Canada is Culturally Diverse

Another aspect of Canada that we Canadians learn about in school is that we are a multi-cultural country.  We differ from our nearest neighbour, the United States of America, which is also the only country with which we share a land border, in that we are not a cultural "melting pot".  We allow people to migrate to Canada and still maintain their ties to their original home lands.  In contrast, in the United States, migrants are urged to completely adopt the American culture.

A Jewish deli in Montréal.

A Japanese-themed bar, in Montréal.

A Slovenian deli, in Montréal.

Canada's multi-cultural identity was promoted by, among other people, former Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau.  Trudeau, while he was prime minister of Canada, instituted many government policies to promote multiculturalism, including support for cultural exchanges between the citizens of Canada's French-speaking province, Québec, and the English-speaking regions of the country.  He promoted bilingualism (knowledge of both the French and English languages) within the Canadian federal public service.  And he believed that Canada, though populated by migrants from many different locations, could be a model for the world of a tolerant, ethnically diverse nation where all citizens live in peace and mutual respect.  I am a strong supporter of this idea, as are, I believe, many other Canadians.

The gate in Ottawa's China-town district.

A Korean restaurant, in Ottawa.

A grocery store selling Indian goods, in Ottawa.

A Chinese restaurant, in Ottawa.

In recent years, I have had the opportunity to travel to cities in different parts of the world, including Busan.  These travels have made it clear to me that Canada's multiculturalism is unique and special.  In my opinion, even such cosmopolitan cities as Paris, France, are not as ethnically diverse as Canada's major cities.  And Korea, in my view, is extremely Korean.  In fact, the government of that country recently announced the granting of the 100 000th Korean citizenship to a foreign migrant to Korea.  In contrast, the government of Canada grants citizenship to over 170 000 migrants per year!

Middle Eastern shops, in Ottawa.

A Korean restaurant, in Ottawa.

A Middle Eastern café, in Ottawa.

An African restaurant, in Ottawa.

In addition, I have also had the opportunity to travel to cities in different parts of my own country.  In doing so, I came to believe that different regions of Canada have unique ethnic communities within them.  First of all, it seems to me that most recent migrants to Canada (those having arrived within the last 50 years, say) live in Canada's largest cities, namely Montréal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver.  And each of these cities appears to be the home of more people from specific parts of the world than others.  For instance, in Montréal, there are many migrants whose original home is in French-speaking Africa, as well as in Haïti.  There is also a large Italian community in Montréal.  In Toronto, there are many migrants from English-speaking Africa, as well as from Asia and from some parts of Europe (notably Greece).  In Vancouver, the largest migrant community is from Asia.  Many are from Japan, China, and India.  In Ottawa, there appears to be a large community of migrants from the Middle East, from Lebanon in particular.  But the cultural diversity of Canada does not end in its cities.  In smaller Western communities, like those of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, there are many Eastern European migrants, in particular from the Ukraine.  Also, the smaller city of Sudbury is the home of significant Italian community, as well as the home of people from many parts of Europe.  Many of these people came to Sudbury in the hope of finding lucrative employment with the city's mining companies.  And in rural Canada, there are many communities inhabited mostly by Canada's First Nations' citizens.  In fact, there is now a large territory in northern Canada, called Nunavut, that is administered and governed by the Inuit people.  Other aboriginal groups are claiming the right to govern other parts of Canada as well, an idea that I whole-heartedly support.

A Viet-Namese restaurant, in Ottawa.

A Chinese restaurant, in Ottawa.

An Italian store, in Ottawa.

A Cambodian restaurant, in Ottawa.

One visible manifestation of the cultural diversity of Canada is the existence of a large number of restaurants serving foods from different parts of the world.  This may be, on some level, a trivial point, but I truly have not seen, in any other country that I have visited, so many restaurants featuring cuisine from other parts of the world.  Now that I am no longer living in Canada, I miss these restaurants for both their visual impact on the urban landscape, and for the tasty treats that are available there.

An Indian and Nepalese restaurant, in Toronto.