A new Canadian dynamism? From multiculturalism and diversity to history and core values

Abstract

This article examines how Canada's new citizenship study guide might be considered a fundamental shift in Canadian citizenship from one emphasising multiculturalism, rights and diversity to one that encourages the integration of newcomers into Canadian society. It contends that the new approach to Canadian citizenship is part of a wider integrationist agenda sweeping much of Europe and settler-countries such as the United States and Australia. While the integrationist approach in the new citizenship study guide does not explicitly reject multiculturalism, rights and diversity, it promotes a greater commitment to a common set of core values rooted in Canada's history and heritage which might be described as a process of liberal assimilationism. The new agenda does not attempt to construct a religious, cultural or ethnically defined Canadian identity; it attempts to construct a shared citizenship within an increasingly diverse Canadian community.