Canadian Multiculturalism: A Critical Review and Reassessment of the Policy and Its Implications

Abstract

When it comes to multiculturalism, a country which is often associated with the concept/policy is Canada. Canada became the first country in the world to adopt multiculturalism as official state policy in 1971. And with the increasing ethnic diversity shaping and reshaping many countries all around the world, Canada’s “experiment” with multiculturalism has been scrutinized by policymakers and scholars of many countries to assess its applicability to their own societies. Consensus is that Canadian multiculturalism has been successful and that it is perhaps the most viable policy when it comes to dealing with the multicultural circumstances. It must be noted, however, that praises for multiculturalism and assessments of its applicability have been made on the basis of inadequate understanding of the term. To properly understand multiculturalism and assess its applicability, distinctions must be made between multicultural society as a fact and process, i.e., growing racial and ethnic diversity in Canada, and multiculturalism as a policy and ideology. Also, the multiplicity of the meanings and implications of multiculturalism must be understood sufficiently. In view of this, this paper analyzes Canadian multiculturalism from multidimensional perspectives and examines their implications.