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1.17 How Can We Reconcile Contending Non-nationalist Loyalties in Canada?
1.17 How Can We Reconcile Contending Loyalties in Canada?
Should nation be the foundation of identity?
Big Idea:
- Reconciling contending nationalist and non-nationalist loyalties in Canada is a challenge.
Canada is a multination state, meaning that Canada's population is made of people from many cultural and ethnic groups. Because of this, people with differing languages, customs, religions, and beliefs live throughout Canada. It should be no surprise, then, that people have various codes of conduct, attitudes toward marriage, beliefs about raising children and education, and opinions on government policies.
Despite this great variety, however, one system of law and one political structure exist in Canada and, generally speaking, Canadian citizens observe and respect the laws and the government. Canada is a pluralistic society. Pluralism allows Canadians with varying religions and political views to follow their beliefs and express their concerns freely within the confines of Canadian society. But sometimes pluralism can lead to the need to reconcile contending nationalist and non-nationalist loyalties.
Pluralism allows the multination state of Canada to be a civic nation. Explore the tabs below to view the three main ways the government of Canada supports the efforts of Canadians to reconcile contending nationalist and
non-nationalist loyalties.

Canada officially became a multicultural country in 1971 when the federal government created Canada's Multiculturalism Act. The multicultural policy
officially recognized and protected Canada's diversity, the rights of Aboriginal peoples, and supported Canada's two official languages. The main goal was to reconcile nationalist and
non-nationalist loyalties
in Canada.
Canada’s multiculturalism policy was made to
- help cultural groups grow and contribute to Canada,
- help cultural groups enjoy full participation in society,
- encourage groups to learn more about each other, and
- help immigrants learn at least one of Canada’s official languages.
Multiculturalism was intended to create a fair and just society, where all cultural and ethnic groups are equal.
The Government of Canada supports multiculturalism in the following ways.
- It supports school programs in Chinese, Ukrainian, German, and other languages.
- It supports public cultural events, such as heritage day festivals.
- It provides money for places like theatres and cultural museums.
- It provides support for the development of ethnic literature and arts.
- It helps new immigrants learn one of the official languages.
Arguments for Multiculturalism | Arguments against Multiculturalism |
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Reflect
Canada's multiculturalism policy is world-famous, and many citizens refer to it as the main reason why they moved to Canada. As the policy was created in 1971, do you think it still reflects and supports changes in Canada's diversity today?
In 1963, the Canadian government created a Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. Official bilingualism is mandatory for federal services, and is encouraged at lower tiers of government. Bilingualism also
provides support for English or French-speaking minorities in various provinces, such as cultural supports and services. It was the Commission’s job to figure out ways of reconciling Canada’s English and French communities.
The Commission proposed Canada should have two official languages. The Official Languages Act in 1969 made French and English the official languages, and thus Canada became a two-language, or bilingual country.
The Commission proposed Canada should have two official languages. The Official Languages Act in 1969 made French and English the official languages, and thus Canada became a two-language, or bilingual country.
Although many other languages are spoken in Canada, they do not have the status of the two official languages. Having multiple official languages would be confusing and difficult to support.
While bilingualism is supposed to benefit all Canadians, there has been criticism of bilingualism. Both Anglophones (English-speaking people) and Francophones (French-speaking people) have raised concerns about the policy.
English-Canadian Perspectives on Bilingualism | French-Canadian Perspectives on Bilingualism |
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The Charter was put into the new Canadian constitution as part of the Constitution Act in 1982. The Charter guarantees the rights of all Canadian citizens, and is extremely difficult to change. These rights and freedoms
cannot be easily taken away. The charter tries to reconcile nationalist and
non-nationalist loyalties
by making all Canadians equal.
Rights Protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms | |
Rights and Freedoms | This means you can... |
Fundamental Freedoms |
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Democratic Rights |
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Mobility Rights |
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Legal Rights |
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Equality Rights |
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Language Rights |
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Enforcement |
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When one thinks about contending nationalist and non-nationalist loyalties, or any other issue, one thinks about it from his or her own perspective. In fact, people cannot think about issues in any other way. One can imagine the perspectives of people of another background, history, and values, but one can never really know how others think or believe.
Is there any one right way to look at non-nationalist loyalties? Not really. However, with some background knowledge, one might recognize that other people have different ways of looking at the world and that their perspectives are based on their own reality and values. There will be times when citizens will need to decide what is most important to them: their nationalist loyalties, or their non-nationalist loyalties.
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Go to your textbook, Understanding Nationalism , and read pages 89 to 95. These pages will further your understanding of how individuals address contending nationalist and non-nationalist loyalties. |
Take notes using the 1.17 Organizer (Word, PDF, Google Doc ) about what you have read. You may want to refer to the tutorial How to Take Notes. When you are done, return here to continue. |