The current state of multiculturalism in Canada and research themes on Canadian multiculturalism
2008‑2010

Abstract

In the spring of 2008, the Multiculturalism and Human Rights Branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage commissioned six academics to conduct a socio-economic scan of the regions of Canada and to come up with research themes on Canadian multiculturalism that would be the focus of the branch for the next two years. [ Note 1 ]

The authors of the six regional reports conducted both literature reviews and interviews to help identify appropriate research themes for the upcoming 2008‑2010 period. Each regional report identified 6 to 8 possible themes, for a total of 48 proposed themes. This report will both catalogue the regional proposals for research themes and attempt to consolidate them into a more manageable list.

Some of the 48 themes relate to issues that are unique to particular provinces or localities. In general, however, the reports exhibit a remarkable degree of consistency in their underlying themes and concerns. Indeed, despite the regional variations, there appears to be a broad consensus across the country on the importance of a handful of issues that are crucial to the future of multiculturalism in Canada. This report will attempt to articulate the consolidated research themes in a way that reflects these common concerns, while also leaving room for regional variations in how these topics are developed and studied.

While the regional authors were primarily asked to identify new research themes, they were also invited to comment on the research themes that were adopted for the previous period of 2006‑2008. In this report, therefore, I will begin by summarizing some of their comments about the 2006‑2008 themes, and then move on to their proposals for the 2008‑2010 themes. The consolidation will be preceded by an essay on the current state of Canadian multiculturalism.

The ten new research themes for 2008‑2010 are the following:

Adapting Multiculturalism to Religious Diversity
Racism and Discrimination
Labour Market Integration
Immigration Beyond the Metropolis
Implications of Security Issues for Multiculturalism
The Future of Multiculturalism
Relating Multiculturalism to Aboriginal Peoples
Vulnerable Groups: Women and Youth/Second Generation
Patterns of Ethnic Community Formation
Multicultural Readiness in Service Delivery

This paper has been commissioned by the Multiculturalism and Human Rights Branch of the Department of Canadian Heritage to help inform decisions regarding research themes for the 2008‑2010 period. More specifically, this paper is intended to supplement the series of six regional reports that explore emerging issues for multiculturalism at a regional level in Canada. This paper aims to provide a broader national (and, indeed, international) overview of the “state of multiculturalism” in order to provide some background context for the regional reports.

Reviewing the debates on multiculturalism in Canada in the past few years, one is reminded of the words of Charles Dickens: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” On the one hand, we have witnessed not only growing evidence of Canada’s comparative advantage in the integration of immigrants, but also growing evidence that the multiculturalism policy has played an important role in this comparative success. For defenders of multiculturalism, the evidence of the policy’s benefits has never been stronger. On the other hand, we are witnessing a worldwide retreat from multiculturalism, most observable in Western Europe, and many commentators argue that this is a harbinger of Canada’s future as well. For critics, multiculturalism is an inherently flawed idea, and while these flaws may have emerged more quickly or starkly in Western Europe, they are starting to reveal themselves here in Canada as well.

In the first section, I will explore these dueling perspectives on multiculturalism – the celebratory and the condemnatory – and discuss how I believe we need to reframe the debate in order to move forward. There are real challenges confronting multiculturalism in Canada, but they are often ignored in the ritualized debate between supporters and critics of the policy.

I will begin with a short review of some of the new evidence of the benefits of the multiculturalism policy in Canada. I will then contrast this Canadian experience with the growing international backlash against multiculturalism, and how the international situation is leading many commentators to look for similar signs of emerging backlash and failure in Canada.

I believe that this attempt to read the Canadian experience in light of Western European trends is highly misleading, and indeed distracts us from the real issues. So I will conclude with a discussion of the sorts of challenges that I think are worthy of our attention, and that can help inform judgments about appropriate research topics for the 2008‑2010 period.

In the second section, I will give an overview of the research themes for the period 2006‑2008 and then list all the proposed research themes for every region. Lastly, I will list ten research themes that reflect ten distinct and important focuses of potential research for the 2008‑2010 period, drawing on the excellent research and recommendations in the six regional reports.

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1. The six reports were written by Ibrahim Ouattara (Atlantic); Annick Lenoir and Paul Morin (Quebec); David Seljak (Ontario); Paul Bramadat (Manitoba and Saskatchewan); and Lauren Hunter (British Columbia and Alberta/Territories).

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