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What Is Multiculturalism In Canada?

Decent Essays

In understanding official multiculturalism in a broader context, it is necessary to first examine it basic values, and namely, what sort of society is multiculturalism attempting to promote? In this context, it’s useful to examine key clauses of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act; and in particular the official statement on multiculturalism policy found in section 3.

First, the Act asserts that all Canadians are entitled to “preserve, enhance, and share their cultural heritage.” Central to this notion is the rejection of other common approaches to ethnic and cultural policies. On the one hand, this tenet rejects earlier Canadian policies of assimilation, where the goal was to encourage minorities to discard their cultural heritage and adopt mainstream Canadian values and practices. Under the official policy of multiculturalism, however, citizens are encouraged to retain their cultural heritage while being recognized as part of Canadian society. Not only does this policy of multiculturalism reject early practices of assimilation, it also distinguishes itself from the “melting pot” approach typically found in the United States. Central to this strategy is the idea that the cultural values and practices of immigrants is best combined with those of mainstream society to form a new and single national culture. Under multiculturalism, however, ethnic groups in Canadian society are encouraged to maintain their ethnic distinctiveness, rather than assimilated into an ever- …show more content…

Central here is the idea of inclusion within the broader Canadian society. It should not be the case that an ethnic group is excluded from participating in key social, political, and economic institutions simply because they have chosen to maintain their traditional cultural customs and

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