Canadian Multiculturalism Day 2020

Do you know what we celebrate tomorrow June 27 in Canada? The government of Canada declared June 27 as the Canadian Multiculturalism Day in 2002.

This year, join a virtual celebration to mark the Canadian Multiculturalism day. Check out virtual activities across the country here: https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/multiculturalism-day.html

What is “Multiculturalism”?

It’s “the presence of, or support for the presence of, several distinct cultural or ethnic groups within a society.”

Canada’s uniqueness comes from our ability to live together in peace and harmony with people from different cultures and backgrounds.

Let’s look at some interesting facts about Canadian multiculturalism:

The Canadian Multicultural Act was passed in 1988 and shows Canada’s commitment to promoting and maintaining a multicultural society. It is a way of “assuring the cultural freedom” of the people.
About 28% of Calgarians were born outside of Canada.
A 2016 Canadian census stated that more than one in five Canadians were born outside of Canada.
“Calgary is home to 240 different ethnic origins and is ranked third in Canada in the proportion of visible minorities.”
The City of Toronto’s official motto is: “Diversity Our Strength”.
Toronto was named as the most multicultural city in the world by BBC Radio in 2016.
Canada’s population growth is mainly caused by international migration.
The practiced religions in the country include Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, and Traditional (Aboriginal) Spirituality.
More than 200 languages were reported as a mother tongue or the language spoken at home in a 2011 census.
The former minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, Ahmed Hussen, immigrated to Canada from Somalia. He has been quoted as saying: “Thanks in great part to the newcomers we have welcomed throughout our history, Canada has developed into the strong and vibrant country we all enjoy.”
Statistics Canada predicts that nearly one in two Canadians could be an immigrant or the child of an immigrant by 2036.

We can all contribute to creating a country of openness and cultural awareness by educating ourselves about how multiculturalism shapes and enhances our nation. Development, friendship and insight can be gained by us being tolerant and curious towards people who do not share our backgrounds, but may very well share our future.

Word of the Day

Migration: the process of people moving to a new place to live
The word migration has roots in the Latin word migrāre which means to move from place to place.

References:

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/91-003-x/2014001/section03/33-eng.htm

https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/10/world/canada-immigration-trnd/index.html

https://www.bestcalgaryhomes.com/calgary-diversity-culture-calgaryism-fact/#:~:text=Calgary%20is%20a%20Diverse%20and%20Multicultural%20City!&text=According%20to%20recent%20statistics%20about,and%20spoken%20across%20the%20city.

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-multiculturalism-act

https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/190619/dq190619c-eng.htm

https://torontoglobal.ca/TG-Blog/March-2019/How-multicultural-is-Toronto-Let-us-count-the-way

https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/multiculturalism

https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2013/09/2013915111722311111.html

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/census-shows-canada-truly-multicultural-1.410378

https://www.albertahumanrights.ab.ca/education/dates/Pages/multiculturalism.aspx

https://www.yourdictionary.com/multiculturalism