Canada is a multicultural nation. It simple means that Canadians are not just comprised of just one background, race, culture, traditions, beliefs or heritage. Instead, Canadians reflect a vast diversity of different nationalities and racial groups coming together, living together and working together as a country. It is Canada’s commitment in unifying different races comprised of the whole country into one. Our diversity is a national asset especially in the international sphere. After all, Canada is recognized to be the first multicultural country in the world.

Everyone who has migrated to Canada bring their language, culture, and religion with them to Canada. It is basically an advantage to learn from others as well as pass on some knowledge about your own culture and traditions to other people. Thru multiculturalism, Canada recognizes the potential of each individual, encouraging them to integrate into their own society and take part in social and cultural events.

We all live among other races and nationalities, so it affects the very fabric of each person’s relationship with others. We personally count people from different religions and backgrounds as friends and treat them as one. In the story “Ancestors – The Genetic Source” by David Suzuki, he had mentioned the difficulty in merging together his identity as a Japanese Canadian. He mentions that environment overrides genes and that’s mainly because we also all work with people from different ethnocultural background. Yes, we have a lot of ethnicities, but since when was that a negative thing? It definitely has improved the country’s issues better than it being a homogeneous society.

In the story “Québécitude: An Ambiguous Identity”, Guy Bédard, even wrote All identities are a construction of mind which means that identity involves how each person thinks. He wrote about him being a French-speaking Catholic and it shows how it had changed meanings because of the formation of other nationalities from around the world. Canadians who speak many languages and understand various cultures make it easier for Canada to participate in worldwide issues, especially in important areas such as business and education.

So it provides writers the need to be heard and understood. Canadians are exposed everyday to a variety of ethnic foods, cultural shows, folk dances and such, which helps Canadians become more open to the idea of accepting various backgrounds and being aware of the values that each individual possess. In the story “A Wedding in Toronto” by Austin Clarke, his family had accepted his bride more than her own family where they had not bothered showing up on her wedding because of her spouse’s ethnic background. Thus, being more knowledge and multicultural makes us more motivated to get to learn about ourselves while maintaining their identity and responsibilities within the society and still be able to retain dual identities.

As often as we interact with one another, this is a huge increase of cultural sharing. When an immigrant comes to Canada, they can still maintain their old contacts, their own personality, their own traditions and beliefs, while forming new friendships, new relationships, new identities and enhance our knowledge on the Canadian culture. The Canadian identity is based on public acceptance of physical differences and support the pluralism of origins, which is a fact of the urban life.

Writers know their right to be heard and be spoken and therefore still are able to keep their ethnic cultures alive while struggling to have a dual identity being recognized as a Canadian. Canada is rooted in difference. So, we each have adopted an identity that will continue to remain elusive. Canada has fluidity. We have seen what comes from the old traditional rules but it has changed as the times change. Our differences are definitely our strength.

The rest of the world looks to Canada in these realms, and these social issues are among the most challenging issues confronting society. So it is a strength, not a weakness, that the more diversified we are, the more we are tolerant and open in accepting others as fellow Canadians to form a mosaic together to become a unified Canadian identity, while still taking pride in their unique individual heritage.