Analysis Of Philip Resnick's The European Roots Of Canadian Identity

The idea of multiculturalism, as presented Philip Resnick’s The European Roots of Canadian Identity, not only looks for a solution to the relations between English speaking Canadians and French speaking Canadians, but incorporation of other ethnicities into Canadian society as well. Resnick compares Canada’s multiculturalism as being too lenient to outside cultures to the assimilation system of the United States which puts little emphasis on diversity. The concept of multiculturalism was introduced as a replacement of Bilingualism. Bilingualism was designed to be a solution to the problem that French and English Canadians share of the issue of language. The problem with bilingualism is the fact that Quebec citizens are not willing to accept a second language and culture which is seen when Resnick says, “there has been a good deal of ressentiment by English Canadians about official bilingualism at the

This idea of multiculturalism, according to Resnick, causes more emphasis to be put on the idea of diversity which then causes multiculturalism to replace a strong Canadian identity. He argues that Canada needs to develop a common identity that Canadians can be proud of, which Resnick labels patriotism. Resnick gives on example of such a source of patriotism which would be “a sense of living together within a common geographical space in the northern part of North America and of wanting to continue to do so into the future.” He then says, “let us not make diversity a substitute for broader aspects of national identity or turn multiculturalism into a shibboleth because we are unwilling to reaffirm underlying values that make Canada what it has become.” His suggestion here implies that he worries that diversity has taken too much hold of the Canadian ideology which as pointed out by Resnick is the complete opposite in the situation in the United