The Role Of Multiculturalism In Canada

In Canada, multiculturalism describes the various different religious traditions and cultural influences that in unity and coexistence make up a distinct Canadian identity. This term first became popular in Canada in the 1960’s to replace ‘cultural pluralism.’ The concept of multiculturalism is used in three senses: to refer to a society that is characterized by ethnic or cultural heterogeneity, to refer to an ideal of equality and mutual respect among a population’s ethnic or cultural groups, and to refer to policies implemented by the federal government in 1971 and subsequently by a number of provinces. In 1971, Canada was the first country in the world to adopt multiculturalism as an official policy. Doing so, Canada affirmed the value and
The 1971 Multiculturalism Policy of Canada also confirmed the rights of Aboriginal peoples and the status of Canada’s two official languages, English and French. All Canadians are guaranteed equality before the law and of opportunities regardless of their origins. Canada’s laws and policies recognize Canada’s diversity by race, cultural heritage, ethnicity, religion, ancestry and place of origin. All men and women are also guaranteed complete freedom of conscience, of thought, belief, opinion, expression, association and peaceful assembly (Canadian Multiculturalism).
The political structures of Canada, such as the Canadian Constitution, laws and some daily practices, are governed in a way that public spaces, institutions, and institutional structures of Canada are grounded in formally secularism and pluralism. Unlike the United Kingdom, there is no state religion in Canada. Although there was no official religion in Canada, realistically, there were two quasi-official religions. The Catholic Church was
They are unilingual French, unlike the rest of the English-speaking provinces that have had bilingualism forced upon themselves. They have their own Quebec Provincial Police, their own tax system, and a separate Quebec Pension Plan. They have separatist representatives in the Canadian government called the Bloc Québécois. In the past century, a majority of the memorable prime ministers have lived in Quebec. They believe that the federal government’s treatment towards Quebec is harsher than that of other provinces. Their separatist issues have caused them to receive abject favoritism from the federal government, bringing on strong separatist feelings in the western provinces such as Alberta and British Columbia. If these feelings of alienation increase, these provinces, which are self-supporting and considered ‘have’ provinces, that are not waiting for equalization payments from the federal government, could have their own separatist movement in the near