IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTURALISM IN CANADA
Presented by Jean Chrétien at the Progressive Governance Summit

July 12, 2003
London, United Kingdom

Canada's cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity has always defined our national fabric. French and English settlers, Aboriginal peoples, successive generations of immigrants from Asia, Europe, Africa, Latin America and elsewhere created the dynamic mix that built Canada. Thirty years ago, Canada became the first country in the world to adopt a national Multiculturalism Policy. Over the last three decades our multicultural reality has found expression in our Constitution and a variety of laws, regulations and practices. We now have in place a legislative framework that is intended to allow our diverse population to work, live and engage in community life in a climate of respect and acceptance.

Multiculturalism and our immigration policies have sought to create a sense of attachment and responsibility to Canada, without requiring that other identities and affiliations be denied. Indeed, our goal has been to celebrate diverse and multiple cultural traditions and allegiances. As a result, the challenge of integration into Canadian society has been progressively more comfortable for newcomers. Of course, we have had to learn from our own challenges and struggles.

But we have been guided by a few key principles: mutual respect and accommodation; civility and peaceful resolution of conflict; and intercultural dialogue. Canadians take pride in our multicultural society, value the principles that underpin it and recognize the advantage it confers.

Our diversity is also increasingly seen as a comparative advantage at home and in the world. Our own population growth has slowed. Thus, as the knowledge and service economy has burgeoned, a new premium has been placed attracting skilled, creative and committed people from abroad. Our diversity and emphasis on welcoming newcomers is helping Canada become a magnet for new talent and investment. For our immigration and multiculturalism policies in a sense recreate the world within our borders. The lessons we have learned from multiculturalism have also enhanced our ability to participate constructively in international institutions and contribute to the resolution of major global challenges. In what follows I will elaborate on these observations.

From its inception, Canada has been a heterogeneous society. At the time of European settlement, there were more than fifty Aboriginal nations speaking over thirty languages. Their ancestors had inhabited this land for more than 10,000 years. French and English settlers laid the foundations of Canada's linguistic duality in law.

Our western areas were populated by settlers from Eastern Europe. Immigrants then came from China, Italy, Greece, India, the Caribbean, and other parts of the world to create a new life and thriving communities within Canada. They continue to add their voices to shaping our country.

Canada's multicultural policy reflects this history of diverse peoples and cultures that, from the beginning, have found a way of living together through mutual accommodation and respect. Unlike many modern democracies where a singular tradition, culture, or religion acts as a sort of pre-existing social glue, Canada has built its identity on its diversity, its openness to the world, its principles.

This reality was well understood by the architects of the Canadian nation-state. Georges Etienne-Cartier, one of Canada's Fathers of Confederation, observed: "We would form a political nationality with which neither the national origin, nor the religion of any individual would interfere." Our identity is rooted firmly in the principles of civic nationalism. It is a negotiated space underpinned by key values. In an unusual way, this has come to define who we are as Canadians and has made diversity a natural part of Canadian society.

An important consequence of Canada's deep regional, cultural and linguistic diversity is that Canadians have never been able to take their citizenship for granted. Canadians have always had to be deliberate about intercultural dialogue and accommodating diverse perspectives. As a result, we have built institutions and policies that have been designed pragmatically to balance often-competing voices.

A fundamental goal of multiculturalism has been to build capacity for dialogue and self-expression in diverse communities. We have sought to create the conditions required to realize opportunity and enable full participation in Canadian society. These goals have been enshrined in legislation through our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, our Official Languages Act and our Multicultural Act.

Our longstanding experience with bridging cultural, linguistic, religious, and regional divides has resulted in a shared set of values and principles that have governed our exchanges and defined the terms of our citizenship. Civility, respect and largely peaceful resolution of conflict are the legacy of a long dialogue and negotiation between Canada's Aboriginal peoples, French and British settlers, and the generations of newcomers that followed. None of this is meant to suggest that the road to accommodation has not often been bumpy. These are the hard won lessons of our history.

We had crises that divided the country, such as conscription during the two world wars, and later the threat of separation in Quebec. We have learned to find solutions through discussion. And, each time our commitment to diversity has been tested, Canadian society has matured. Points of contention that once challenged traditional Canadian norms become integrated into new reflections of our intercultural reality. Thus, for example, the image of one of Canada's most beloved symbols, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, evolved to include a police officer sporting a turban and a ceremonial Sikh dagger.

We have long understood the critical contribution that our multicultural policy has made to the cultural and social fabric of Canadian society. But we have also discovered that our combined immigration and multicultural policies have provided competitive advantages in an increasingly globalized society.

In the 2001 Census, Canadians reported more than 200 ethnic origins and more than 100 languages as their mother tongue. In fact, 47% of the population reported ethnic origins other than British, French or Canadian, with 36% of Canadians reporting more than one ethnic origin. By the year 2016, the visible minority population is expected to account for one fifth of the Canadian population. Today, our 31 million inhabitants represent a cultural, ethnic, and linguistic make-up found nowhere else on earth.

With this diversity come close ties to an astounding number of countries and cultures, giving us important economic, social and cultural links to virtually every region of the world. Canada is an increasingly interesting and exciting place. We have also benefited from a vast wellspring of talent and innovation. In addition, our two international languages and the world within our borders represent a critical advantage in accessing the global marketplace. But the benefits do not end there.

Canada, like many other developed nations, is facing a demographic crunch. Our workforce will grow at a much slower rate than in the past, and our future labour supply will be inadequate to meet the demands of our economy. By 2011, immigration will account for all net labour force growth in Canada and for all net population growth by 2031. The Conference Board of Canada forecasts a shortfall of nearly one million workers within 20 years, if decisive steps are not taken to increase the number of skilled immigrants. This will mean competing with other countries that are in a similar position.

Here we believe our well-rooted immigration and multiculturalism policies will provide Canada with a competitive edge. Our new Immigration and Refugee Protection Act lays the foundation for a renewed immigration system. It reflects a balanced approach between facilitating the selection of immigrants, including highly skilled workers from around the world, and ensuring the health, safety and security of all Canadians. Our multiculturalism policy complements the goals of this Act. It has provided us with a unique view of immigration as a project of integration right from the start. Unlike many European nations, we have not adopted the notion of 'temporary status'. We regard those applying for status as future citizens and as future contributors to our society. From the beginning, we also invest in the human capital of our newcomers through settlement programs that offer linguistic training and other skills development.

We have tried to become more savvy in our approach to the attraction and retention of skilled immigrants. Our targeted efforts have yielded positive results. Of the more than 226,000 immigrants and refugees who were welcomed to Canada in 2000, approximately 60 percent entered through the economic category. This compares with 50 percent in Australia and 12 percent in the United States.

An American academic, Richard Florida, has argued that creativity is one of the most powerful indicators of economic success in our new global economy. He has further argued that city-regions are in the best position to attract and retain this type of talent. He stresses, however, that creative talent is not drawn to just any kind of city-region. By virtue of their skills, these highly sought-after members of the workforce are extremely mobile. Where they choose to locate has as much to do with the social character of the community around them as it does with their work. Respect for diversity, cultural richness, intercultural dialogue, openness - these are qualities sought after by creative people. People whose differences are appreciated, who see outlets, avenues and venues for their creative energies in a given community will choose to locate and live there.

We are experiencing an economic paradigm shift. It used to be that communities were called good places to live if they were good places to work. Now, they are considered good places to work if they are vibrant places to live. Florida has found that city-regions that combine a high quality of life with a respect for and accommodation of diversity are those most likely to enjoy the greatest success in attracting the sort of talent required to fuel growth in the new economy.

Research is confirming what Canadians have suspected for a while. Diversity is not only good for enriching our social and cultural well being; it creates a competitive advantage. The most successful national economies of the future will be those that recognize and build on balanced economic, social and cultural policies. The Canadian approach to multiculturalism has thus taken on a greater importance, becoming a policy that must not only be sustained, but strengthened.

While we are proud of what we have accomplished in the last thirty years, we recognize that our policies on immigration and multiculturalism are in a constant state of evolution and that new challenges are ahead. We are not complacent. A truly pluralistic society cannot be complacent.

Recent immigrants to Canada have higher than average levels of education than the Canadian-born population. In 2000, 58 percent of working-age immigrants had a post-secondary degree at landing, compared with 43 percent of the existing Canadian population. Yet it can sometimes take up to ten years for the earnings of university-educated immigrants to catch up to those of their Canadian counterparts. Moreover, in 1996, there was nearly a 20-percentage point difference between the employment rate of university-educated, Canadian-born workers and that of university-educated immigrants. Clearly, there are inefficiencies in labour market integration that result in some immigrants` skills being under-utilized. Given the rising demand for highly qualified people, we recognize we cannot afford to waste any of this talent. And we are taking additional steps - now - to ensure that the right support is provided, credentials are recognized. We can afford no less.

One of our greatest challenges is building a comprehensive and effective system for assessing and recognizing foreign credentials. Assessment services are being expanded in our provinces. The federal government, provinces and territories, regulatory bodies, and employers are cooperating more closely to improve recognition of foreign credentials before and after immigrants arrive. Canada will continue moving aggressively to improve foreign credential recognition in the coming period.

New immigration and urbanization patterns are also posing challenges to our existing multicultural policy. Beyond our institutions of justice, our democracy depends on the attitudes of citizens, their desire to participate politically and their ability to work together. As Canada and other modern democracies become more diverse and with certain populations becoming more concentrated in given communities, promoting responsible citizenship becomes ever more important.

Building responsible citizenship requires fostering a positive climate and attitude for public discourse. Free and open discussion in the context of difference requires citizens to engage with one another in a climate of mutual respect. We must strike the right balance between our regard for diversity and our need for a common citizenship. As such, we must ensure that our new policies focus on fostering and strengthening understanding across diverse communities, and promoting the rights and responsibilities of shared citizenship. Our proposed new Citizenship Act will reinforce the responsibilities associated with being a Canadian and having a strong commitment to Canada.

Our domestic experience with diversity has helped shape our voice on the international stage. Canadians have come to see that dialogue, mutual accommodation and connecting across differences are also necessary in the rest of the world. Twenty-five of the Members of Parliament in my own Liberal caucus were not born in Canada. In a country where we have made diversity a strength, we believe that we can assist when nations or communities are struggling with historic differences as they seek to build stable, democratic states. We are proud for example, to have been able to assist South Africans in the design of their new federal constitution following the end of Apartheid. We were also pleased to have assisted China with their revised criminal code.

Canada helped found and has long been a supporter of the United Nations. We have done so because of our desire to build a more secure world within an international system based on the rule of law. We understand that multilateralism is in everyone`s interest. But, our hard won national experience and commitments to the principles of peaceful resolution of conflict, mutual respect and intercultural dialogue informs our participation in multilateral settings. We think these values are essential to creating a more secure, peaceful and prosperous world.

The main challenges of our day include infectious disease, environment, international crime and terrorism. These issues are too large for even the strongest countries to solve on their own. In collectively addressing terrorism, for example, we must also address collectively the factors that allow terrorism to flourish. This can only be accomplished through multilateral means and efforts to foster cross-cultural dialogue and respect.

Since 9/11 some of our traditional interfaith and intercultural dialogues in Canada, as elsewhere, have experienced strain. This is worrisome. As Canadians, if we wish to do more to share our positive experiences with the world, we will need to understand where the points of fragility in our own settings are. As tensions increase abroad, we are working to ensure that tensions do not increase at home. Responsible citizenship requires a continued commitment from all Canadians to ensure that we remain vigilant against the risk of any rising intolerance in our own communities.

Canadian efforts to facilitate the involvement of diverse communities in every aspect of Canadian life, to promote intercultural dialogue, civility and respect, and to encourage a greater sense of belonging have helped ensure that Canada became a peaceful and prosperous democratic society. Differences have always been defining features of Canadian identity. Differences pose challenges; but they are also a tremendous source of social and economic strength. Our immigration and multicultural policies are a direct result of our own struggles and our historic commitment to one another. They have fostered Canadians` sense of social solidarity. Diversity, respect, and acceptance have also created a climate conducive to creativity and growth. We believe that our commitment and policies on diversity remain works in progress, requiring ongoing vigilance and reflection. But the Canadian experience is that the benefits are worth the effort.

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