The Cultural Mosaic
compiled By Lisa Van de Ven
“Canada is not a melting pot in which the individuality of each element is destroyed in order to produce a new and totally different element. It is rather a garden into which have been transplanted the hardiest and brightest flowers from many lands. Each retaining, in its new environment, the best of the qualities for which it was loved and prized in its native land.”
John Diefenbaker, Prime Minister of Canada, 1957 to 1963
“A Canadian is a hyphen.”
Joy Kogawa, author, Obasan
“A policy of multiculturalism within a bilingual framework is basically the conscious support of individual freedom of choice. We are free to be ourselves. But this cannot be left to chance. It must be fostered and pursued actively. If freedom of choice is in danger for some ethnic groups, it is in danger for all.”
Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, 1968 to 1979 and 1980 to 1984
“Our multicultural heritage is integral to all aspects of Canadian life, whether economic, social, artistic or political.”
Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, 1999 to 2005
“[Canada is] the greatest hotel on Earth.”
Yann Martel, author, Life of Pi
“Canada has never been a melting-pot; more like a tossed salad.”
Arnold Edinborough, former editor/owner, Saturday Night magazine
“For me, being Canadian means freedom & humility. We are multicultural and
so self-aware. I feel proud to be a part of a country that believes working together will make our country, and the entire world, a better place to live in. It’s simply a beautiful place.”
Keshia Chanté, Singer & Actress
“In a world darkened by ethnic conflicts that tear nations apart, Canada stands as a model of how people of different cultures can live and work together in peace, prosperity, and mutual respect.”
Bill Clinton, President of the United States, 1993 to 2001
“We hear about the experiment that is Canada but we are now entering the most interesting phase of that, where people are interacting with their own culture and understanding the degree of tolerance we have created in this place.”
Atom Egoyan, film director
"It’s so exciting. It does show that Canada is multicultural and multilingual.”
Deepa Mehta, director, on learning of her 2007 Oscar nomination for Water as Best Foreign Language Film.
“Canada is probably the most free country in the world where a man still has room to breathe, to spread out, to move forward, to move out, an open country with an open frontier. Canada has created harmony and cooperation among ethnic groups, and it must take this experience to the world because there is yet to be such an example of harmony and cooperation among ethnic groups.”
Valentyn Moroz, Russian activist
“I hope that people will finally come to realize that there is only one ‘race’
— the human race — and that we are all members of it.”
Margaret Atwood, author & poet
