Ole Lammers / Edge columnist
2021 is the 50th anniversary of the Canadian Multiculturalism Policy of 1971, which is a welcome reminder of how far Canada has come as a nation.
On October 8th, 1971, Pierre Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada at the time, who is Justin Trudeau’s father, announced to the House of Commons, the addition of multiculturalism as a government policy, indicating that Canada planned to preserve and encourage cultural freedom and recognition for all Canadians.
Canada is built on multiculturalism, from aboriginals, to the millions of people emigrating yearly to Canada from, all over the world. Someone who has been in Canada for a while, will notice that there is an abnormal amount of international citizens.
Any Canadian student that has taken social studies, without doubt has learned about the importance and reality of multiculturalism in Canada. Schools themselves in Canada are filled with amazing amounts of unique cultures from across the globe, which plays a huge part in how the curriculum is built.
Many people even see Canada’s national identity to be contrived from multiculturalism and the fact that there is no single identity to pinpoint. Such a point of view is not hard to agree with when you have experienced the origins, cultures, and stories of the Canadian population.
Multiculturalism is also one of the reasons why Canadians are so nice, we are inherently accepting, ranked as the 12th friendliest country in the world and one of the best countries to make friends by expat in 2016. While the stereotype is often ridiculed, it is true that Canadians are just, in general, nicer.
Canada, by historic virtue and legal necessity, is open to the world, and the cultures that reside within it, and we go as far as to have a national holiday to celebrate that fact. Canadians from all over the country should always be aware and take pride in the fact that Canada is welcoming the world with open arms.
Sources:
The Canadian Encyclopedia – Multiculturalism
Canadian Identity Lesson Plan
Expat Insider 2016 International Survey
What is Canada’s Immigration Policy