Themes in Multicultural History and Immigration

The history of ethnic diversity in Canada is fascinating - so many people, from so many places, live here. But this history is also complex and extensive. If a person tried to read all the details about each of the hundreds of ethnic groups living in this country today, it would take them a very long time! So instead, this section of the Global Gathering Place site is devoted to themes which distill, compare, and contrast the experiences of people coming to, and living in, multicultural Canada. These themes are related to each other, just as the parts of any one person's life are - for example, family, friends, school, work, language, and home are all connected. So in the history of Canada's ethnic groups, for example, patterns of immigration can be closely related to human rights problems, or to entrepreneurship.

People have come to Canada from every corner of the globe over several hundred years, and are still coming every day. They have come at different times, for different reasons, have lived in different places, and each person has had their own challenges to overcome. But everyone has had to find a way to make a home, make a living, make their identity, and live as part of Canadian society as well as the global community. Read on to learn more.

People Coming Every Day will tell you about patterns of immigration to Canada, including the history of immigration laws which encouraged some people to come, and prevented others. You'll learn about everyone from early pioneers from all around the world, to modern refugees, and find out what it was like for new immigrants arriving in Canada -- hundreds of years ago or just a hundred hours ago.

Human Rights and Global Connections covers some of the darkest, and some of the most hopeful, moments in world history, and the history of Canada. Everything from discrimination to genocide has been a part of Canadian history, but Canadians have also been leaders in the global human rights movement over the last fifty years.

Understanding Community and Neighbourhoods explores ethnic neighbourhoods, with a view to understanding shared territory and ideas as the glue that can bind a community together. Patterns of residence throughout Canadian history have been explained by the influences of culture and economics.

Constructing Canadian Citizenship explains what it means to be a Canadian citizen - the responsibilities and privileges it brings - and shows how rules about who is eligible for citizenship in Canada have changed since the country was founded.

Enterprise, Entrepreneurship and Work is a theme all about how people earn a living. Historically, some ethnic groups have been barred from some occupations, and have therefore turned to others, at which they have excelled. Family businesses, traditional 'ethnic' employment patterns, labour unions, and historical laws about employment are covered in these pages.

Change and Persistence in Identity and Community Life shows how groups of immigrants keep some traditions alive, while changing others. New communities form, with people sharing their language, religions, values, education, and folkways, but people's identities also change, as they adapt to their new country.