Reasons Behind Cultural Diversity in Canada - Essay Example

? Canada’s cultural diversity purely reflects the overall history of the country Contents Contents 2 Introduction: Canada’s cultural diversity 3 Background: reflection of the overall history of the country 3 Thesis 4 Analysis of primary & secondary sources: reasons behind cultural diversity in Canada 4 Discussion: factors behind Canada’s cultural diversity and its benefits 6 Conclusion 7 References 8 Introduction: Canada’s cultural diversity The cultural diversity of Canada represents the elements that are not only the features of its own population but also for the culture of the different countries. The artistic culture, culinary style, music, literature, politics and social characteristics of Canada are the reflections of mix of its own culture and culture of other countries like Great Britain, France. The cultural diversity of Canada has developed over the years due to its close ties with the European culture and the American culture. The increase in migration of between Canada and America has led to the transfer of cultural traits between these two countries. Canada’s culture as result of this interchange has developed diverse characteristics that are found in Europe and America, as well. The immigration from the neighboring countries to Canada has led to the development of diverse culture in the country. The diversified population of Canada is represented by several races that have migrated across the borders of Canada. These people vary in their food habits, language, culture and lifestyle. The integration of the indigenous culture with this diverse population has led to the cultural diversity of Canada. Background: reflection of the overall history of the country The cultural background of Canada in the overall history of the country could be termed as heterogeneous with people from different countries migrating to Canada and setting up establishments in the region. Thus the ethnic origin of the population is heterogeneous. The people from different countries have come and settled in Canada. They are from different origins and background and thus the composition of the country’s demographics is diverse in nature. In the early stages of history, the population was mainly dominated by the British and the French. Over the years, due to increase in immigration from the other parts of Europe and America, the composition of the population and the cultural aspects of the Canadian land has undergone rapid changes. The mix of different cultures, religion and language has led to the diversity of the Canadian culture1. Before the First World War and the immense migration from other parts of Europe, the Canadian culture was mainly predominated by the British and the French. In the initial stages of history, Canada accepted immigrants mainly from the parts of Western Europe. Till 1960, the immigrants from United States, United Kingdom and France were preferred by the Canadian government. After 1960, the policy on immigration underwent changes that led to immigration from other nations. These immigrants were selected based on their educational and occupational skills. Thus the immigrants varied in terms of their background, origin and culture and integrated in the Canadian culture and economy. All these led to the diversity of the Canadian culture over the times in the different periods in history. Thesis The thesis statement includes identification of the underlying factors and reasons behind the cultural diversity of Canada and the benefits of the cultural diversity to the country. Analysis of primary & secondary sources: reasons behind cultural diversity in Canada The analysis of the reasons behind the cultural diversity of Canada has been done with the help of primary and secondary sources of information on the cultural diversity of Canada. The sources of information include the books and online articles and statistics on the Canadian culture. The statistical data collected for census of the country of Canada has also been used for undertaking the analysis. The major reasons for the diversity in the Canadian culture have been the multicultural politics in the country that has selected migrants from different origins, background and culture. Initially the Canadian population was dominated by the British and the French. After the Second World War, the increase in the number of immigrants from other parts of Europe and also immigrants from America led to the diverse culture and language in the Canadian land. The language was shared between the inhabitants and the Canadian language. Also sharing of food habits, art, fashion, food and everything led to a mix of culture in Canada that not only resembled characteristics of its own land but also that of the other nations of Europe and America, etc. These facts are supported by the data and information given as follows. Looking at the census figures of Canada in the two decades of 1871 and 1881, it could be revealed that Canadian population was mainly predominated by the British and the French people. The percentage of representation of the people fro British origins in Canada comprised of 60% while the people from French origins in Canada constituted 30% of the population. The segment of the population that did not comprise of either British or French origin in Canada constituted only 7% in 1881. Thus before the First World War and in the era before the change in migration from other parts of Europe to Canada took place, the British and the French dominated the Canadian culture. This trend persisted until the early nineteenth century before the First World War. The period of 1896 to 1914 saw around three million people from different parts of Europe migrate to Canada. This saw a major shift in the percentage mix of the population as majority of these three million immigrants were of non-British and non-French origin2. These people migrated to Canada mainly from Southern Europe, Ukraine, etc. During the periods of the two World Wars, an additional two million immigrants established themselves in Canada from 1915 to 1945. The increase in diversity in Canadian culture has been due to the increase in the population from non-British and non-French origin. Discussion: factors behind Canada’s cultural diversity and its benefits There are several factors that led to the cultural diversity in Canada. From 1901 to 1961, the Europeans represented 97% of Canada’s population. However, the people from British origin declined during this period whereas immigrants from non-British origin increased in Canada. From 1901 to 1941, the people of British origin in Canada decline from 60% to 50% and further from 50% to 43% from 1941 to 1961. Although the French origin remained almost constant, the people from the European origins but nor from the British descendants increased from 7% in 1901 to 17.5% in 1941. Further from 1941 to 1961, the non-British immigrants from Europe to Canada increased to 22.3%. This shows that cultural diversity in Canada increased over the years. Several factors led to this increase in diversity in the Canadian culture. His could be attributed to the needs of people from different parts of Europe migrating to Canada for relatively safer conditions. The conditions of war and insecurity of lives, man-made disasters have led to immigrants from different parts of Europe in the early nineteenth century. The conditions of famine in Ukraine as an act of oppression by the Soviet Union led to immigration from Ukraine to Canada. In the later stages after 1961, there was increased migration of people from America into Canada. The migration activities from America took place due to the vicinity and familiar conditions between America and Canada. The change in the policies of the Canadian government also led to the selection of immigrants from other parts of the world. These immigrants were selected based on the educational and occupational skills. The cultural diversity of Canada was also beneficial for the country. Due to the presence of a diverse population in the country, the people were more adaptable to their areas of work. This led to the formation of favorable environment for the growth of business and industries. The immigrants were selected by Canada in the later stages of the history by looking at their educational and occupational skills3. This led to technological advancements in Canada. The occupational skills helped the country to excel in different fields of education, art, sports and business. Overall, the total factor productivity of Canada increased due to the contributions of the diverse population and culture of Canada that led to the growth of the country in several spheres of the economy. Conclusion The culture of Canada is characterized by its progressive nature, diverse and multicultural characteristic traits. The cultural diversity has led to the growth of diverse population representation with the non-white people forming a major part of the Canadian society and culture. Over the years, the predominance of the people from the British and French origin has decreased and in its place, immigrants from other parts of Europe and America have integrated with the Canadian culture. The different periods in the history including the time of world wars saw huge people from Europe, America and Ukraine migrate into Canada. The policies of the government and legal framework in the country have also been favorable for the immigrants that led to heterogeneity in the Canadian culture. The Canadian government started to select migrants post 1961 based on the occupational and educational skills irrespective of their origin. Although the process increased the diversity in the Canadian culture, the different spheres of the Canadian economy in the field of education, arts, sports, business was hugely benefitted from the contribution of immigrants from varied cultural background. References Beaman, Lori. and Peter, Beyer. Religion and Diversity in Canada. Leiden: BRILL, 2008. Canada, Department of Justice. CULTURAL DIVERSITY IN CANADA. 2000. < http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/csj-sjc/jsp-sjp/rp02_8-dr02_8/rp02_8.pdf>. PDF. Mallea, John. and Jonathan, Young. Cultural Diversity and Canadian Education: Issues and Innovations. Ontario: McGill-Queen's Press, 1984. Read More