Multiculturalism+2

= = =**__Multiculturalism 2 __**=

In Canada, multiculturalism has a long history and has evolved greatly over the times. Although it is visible in every major city of Canada, multiculturalism did not gain its popularity without hard work. Also, this was not possible without the pushing efforts of people who demanded equal rights after outlasting the wars and other ordeals faced by all the other Canadians. Today Canada is a country that is looked up at due to its policies on giving equal rights and respect to all its citizens.

**__History of Multiculturalism in Canada__**
The history of multiculturalism dates back to the 60's a time when English-French relations were suffering greatly in Canada. At these times, Canada believed in the philosophy of biculturalism in which there where only two official cultures that reflected Canadian life. Due to this, English and French Canadians competed for more power. French Canadians always felt threatened by the fact that they were outnumbered and geographically surrounded by their English counterparts. At this point in time, the term "biculturalism" started to get replaced by "cultural pluralism". This term was used in three different contexts and has spread from Canada to many other countries across the globe. The first of these meanings was cultural "heterogeneity" or a mixture of cultures; the second was the idea that everyone deserved to be treated equally no matter what culture or ethnicity they belonged to; and the final one was a government policy adopted in 1971. This gave way to the Conservative government passing the bill regarding the Multiculturalism Act in July of 1988. This greatly altered the previously set standards of giving immigrants no choice but to assimilate into dominant English culture of the majority. As always, whenever there is an idea, there are many who oppose it, as hostility towards change is often human instinct. Similarly, this concept took some time to be accepted and had amassed many adversaries in its initial stages. There were fears of Canadians getting divided rather than uniting. Canadians of English backgrounds argued that it would strip them of their unique British heritage whereas French Canadians believed that this policy was only meant to lessen their own rights, giving them no different treatment and respect that the non-British Canadians received and take away their nationalism.

This concept has been continuously changing since the day it was introduced. Its change was due to the many different waves of immigration in Canada. The waves can be differentiated by the variety of areas where people came from. This depended on the necessities and level of tolerance of Canadians. Early on, people of British origin, and less often, those of French ethnicity were welcomed to Canada. Next Chinese immigrants were "welcomed" during the construction of the Transcontinental railway. Later on, other Europeans were welcomed to Canada and due to their skin colour easily accepted. Similarly there have been different waves to this day where people come into Canada from various destinations around the world.

Today, Canadians try their best to live up to this mosaic standard introduced by their ancestors. What makes Canada more like a mosaic is the fact that there are many ethnic clusters such as Chinatown, and Little Italy in its major cities. This makes Canada's population more diverse, as in those clusters, people are proud to call themselves Canadian, while practicing the life that they used to before their immigration. Canadian schools and workplaces can often be seen as a place where people of several backgrounds and ways of life come together and interact with one another. This shows the picture of a collaboration of different cultures into a much larger one that is uniquely Canadian. Since then, countries around the world have adopted this policy as it is a way of showing people that they do not need to change to fit into a community.