MAKING MULTICULTURALISM WORK
Success demands an honest approach
Canada’s 150th anniversary year, mercifully drawing to a close, had its share of silliness and selfflagellation, but at least there was serious discussion about some of the big questions. In particular, what defines us? What does it mean to be a Canadian in the 21st century?
Sometimes one gets a clearer perception of one’s own country from abroad and four weeks of travel in Italy, France and Spain late this year gave me plenty of time to reflect on what makes us different.
Some of it is obvious. Europe is the land of small. Small apartments, narrow streets, tiny cars and small paycheques all contribute to a day-to-day life that is dramatically different from our own. The material things we take for granted are not the norm in Europe, but the biggest difference is much more profound.
I would argue that our diversity and our commitment to building a multicultural country are our defining characteristics, the things that set Canada apart from other advanced countries.
According to the 2016 census, 22 per cent of Canadian residents were born in another country. That’s the highest figure among G8 countries. The situation is particularly dramatic in our biggest city, Toronto, which recently attained what the Toronto Star calls a “visible minority majority.” That would seem to argue for some new terminology. The percentage of residents born elsewhere is even higher in the suburbs around Toronto.
In Ottawa-Gatineau, about 20 per cent of residents are visible minorities, but even here, our diversity is obvious pretty much anywhere one goes.
It is impossible to ignore the great extent to which people from other countries are shaping and changing our culture, our politics, our businesses and even the kind of food we eat.
Compare that to a unicultural country such as Italy. It is defined by its long history, its art, its music, its sense of style, its language, its food and its wine. About nine per cent of Italy’s 60 million people are born elsewhere, but their presence is not nearly as influential as it is here.
Italy is a homeland for Italians and people there seem quite happy with that. They aren’t striving to be something different. That’s not the case here. Pierre Trudeau made multiculturalism official government policy in 1972. Since then, we have tried to make Canada a magnet for people from around the world and have adapted our ways to take into account their customs and beliefs.
Some argue, probably correctly, that Trudeau’s policy was a cynical attempt to create grateful ethnic voting blocs, but it really doesn’t matter now. Whatever his thinking, the country has changed because of it.
We could have, and probably should have, had a lively debate about whether this was the direction in which we wanted our country to go, but we didn’t and here we are today.
Canadians pride themselves on making multiculturalism work, and for the most part we do, but we need to speak more honestly about the inevitable frictions a rapidly changing population creates.
Some members of longestablished groups believe their opportunities are being taken away by newcomers. Some new Canadians think the deck is stacked in favour of those who have been here longest. Neither of those views is incorrect, nor even surprising.
It’s not easy, what we are trying to do in this country, and it can be divisive if we are not smart about it. If we end up pitted against each other based on skin colour or ethnicity, then we will have failed.
We shouldn’t spend so much time apologizing for past mistakes or telling people that we can adjust the world to provide equity for everyone. Instead, let’s take the challenge history has given us, build on what we have accomplished, and create a unique country where all have equal opportunity and origin doesn’t matter.