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Canadian multiculturalism as IdeologyKogila Moodley aa University of British ColumbiaPublished online: 13 Sep 2010.

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Canadian multiculturalism asIdeology*

Kogila MoodleyUniversity of British Columbia

I

Nowhere is the confusion of myth and reality more evident than in themeaning of the Canadian policy of multiculturalism. It encompasses a rangeof notions of heritage, cultural diversity, recreation and entertainmentactivities, cultural centres, and an entire way of life with fundamental in-stitutional structures. Cultural differences are at once extolled and con-sidered a hindrance to be removed in the interests of equal opportunity.1On the one hand, there is frequent reference to the 'multicultural movement,'2while on the other, surveys show that only a fifth of the Canadian publichas ever heard about multiculturalism,3 let alone being moved by it.

With the stroke of a multicultural brush, the policy neutralized the specialclaims of French and Native Canadians. Both of these historical groupswith charter rights are now equalized among numerous others. Althoughthe French language is recognized as one of the two official languages, theFrench complain about a loss of cultural hegemony. At the same time,other European ethnics complain that cultural preservation without linguisticprotection is bound to fail, while Native groups point out that multiculturalismachieves nothing for the recognition of their controversial land claims andforgotten treaty rights.

Yet with a festive aura of imaginary consensus, multiculturalism impliesthat Canadian society offers equality of opportunity in the public sphere,regardless of private ethnic classification. Hence the usage of 'ethnic' to referto all cultural sub-groups including 'dominant ethnics' thereby obfuscatingthe cultural hierarchy and redefining ethnicity until it is meaningless. Allare exhorted to draw on some subliminal cultural allegiances, nostalgia,customs and traditions as part of their hereditary insignia, even thoughofficially given the right to choose whether to identify or not. The fearthat ethnic groups in sustaining their respective cultures will underminenational unity is mitigated by a meek plea to share these cultures with therest of Canadian society, thereby enriching the whole.4 All who so desire,are subsidised to bring cultural identities out of the private closet into thepublic sphere, presumably elevating all to equally important pieces of adiverse Canadian cultural mosaic . s

Ethnic and Racial Studies Volume 6 Number 3 July 1983 R.K.P. 1983 0141-9870/83/0603-0320 $1.50/1

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Official policy defines culture as 'a way of being, thinking and feeling"*undisturbed that such cultural existentialism may profoundly change underaltered circumstances. This somewhat primordialist emphasis, as opposedto an instrumental notion of culture, is also true for most studies of Canadianethnicity. Ethnicity is seen as having an intrinsic vitality regardless of thecontext.

This analysis, however, will argue against such a depoliticized and staticdefinition of ethnicity. Instead, ethnic mobilization is viewed as situational,always in response to specific socio-structural contexts, arising in uniquehistorical constellations which in turn mediate ethnic expression dialectically.The waxing and waning of ethnicity, it is argued, can hardly be understoodwithout reference to the motivational factors and underlying interests. Theseare differently perceived according to constantly changing needs and theirideological interpretations.

Both at the level of political and social reality, Canadian multiculturalismgreatly resembles the emperor's new clothes. Only unlike the emperor'saudience, Canadian professional ethnics, cultural entrepreneurs and a coterieof academics are more directly and amply rewarded for their fantasies. It isthey who benefit most from multiculturalism and the big business of culture.Their activities are largely the outcome, rather than the cause of officialpolicy. As Trudeau promised in his announcement of the policy, 'the wholequestion of cultural and ethnic pluralism in this country . . . i s . . . an areaof study given all too little attention in the past by scholars.'7 Judging bythe sheer volume of Canadian Ethnic Studies today, this can hardly be saidto be the case. It would still, however, seem to apply to the somewhat limitedfocus of research. Modelled largely along U.S. examples of a positivisticmethodology and functionalist tradition, the numerous descriptive andclassificatory studies fall all too frequently short of what an historicallyinformed, interpretive sociology can achieve.8 Official multiculturalism andits academic reception in Canada provides a useful demonstration of thepotential for better insights which alternative critical perspectives can yield.This would involve an eschewing of the reified numbers game and instead,reasoning with structural changes that account for the alternating demandfor traditional cultural expressions in Canada. Historical evidence is presentedto show that the professional ethnic has a waning constituency in Canada,despite increased subsidization, that ought to be directed, it is argued, towardsthe largely neglected needs of a new ethnicity.

II

The rise of the welfare state eroded the significance of immigrant associationsfor individual adjustment and advancement in the new environment. Incontrast, the pre-war generations of immigrants relied heavily on culturalself-help organizations for initial survival. Their function has been largelyassumed by a host of state-directed social agencies. Claims for financialand moral support in all situations exist from the day landed immigrant

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status is granted. Hence, an. atomized, autonomous life outside culturalbonds has become objectively possible where earlier cultural ties constituteda lifeline for survival. Post 1960 associations appeal mainly to lower incomeand older individuals. Noticeably absent from membership are youth, pro-fessionals and unionized workers, whose occupational reference groups lieoutside the ethnic associations.9

The improved legal status of immigrants allows for an early identificationwith the host society. Previously, the immigrant frequently remained asojourner. Subject to political exclusion as newcomer and open economicdiscrimination in a harsh competition, large numbers of immigrants in thecase of Italians in North America, before 1919, more than three quarters actually returned to their country of origin after a period in the newcountry. Despite the easing of travel nowadays, the proportion of thosewho return permanently is relatively small. With the possibility of acquiringcitizenship after two years' residence often a double citizenship thenewcomer is free to oscillate, to probe and compare.

Despite the change of lifestyle and instrumental human relationshipsin the country of adoption, few immigrants choose to exchange attractiveindividualism, North American style, for the sake of cultural sentimentalities.This is all the more so since economic opportunities in the new countryare still less bleak than those in the home country. On the contrary, withthe widening of the North-South gap, the pressure to emigrate has increasedin the less developed parts and all industrialized societies are faced with aready migrant labour force in search of a better life.

Another function of the improved legal status of newcomers was thesimultaneous immigration of entire families. Earlier immigration on theother hand, was mainly characterized by the initial migration of single maleswho were only joined by relatives, if at all, after a lengthy period of separation.This phase not only made the single individuals rely more on cultural support-groups in the new immigrant colonies but also retained strong emotionallinks to the residence of their kin. Once kin have resettled as well, muchof what remains is nostalgia. With the family together in the new country,the drive for material success and security assumes priority. Furthermore,the maintenance of original cultures in a new society without the requisitestructural support institutions (schools, extended families) shifts from a wayof life to the realm of symbolic life embellishment. Traditional culture isfurther undermined by peer socialization, media, and the 'hidden curriculum'of a public school system, where the mainstream culture predominates asthe culture of success.

Canada's changed immigration policy in the form of the point systemled to a restructuring of the ethnic and occupational composition of newimmigrants. While in previous periods, almost all immigrants were unskilledlabourers or started as farmers, the point system favoured professionals andwealthier members of middle groups with special skills or academic training.These skilled newcomers soon established themselves interspersed throughoutCanadian society instead of starting in the cultural ghettos of New Italy,

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New Greece or New Ireland as in earlier periods. These skilled migrants didnot need the initial linguistic familiarity of home became most of themalready arrived with bilingual faculties that were a precondition of theirjobs. With the exception of those who came as sponsored family membersthe new wave, particularly from Third World countries, were geographicallymobile to seek opportunities outside ethnic conglomerates. In fact, manynewcomers belonged to new ethnic groups who did not yet have a sufficientlylarge presence in the country to form cultural support organizations letalone residential ghettos which they did not need in the first place. At themost, neighbourhoods of new arrivals evolved around religious activitiesor restaurants but hardly constituted centers of 'psychic shelter' and trans-planted bases of home.

Due to their greater heterogeneity of ethnic background as well as socialstratification, the newcomers from the same country, share less with theircultural peers and more with their counterparts across ethnic boundariesthan earlier, more homogeneous immigrant populations. This increasedclass stratification of recent Canadian immigrants compared with the largelyunskilled arrivals previously, further eroded the cultural ties and sociallives the new ethnics might otherwise have shared.

To this heterogeneous ethno-class composition must be added the greaterdegree of secularization of the newcomers. Two tendencies are noticeable.Firstly, there is the loss of membership experienced by immigrant churchesthrough dwindling fluency in native languages, exogamy and the desire toshed ethnic stigma. With upward mobility, the trend among church goershas been away from 'ethnic' churches to 'Canadian' ones.10 Overall, theethnic church as the core of the cultural life of the earlier immigrant communityhas lost its appeal to large sections of nominal believers who prefer to pursuenon-religious leisure activities rather than have their hedonistic life stylesconstricted by the conformity pressure of church groups.

The degree of secularization correlates with another important differencein the origin of newcomers. The vast majority of earlier immigrants, be theyfrom Ireland, Italy or Eastern Europe emigrated from underdeveloped ruralareas. With the exception of Jews, they constituted the surplus populationof displaced peasants, rural laborers or craftsmen, who were essentiallyconservative, religious and tradition-bound in outlook. The new ethnics,on the other hand, derived mostly from urban centers where they had alreadybecome acculturated long ago, if not to an industrial way of life, at leastto a cosmopolitan style, not too different to the skills needed in Canadianurban conglomerates. In fact, newcomers from Delhi, Hongkong, Nairobior Beirut could teach Canadians valuable lessons in urban survival withoutrelying on artifical crutches of cultural identity maintenance. For this group,expressions of cultural identity are far less meaningful relics of a distantpast.

The spatial dispersal of immigrants has also undermined the previousimportance of the ethnic school. With a few exceptions, such as the schoolsin Vancouver's Chinatown district, almost all Canadian schools are now

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truly integrated ethnically. Indeed, the proportion of children from Non-English speaking homes sometimes exceeds 50 per cent in metropolitanareas, although they do come from a vast variety of countries and cultures.While the former ethnic school in the cultural ghetto could frequentlycultivate mother tongue instruction albeit after school hours, the new multi-cultural school environment puts a premium on the shedding of the originallanguage in favour of the quick grasp of English language and culture. Deprivedof language, however, retention of culture becomes increasingly ephemeraland artificial. The official language of school, business and career opportunitiesdetermines a cultural hierarchy in which non-mainstream socialization isrelegated to the private realm at the most and to forgotten memory at theworst. As has often been noted, true multiculturalism also presupposesofficial multilingualism.

The superficial nature of current multicultural policy is highlighted bythis separation of culture and language. The explicit rejection of the relation-ship between multiculturalism and multflinguaUsm in the official policyannouncement confirms this view. That a cultural as well as a linguistichierarchy exists is evident. The C.B.C., contrary to the recommendation ofthe Royal Commission on Bflingualism and Biculturalism, has not removedits proscription on the use of languages other than French and English inbroadcasting.11 Given the role of mass communication and languages ofinstruction in cultural development, privatized multiculturalism without apublicly recognized linguistic base is the only option left for non-Englishand French-speaking Canadians. Genuine cultural pluralism, however, isstill all too easily considered as undermining the cohesion of Canadian society.

The structural changes sketched resulted in what may be called thedepoliticization of multiculturalism. This refers to the loss of political in-fluence of immigrants despite their numbers and improved legal status.The common assertion that through increased purchasing, bargaining, andelectoral power, ethnic minorities acquire competitive advantages and developa politicised ethnic identification,12 is indeed arguable. Except in the caseof immigrants who enter at the lowest occupational levels, and are handi-capped through language, the incentives to escape the stigma of ethnicityare considerable. If there is a dominant attitude among recent Canadianimmigrants, regardless of ethnic origin, it is to seek upward mobility through.individual qualifications rather than through collective efforts. With theopening of new economic opportunities outside the extractive and manu-facturing sectors, many newcomers also developed the well-known whitecollar mentality of an individual achievement orientation.

In the earlier phases, ethnic voting constituted a well-known fact. Theimmigrant vote, on the whole went to left of centre parties (in the West tothe Socialists, in Ontario to the liberals), that were seen to represent theinterest of the newcomers against the conservative establishment. This ethnicblock vote has now, for the most part, dissipated, although the NDP and thefederal liberals still receive a disproportionally large share. But the communityleader who could deliver *his' vote in return for other favors is rare. Many of

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his more successful 'members' would be more inclined to confirm their newstatus by supporting the conservative establishment, including the federalLiberals. This swing of a much more free-floating ethnic vote has made allthree parties embrace multiculturalism without, paradoxically, giving thenew heterogeneous lobby within their ranks any more power in their ma-chinery. Apart from the one or two occasional token ethnics in the Ottawaparliament, the so-called third force which comprises almost a third of thetotal population, is not decisively represented as a political force. The dis-sipation of ethnic voting paralleled by a decline of the ethnic press, hasweakened the immigrants who now prefer to pursue their special concernsindividually rather than collectively. Cultural interests became privatizedat the same time as they disappeared from the political arena under thenon-controversial and depoliticized formula of multiculturalism.

It is, therefore, misleading when Canadian academics frequently posethe pseudo problem of political integration of the immigrants. In this vein,a recent study begins with the remarkable question: *How is the cohesion ofCanadian society affected by the fact that over a quarter of its populationconsists of immigrants and their descendants?'13 Not only is the questionsuperfluous, but it makes the false and controversial assumption that Canadian'mainstream' culture does not constitute an immigrant society. Only non-charter members are seen as a threat to Canadian cohesion. Such questionsrepresent a typical example of unquestioned ethnocentric perceptions andmerely reflects the real inequality of power, hidden by the multiculturalcloak.

inHowever, the erosion of traditional ethnicity does not imply that thereare no cultural needs left for Canadian immigrants. It is argued here as thecentral critique of multicultural policy that new ethnic needs demand adifferent emphasis that is ignored or not sufficiently addressed by the presentpolicy.

What then is the subjective basis of the new ethnicity? It is one basedon the feeling of being a constant outsider, of being non-English, of havingto do all the adapting and yet never enough. When these feelings are combinedwith shared inequalities of opportunity in the market place, and of beingrelegated to a lower caste status despite efforts, they foster networks whichspan across the non-controversial specifics of particular cultural heritages.For immigrants in poorly paid, exacting occupations, the advantages oforganizing as an occupational group, transcending ethnicity, are far greaterthan their use of ethnicity as an organizing principle. These interest-basedalliances,14 loosely bound by a cultural basis of not-belonging, which cross-cut ethnic affiliation, are likely to be a far more potent force than particu-laristic ethnic groups in the pursuit of culture maintenance. If the upliftingof immigrants and their easier adjustment to Canadian society is the maingoal of multiculturalism, official policy would have to start supporting

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such non-cultural interest groups as well. The outdated ethnic division oflabour is frequently still reflected in some regions and in certain occupationsdespite the trend towards increased intra-ethnic stratification.

In the ideological realm, the new cultural needs do not derive from problemsof psychological adaptation or demands from conflicting cultures which wouldhave to be reconciled, as multiculturalism pretends. The problem is not'cultural jealousies'ls of which Trudeau speaks, but the ethnocentrism ofentrenched Anglo-Canada. The new ethnicity needs to be structurally in-tegrated. It therefore requires support in its continuous battle for equalaccess to the power and status positions occupied by the charter groups.In addition to ensuring equality, the new ethnics, particularly from ThirdWorld countries, need multifaceted support and protection from implicitand increasingly explicit racism.

The ideological aspect of multiculturalism is best illustrated by its focuson the non-controversial, expressive aspects of culture. As long as culturalpersistence is confined to food, clothes, dance, and music, then culturaldiversity provides colour to an otherwise mundane monotonous technologicalsociety. It even enhances tourism, if one considers how much Indians and'ethnic' restaurants add to the magnificence of Canadian landscape. As suchit proves to be no threat, but on the contrary trivialises, neutralizes and absorbssocial and economic inequalities. However, if this should shift from anexpressive to an instrumental orientation, whereby cultural adherence becomesa vehicle for mobilization and a voice for expressing grievances, then therelationship between private identity and public policy has more controversialconsequences for Canadian society.

Typical of the futile distinctions with which some Canadian research hasbeen preoccupied, is the question whether differences in occupational place-ment between ethnics and others can be attributed to levels of schooling ordifferences in opportunity. As if these are separable, the Royal Commissionon Bilingualism and Biculturalism 1969 cited empirical evidence that dif-ferences in occupational status among ethnics is attributable to lower levelsof schooling rather than lesser opportunities. A subsequent study in Torontoby Goldlust and Richmond, however, provides quite a contrary picture.Among a sample of immigrant men sharing similar characteristics, the earningcapacity ranged hierarchically from English and Jewish origin at the top,followed by West-European, Slavic, Greek, Portuguese-origin and finallyAsians and Blacks at the bottom.16

These unequal ethnic life chances call for the politicization of multi-culturalism beyond the apolitical celebration of nostalgia. Politicized multi-culturalism could ensure that the financial support for schools with largeproportions of immigrants is adequate, that special teacher training programsin intercultural education17 are offered and that optimal methods in languagetraining are used. The schools, vocational institutes and institutions of highereducation still remain one of the crucial battlegrounds where the success orfailure of the new multicultural Canada is to be decided.

Not the least, the target of multiculturalism would have to be the dominant

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culture. Anglo-conformity standards would have to be 'multi-culturalized.'This would jettison the very notion of a mainstream culture, in which theothers would have to fit. On the contrary, English Canada would genuinelyhave to learn from other traditions and also internalize valuable habits ofother ways of life. At present, not even a different face for a C.B.C. televisionannouncer is tolerable, let alone a Punjabi accent. To be authentic, genuinemulticulturalism would have to preclude a cultural hierarchy as-well as mereparallelism of cultural traditions in isolated compartments and represent amutual learning process, in contrast to the one-sided effort at present.

IV

Finally, Canadian multiculturalism has to be viewed against the backgroundof Quebec nationalism. This is, of course, a complex subject in itself. Onlya few crucial trends in the rise and decline of the movement with regard tospecific state policies will be highlighted here.

In the vast literature on ethnicity, a perspective which has gained supportholds that ethnic nationalism should be explained as a response to bureaucraticintrusion into the lives of people. The increased control, associated with thewelfare state, is said to be rejected by regional elites who mobilize dif-ferentiated populations 'into political constituencies seeking redress frombureaucratic government.'18 This explanation suggests a populist backdropto the ethnic revival, the protest of the periphery against the domination ofthe centre. In the words of its proponents: 'The developmental phases ofthese movements show their creation and manipulation by self-consciouscounter elites, or ethnic elites, who use them to carve out, reinforce, orprotect their access to power, wealth, and other prerequisites at first aslocal influentials and then later as brokers between an increasingly bureau-cratized state government and the ethnic collectivity.'19

This intriguing perspective seems apt, insofar as it focuses on the situationalmanipulation of symbols of descent by certain beneficiaries. However, evenmore than bureaucratic intrusion by the welfare state, it is neglect or ex-ploitation by the centre that causes regional resistance. Moreover, whenapplied to Canada, it is obvious that the stress itself has set out to manageethnicity. By rhetorically supporting ethnic revival and diversity, the statehas not only co-opted what is left of an unassimilated ethnic leadership,but diffused the very basis of ethnic resistance to its policies. Incorporatedand deprived of its antagonist, ethnic nationalism falters on the very oppor-tunities it has grasped.

Quebec nationalism offers the best example of a thwarted ethnic movementby a petty-bourgeoisie that set out -to redress Anglo-domination by themuch more powerful economic centre. The separatists were first appeasedby nation-wide official bilingualism as well as improved career opportunitiesin the federal civil service. The Parti Quebecois nevertheless managed tocapture provincial state power by pandering to its main public service con-stituency. It was not a resented welfare state intrusion but a desired bureau-

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cratic expansion that propelled Quebec nationalism. A sovereign Quebecpromised unlimited career opportunities and higher status to a technocraticelite that had assumed the dominant role once played by the church, as oneobserver aptly noted.20

However, the price for this mobilization of public support was high andsoon unaffordable. With one of the highest civil service wage rates in theworld and ambitious public projects of an 'ethnic social democracy', theprovince was soon heavily in debt. Indirect taxes in Quebec are substantiallyhigher than in the rest of Canada. Salaries alone now account for 55 per centof the provincial budget. The credit rating of Quebec at the New Yorkbond market sank dramatically. The time arrived when the ruling party hadto demand back that which brought it into power in the first instance.When the recession hit, accelerated by adverse demographic trends (exodusand low birth rates) the Levesque government had no choice but to turnagainst the exalted expectations of its own constituency. An unprecedented20 per cent roll-back of civil service salaries and other severe austerity measuresproduced bitter strikes that could only be ended by tough legislation. Thisalienated the ethnic grassroot sentiment beyond repair from the separatistmovement. Ultimately, the demise of Quebec nationalism was brought aboutby market forces that made the balkanization of an interdependent economyunfeasible. Likewise, separatist fringe movements in Western Canada rapidlyfaltered with the decline of the resource-dependent regional economy indepressed export markets.

With economic crisis management in the forefront of governmental concern,Canadian cultural policy also underwent a significant twist in the early1980s. The rationale for multiculturalism changed from preserving heritageas an end itself to an instrumental and pragmatic justification of diversity.The minister in charge now talks about the "benefits of difference'.21 Theinstrumental value of multiculturalism is seen in better serving externalmarkets and improving the country's sales image. The competition is fierce;we need every edge we can get, and one is knowledge of foreign languages.'The study of 'heritage languages' was discovered as an asset in talking topotential customers. At the same time, multicultural socialization is supposedto bring about a new type of corporate employee who is able to functionin a global economy. In place of the somewhat parochial outlook of anagricultural and extractive economy, 'the new mercantilism calls for a newtype of corporate manager, a flexible cosmopolitan aware of cultural sen-sitivities . . . , who can cut costs and waste by knowing how culture affectsbehavior, who can motivate workers with differing standards, read betweenlines of reports from abroad, and pinpoint the pitfalls of overseas selling,what is or is not acceptable.' Moreover, the government now discovered itsimmigrants from some seventy-odd backgrounds as a potential reservoirof new ideas and skills. With the Japanese booming post-war economy in

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mind, the new ethnics are encouraged to import know-how more than labour.Multiculturalism almost assumes the role of commercial spying: The culturaltentacles of our ethnic groups can reach into the world's knowledge centres,keeping tabs on new discoveries and innovations, a communication networkthat could funnel commercial intelligence into Canadian companies fromevery centre on earth.' Difference as a resource is now expected to giveCanada's bidding on overseas projects an edge over its culturally homo-geneous competitors, such as Japan or Germany.

In this competition, the imagery of a sophisticated middle-power withno domestic problems of interracial antagonism is considered a decided assetas 'a message of .hope in a world of conflict.' The government has not yetset out to sell multiculturalism itself as a recipe of conflict resolution butthus far merely aims at projecting 'a strong multicultural image of equality,tolerance and fairness.' The minister in charge now approvingly talks aboutart and culture as the handmaiden of the economy, preparing the ground fortrade by instilling respect and esteem.' While many governments, particularlyFrance, have always supported artistic endeavors for ulterior motives aswell, Canada seems unique at least in being so unashamedly instrumentalin its views of culture as a commodity. Culture has little intrinsic value,other than as a saleable commodity.

The image of multicultural harmony that the Canadian state tries toproject, however, must not clash too conspicuously with a contrary domesticreality. It is for this reason that the federal bureaucracy has recently becomegenuinely concerned with issues of racism and discrimination. Closed shoppolicies are officially condemned as adding to everyone's tax bill. 'Manpowerand Immigration noted that about two-fifths of new immigrants, even aftera year in Canada, were unable to find work they'd been trained for, and onein five said the reason was that professional and trade associations refusedto accept or recognize their qualifications.' What comes increasingly underattack, is the hidden costs of discrimination that 'lowers productivity, breedslabour and social unrest, chronic conflict and disunity.'

The latter aspect constitutes the most important function of the newversion of multiculturalism: it is promoted as an ideological formula forunity. In a society with bitter labor strife, ethnicity is expected to erodethe adversary principle. The ethnic bond is a positive force that cuts acrossall lines of conflict, including those of region and class.' Ethnic revival ismeant to forge traditional ties, 'communal feelings that counter negativism.'The state contrasts the loyalty of the newcomers "who take out citizenshipfaster than the Anglo-Celts', with the "unconstructive dissent' of the Canadian-born. In a country with a vague identity, in a society rich in geography andshort of history, multiculturalism is propagated as the lowest commondenominator on which all segments may agree. After all, the magic formulamerely asks that *we accept and try to understand the people next door,regardless of their skin color and customs.'

As a foundation for the cultural hegemony of a ruling class, however,such pleas 'to see ourselves in positive terms as a cultural mosaic'undoubtedly

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fall short of affective appeal. If the desired harmony and partnership understate guidance should work, all segments must find their everyday life wouldbe reflected and made intelligible in a dominant ideology. Multiculturalism,in its present state, lacks this quality. Treating those who seem differentas equals is good business* is advice that appeals to the profit-minded. Ithardly engenders affectionate support from others. Thus the state cannotmanufacture meaning with a fading ethnic reality. Does the Canadian statethen really need the multicultural ideology? Beyond the liberal image, thedominant section still can fall back on a hegemonic charter cultural traditionthat is being merely mystified by the symbolism of diversity. Multiculturalismaffords external legitimacy to a heterogeneous state. In fact, however, thesystem really emphasizes other criteria than the equality of relative newcomersas a priority.

Both the rise and decline of Quebec nationalism as well as the federalcounter ideology of multiculturalism highlight how much ethnic expressionsin Canada depend on specific state policies. The manipulation of ethnicityin the pursuit of objective interests can be clearly traced and ethnicity as aprimordial aspect of identity withers away as a vehicle for political mobil-ization under given circumstances. At the same time, the Canadian casedemonstrates not only the wide scope but also the limits of ethnic ma-nipulation from above, mainly circumscribed by economic conditions thatactivated and inspired official ethnic policies in the first place.

Notes

*This is a revised and expanded paper presented at the World Congress of the InternationalSociological Association, Committee on Ethnic, Race and Minority Relations, MexicoCity, August 1 6 - 2 1 , 1982. I am grateful to Heribert Adam for many critical discussionsof the issues.

1. Trudeau, in introducing the policy, speaks of providing assistance to 'all culturalgroups to overcome cultural barriers to full participation in Canadian society,' and inthe same breath, speaks of the value of cultural heritage retention (House of CommonsDebates, October 8, 1971, p. 8545.2. There is even reference to a flourishing 'multicultural movement' (E. Kallen,Ethnicity and Human Rights in Canada, Toronto, Gage Publishing Limited, 1982,p. 204).3. John W. Berry, R. Kalin and Donald M. Taylor, Multiculturalism and EthnicAttitudes in Canada, Ottawa, 1977, p. 241.4. However, for those groups who are committed to cultural retention, an importantprerequisite has been isolation from the mainstream as well as a clear separation, asillustrated in the somewhat extreme case of the Hutterites.5. The superficiality of multiculturalism in reality is revealed by the 'improvements'experienced by non-visible immigrants who have changed their names. In an earlystudy by the 'Canadian Institute of Cultural Research,' name changers reported thatalthough they had weighed considerations of loyalty and pride, 'practicality and reality'had won out (Canadian Institute of Cultural Research, Toronto, 1965, pp. 33 -5 ) .6. The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (Book 1) Ottawa,Queen's Printer, 1967.

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7. House of Commons Debates, October 8, 1971, pp. 8545-8.8. For further elaboration of this approach, see Kogila Moodley, 'Canadian Ethnicityin Comparative Perspective: Issues in the Literature,' in Jorgen Dahlie and Tissa Fernando(eds), Ethnicity, Power and Politics in Canada, Toronto, Methuen, 1981, pp. 6-21.9. John Norris, Strangers Entertained: A History of the Ethnic Groups of BritishColumbia, Vancouver, Evergreen Press, 1971.10. A favoured church is the United Church. In 1961, the United Church in Albertacited among those who claimed affiliation '50 per cent of those of Chinese and Japanese-origin (combined), 26 per cent of Dutch, 20 per cent of Germans, 32.6 per cent ofScandinavians, 14.5 per cent of Ukrainians and 10 per cent of Poles and Italians' (H.Palmer, Immigration and the Rise of Multiculturalism, Toronto, Copp-Clark Publishing,1975, p. 181.)11. In a similar vein, a Vancouver school superintendent maintained that Chineselanguage and culture ought not to be incorporated into Vancouver schools since theywere not the language and culture of success in the business world (Vancouver Sun,April 8, 1975).12. Sce. E. Kallen, Ethnicity and Human Rights in Canada, Toronto, Gage Publishing,1982, and also John Wood, 'A Visible Minority Vote: East Indian Electoral Behaviourin the Vancouver South Provincial and Federal Elections of 1979,' in Jorgen Dahlieand Tissa Fernando (eds), op.cit., pp. 177-201.13. In this vein, a recent study by Jeffrey G. Reitz in R. Breton, J.G. Reitz, V.F.Valentine (eds), Cultural Boundaries and the Cohesion of Canada, Montreal, Institutefor Research on Public Policy, 1980, p. 331.14. The advantages of organizing as an occupational group, as in the case of theFarmworkers of B.C., despite their predominantly, though not exclusively, East Indiancomposition, outweigh their use of ethnicity as an organizing principle. The very factthat many of the farmowners are East Indian also militates strongly against the ethnicjza-tion of the conflict.15. Prime Minister's statement, House of Commons, October 1971, p. 2.16. J. Goldlust and A. Richmond, 'A Multi-variate Analysis of the Economic Ad-aptation of Immigrants in Toronto' mimeo. Downsview, Ontario: Institute for BehaviouralResearch, 1973, as cited in R. Breton et al. (eds), op.cit., p. 367.17. For an excellent, well researched view of what such an education might entail,see C. Bagley and G.J. Verma (eds), Self Concept, Achievement and MulticulturalEducation, London, Macmillan, 1982.18. Charles F. Keyes (ed.), Ethnic Change, Seattle, University of Washington Press,1981, p. 198.19. Richard G. Fox, Charlotte H. Aull and Louis F. Cimino, 'Ethnic Nationalism andthe Welfare State", in C. Keyes (ed.), op.cit., p. 202.20. Dominique Clift, 'Quebec public service losing its exalted role', Globe and Mail,February 17, 1983.21. The Honourable James Fleming, 'Multiculturalism: Who's it for?' Speech to theFourth Canadian Conference on Multiculturalism, Ottawa, October 23, 1981. All sub-sequent quotes are from this keynote address by the Minister of StateforMulticulturalism.

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