has taken great measures to promote the integration of immigrants socially, but can the same be said for their integration economically? Politically? To judge whether or not Canada has been successful at promoting the integration of immigrants in these realms, a deeper understanding of Canadian policy must be considered.
The immigration story of the Chinese had forced them to make a living, or work for what they wanted to one day become known for. Before the time the Chinese arrived in Canada, problems had occurred on the homeland. At the time most European countries had been coming to china to sell goods, when they had suddenly lost to Great Britain in the Opium war in 1842 to 1860. This had forced china to open ports for trade in Europe. This devastating issue made the Chinese community hassle knowing that the European would be invading. After the Chinese surrender had occurred towards Brittan, they were told to pay a massive fee. The payment had affected the annual intake of China’s treasury, which eventually was paid through higher taxes of their citizens. Since...
payment for our country, free trade. All in all we have our own government, our
Throughout Canada’s relatively short existence we have created quite a reputation for ourselves. Our great nation is known for many things , and I am proud to say that most are positive. Does Canada have a strong national identity? Anyone can see the answer is yes. Just take a look at the facts. For example, we are renowned for our peacekeepers and no other country is considered more peaceful. Without a doubt this is the type of identity we should work to keep.
Do you know that despite Canada being called multicultural and accepting, Canada’s history reveals many secrets that contradicts this statement? Such an example are Canadian aboriginals, who have faced many struggles by Canadian society; losing their rights, freedoms and almost, their culture. However, Native people still made many contributions to Canadian society. Despite the efforts being made to recognize aboriginals in the present day; the attitudes of European Canadians, acts of discrimination from the government, and the effects caused by the past still seen today have proven that Canadians should not be proud of Canada’s history with respect to human rights since 1914.
The author is a Canadian citizen with Chinese roots. To find a better living condition her grandfather abandoned his family, his country and ancestry and moved to Canada. Despite the inhospitable attitude of Canada towards the immigrants at those days, people from various parts of the world endured the difficult times with determination seeing the ray of hope at the other end. However, this perseverance presented the citizenship status for the progeny and a chance to live in the great land of Canada. Chong reinforces, “I belong to a community of values” (Chong, D. 2015. p. 5). Today, Canadian citizenship is valued worldwide and is a coveted title, because the people around the globe views Canadians as sophisticated and amiable.
And to enter you would either have to be a farmer, british, or American, but that all changed by 1952, when the government brought in a new immigration act which accepted all races, religion, beliefs and cultures to enter into their country. As you know, once you settle into a new country, it is customary to start a life which means, having a family, a job and a home. But during the war, it prevented many Canadians form having a child since there were limited jobs and homes, which made it hard to provide an income to support their family. But after the war had ended, everything went suddenly right. Thousands of young men returned home to return back to their jobs and start a family. By 1950, its population went up by nearly 30% due to young people having a lot of babies which resulted in the “Baby Boom”. As new young families began to emerge, they started purchasing cars, homes and furniture and things they have ever wanted but could not during the war. Companies started manufacturing family necessities and people who needed jobs could come and help manufacture these products, and the baby boom was one of Canada’s producers that accelerated
... presence of religious diversity amongst the multiculturalist scene, multiculturalism and its relationships to ethnocultureal minorities, Quebec’s reasonable accommodation as well as the overlap of Aboriginal and multiculturalism issues, require research and development. This speak volumes about Banting and Kymlicka, as it places their work on a larger spectrum that will one day be surrounded by other impressive works that may compliment or challenge their findings. Canadian multiculturalism is completely different than what takes place in different countries. It goes without saying that not every picture can be painted with the same type of brush because the world is not full of the same picture that has a white washed idealized understanding. With that being said, the problems in other countries are not inherent to the multiculturalism picture in other countries.