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Create AccountByelorussian Canadians (Byelarussians, Belarusians) originate from Belarus and are considered an eastern Slavic people. In 2016, 20,710 Canadians reported themselves as being mainly or partly Byelorussian.
The term “racialized” is a sociological concept closely related to racism. People seen as belonging to racialized minorities are people who could be perceived as being socially different from, for example, the racial or ethnic majority. In Canada, the term “racialized minority” usually refers to non-white people. The word “racialized” stresses the fact that race is neither biological nor objective but is a concept which is societal in origin. Categorizations other than “racialized” include “people of colour” or BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Colour).
The term “visible minority” is used in statistics to designate racialized (non-white) and non-Indigenous people, as defined by Canadian law. This term includes a number of sub-categories based on ethnicity, race or country of origin.
In the 2021 census, around one in four Canadians described themselves as belonging to a community included in the visible minority category.
Côte-des-Neiges is a Montreal neighbourhood located on the ancestral lands of several Indigenous peoples. Situated on the western slope of Mount Royal, it is part of the borough of Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. Côte-des-Neiges is known for its ethnocultural diversity, due to the numerous cohorts of immigration that have settled there. (See Immigration to Canada.) According to the 2016 census, the neighbourhood has a population of 99,540. Of this number, over 54 per cent belong to racialized groups; approximately 52 per cent are immigrants; 45 per cent are allophones. Côte-des-Neiges is also home to a number of major institutions, such as the Université de Montréal and Saint Joseph’s Oratory.
Canada’s federal multiculturalism policy was adopted in 1971 by Pierre Trudeau’s Liberal government. An unexpected by-product of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (1963–69),
multiculturalism was intended as a policy solution to manage both rising francophone nationalism, particularly in Quebec (see
French-Canadian Nationalism; The Quiet Revolution), and increasing cultural diversity across the country. Canada was the first country in the world to adopt a multiculturalism
policy. The federal multiculturalism policy marked its 50th anniversary in 2021.
Paul Yuzyk, senator, scholar, historian and multiculturalism advocate (born 24 June 1913 in Pinto, SK; died 9 July 1986 in Ottawa, ON). A leader within the Canadian Ukrainian community, Yuzyk served in the Senate of Canada from 1963 to 1986 (see Ukrainian Canadians). He was the first person to use the term “multiculturalism” in Parliament, which was the subject of his 1964 maiden speech. Yuzyk has been called the “father of multiculturalism.”
Manoly Robert Lupul (Манолій Лупул), CM, historian, author, educator (born 14 August 1927 in Vegreville, AB; died 24 July 2019 in Calgary, AB). Manoly Lupul was a professor at the University of Alberta specializing in Ukrainian-Canadian history, multiculturalism and the education of ethnic minorities in Western Canada. He helped establish and served as the first director of the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies. A strong advocate for multiculturalism in Canada, he was instrumental in the creation of Ukrainian-English bilingual education programs in the Prairie provinces.
Paldi, British Columbia was established in 1917, about 75 km northwest of Victoria. It was one of the first multi-ethnic, migrant mill towns on Vancouver Island. Sikh entrepreneur Mayo Singh (born Mayan Singh Manhas) founded the community. He named Paldi after his own village in District Hoshiarpur in Punjab, India. (Singh originally named Paldi after himself, calling the settlement Mayo Siding. However, because there was already a town named Mayo in Yukon, Singh changed the name to Paldi in 1936.) Though Paldi no longer has a registered population, it remains a symbol of successful, intercultural living in Canada.
Mayan Singh Manhas (Mayo Singh), lumber baron, founder of the Mayo Lumber Company, founder of the town of Paldi, franchise advocate, philanthropist (born 1888 in Paldi, District Hoshiarpur, East Punjab, India; died 23 February 1955 in Paldi, BC). As a founder of the Mayo Lumber Company, Singh became a wealthy lumber baron (see Lumber and Wood Industries). He challenged race-based immigration policies and disenfranchisement. Singh supported hospitals, schools and community projects in his adopted country and his birthplace in India. Paldi, the town he established on Vancouver Island and its gurdwara (temple), remains a cultural and spiritual touchstone for the South Asian community.
In November 1940, the federal Department of National War Services worked with Ukrainian leaders and organizations to form the Ukrainian Canadian Committee to encourage Ukrainians to enlist in the Canadian Armed Forces. After the Second World War, the organization supported Ukrainian-Canadian veterans and Ukrainian war refugees. In June 1989, it became the Ukrainian Canadian Congress. The UCC now supports local, provincial and national organizations in public advocacy work, such as lobbying the federal government in support of human rights and multiculturalism.
Paul Yuzyk (born 24 June 1913; died 9 July 1986) was born in Pinto, Saskatchewan. His parents had immigrated from Ukraine. Yuzyk became a teacher, then a University of Manitoba professor of History and Slavic Studies. He wrote books on Ukrainian Canadian history and culture. Prime Minister John Diefenbaker appointed Yuzyk to the Senate. Yuzyk later rejected Lester B. Pearson’s concept of bilingualism and biculturalism and successfully introduced the idea of a multicultural country. The “father of multiculturalism” played a central role in making Canada the first country in the world to adopt a multiculturalism policy, in 1971.
This page offers resources that pertain to topics covered in the Ontario curriculum. The list below links directly to Historica Canada’s bilingual resources. Search The Canadian Encyclopedia to find additional articles on specific topics. Please feel free download, print, and share our materials with others who may find them useful.
Laurence Decore (born 28 June 1940; died 6 November 1999) was born in Vegreville, Alberta. He was an Edmonton alderman from 1974 to 1983 and the city’s mayor from 1983 to 1988. Decore was appointed to the Order of Canada for his vast community service. He also co-authored section 27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which enshrined multiculturalism in Canada’s constitution.
Test your knowledge on the centuries of struggles, successes, and setbacks of multiculturalism in Canada.
The question of what it means to be a Canadian has been a difficult and much debated one. Some people see the question itself as central to that identity. Canadians have never reached a consensus on a single, unified conception of the country. Most notions of Canadian identity have shifted between the ideas of unity and plurality. They have emphasized either a vision of “one” Canada or a nation of “many” Canadas. A more recent view of Canadian identity sees it as marked by a combination of both unity and plurality. The pluralist approach sees compromise as the best response to the tensions — national, regional, ethnic, religious and political — that make up Canada.
These questions are based on the real citizenship test taken by newcomers on the path to citizenship.
