10-15-2006, 10:18 AM
Canada: Celebrating a nation of immigrants
Updated Tue. Oct. 10 2006 10:16 AM ET
Mary Nersessian, CTV.ca News
Some six years ago, a beer company used patriotism as a platform to sell its swill.
Starring a man named Joe who listed a litany of defining national characteristics, the commercial used "I am Canadian" as its call to arms.
"I have a prime Minister, not a president. I speak English and French, not American ...I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack. I believe in peacekeeping, not policing; diversity, not assimilation," he asserted.
His rousing oratory sparked nationalist sentiment among the most modest of citizens yet it deftly avoided the inescapable truth: someday a Caucasian male who plays hockey and drinks beer may not accurately represent the average Canadian.
Nearly 140 years after Confederation, the face of Canada has undergone a stunning transformation.
Not a mosaic, nor a melting pot, nor even a salad bowl, the influx of newcomers from all corners of the earth has woven a resilient tapestry.
If one thread runs through the length of the tapestry -- it is our shared history as newcomers.
Save for the aboriginal Canadians who first resided on this land, immigrants have left their mark on the country from the moment they arrived.
It's an uncomfortable admission that most would rather avoid making, but the word 'immigrant' has carried the connotation of the unwanted outsider.
Yet Canada welcomes more newcomers as a percentage of its population than any other country in the world. In 2005 alone, 262,236 permanent residents made Canada their home.
In the third book of a series of eyewitness accounts published in October 2006, entitled The Land Newly Found, historians Jack Granatstein and Norman Hillmer explore the stories of those who chose to make Canada their homes.
![[Image: 160_hillmer_canada2006.jpg]](http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20060626/160_hillmer_canada2006.jpg)
Carleton University history and international affairs professor Norman Hillmer. (Photo by studio von dulong)"Immigrants are the nation," Hillmer, a Carleton University history and international affairs professor, told CTV.ca in a phone interview from Ottawa.
Hillmer says immigration has a long history in Canada that includes:
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Updated Tue. Oct. 10 2006 10:16 AM ET
Mary Nersessian, CTV.ca News
Some six years ago, a beer company used patriotism as a platform to sell its swill.
Starring a man named Joe who listed a litany of defining national characteristics, the commercial used "I am Canadian" as its call to arms.
"I have a prime Minister, not a president. I speak English and French, not American ...I can proudly sew my country's flag on my backpack. I believe in peacekeeping, not policing; diversity, not assimilation," he asserted.
His rousing oratory sparked nationalist sentiment among the most modest of citizens yet it deftly avoided the inescapable truth: someday a Caucasian male who plays hockey and drinks beer may not accurately represent the average Canadian.
Nearly 140 years after Confederation, the face of Canada has undergone a stunning transformation.
Not a mosaic, nor a melting pot, nor even a salad bowl, the influx of newcomers from all corners of the earth has woven a resilient tapestry.
If one thread runs through the length of the tapestry -- it is our shared history as newcomers.
Save for the aboriginal Canadians who first resided on this land, immigrants have left their mark on the country from the moment they arrived.
It's an uncomfortable admission that most would rather avoid making, but the word 'immigrant' has carried the connotation of the unwanted outsider.
Yet Canada welcomes more newcomers as a percentage of its population than any other country in the world. In 2005 alone, 262,236 permanent residents made Canada their home.
In the third book of a series of eyewitness accounts published in October 2006, entitled The Land Newly Found, historians Jack Granatstein and Norman Hillmer explore the stories of those who chose to make Canada their homes.
Carleton University history and international affairs professor Norman Hillmer. (Photo by studio von dulong)"Immigrants are the nation," Hillmer, a Carleton University history and international affairs professor, told CTV.ca in a phone interview from Ottawa.Hillmer says immigration has a long history in Canada that includes:
- The French and English who settled the country from the 17th to the 19th century
- The Loyalists who arrived in Canada after the American revolution broke out in 1775
- The Irish and Scots who came in the 19th century
- The eastern and central Europeans who peopled the west in the early 20th century
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