Multiculturalism in a Context of Minority Nationalism and Indigenous Rights: The Canadian Case

Chapter 4 examines the most prominent example of state multiculturalism in the world, that of Canada. Multiculturalism in Canadian politics usually only refers to the issues surrounding the protection and integration of non-white immigrants and not the separate cases of Quebec and indigenous peoples. Despite the separation of these groups into different “silos,” they still interact with each other through political and legal contests in ways which undercut the practical aims and normative goals of Canadian multiculturalism. Instead of fulfilling principles of cultural equality and democratic inclusion, multicultural provisions have been politicized and distorted. Current arrangements ignore deeper concerns over identity, recognition and colonialism, aiming instead at accommodating difference without disturbing the status quo, and potentially essentializing minority cultures.