White Canadians It's quite difficult to produce accurate numbers on the racial makeup of Canada since the categories are fairly imprecise and may, in some cases, overlap. Here's a rough estimate based on the 2006 census (click to see data.)
As we learned in the history chapter, Canadians didn’t just spring from the soil. Aside from a small community ofaboriginals, everyone who lives in Canada is descended from immigrants of some sort, the offspring of agricultural settlers and economic migrants who left their native homelands to eke out a better living in the mysterious New World. Since Canada was originally a French, then British colony, France and the United Kingdom have been the historic origin of much of Canada’swhite majority, followed by settlers from other western European nations.
English-Canadians
Canadians of British descent, often known as Anglos, have traditionally comprised the majority of people in all provinces, and have a long history of trying to aggressively shape the country to reflect the culture and traditions of their beloved motherland. This cultural dominance explains, in large part, why Canada remained a happy colony of the British Empire for as long as it did, why it fought so eagerly in both world wars, and why institutions like the monarchy survive to this day.
British immigrants came in waves; some Anglo-Canadian families have been living in Canada so long they have no idea when their forefathers first sailed over, while others may be the offspring of English or Scottish workers who left the British Isles during 20th century periods of war or depression. Motivated by a desire to keep Canada British, Canadian law favoured such immigrants quite explicitly; until 1976, there was no legal difference between a “Canadian” and a “British subject,” so for anyone who had the money to travel, migration was pretty easy.
Canada is a good example of the way peoples of different ways of life and dif-ferent languages can live side by side under one government. The population of Canada has risen from 11,5 million in 1941 to 25 million in 1980. Most of the new-comers are from Europe, Asia and the USA, so that today less than 44% of Can-ada’s population is of British origin. Quebec Province is still 90% French. There are some groups of French Canadiands in Ontario and Manitoba, but the numbers are quite small.
There are many Indians, Pacistanis and Chinese, and also blacks from the USA, among the immigrants who are pouring into Canada now. Some Canadians are afraid that before long Canada will have coloured citizens that white. Other Canadians are disturbed by the growing racism in their country. Canada, like so many countries, has only just begun to treat her own non-white citizens, Eskimos (or Inuit) and the Indians, as generously as they deserve. The Indian and Eskimo populations have grown quite a lot in the last few years. The government is at last realizing that it has a duty towards this people that it has neglected for so long.
All Canadian children have to learn both French and English at school, but Francophones and Anglophones do not enjoy learning each other’s language. Still, most Quebecois middle class families, living in Montreal are bilingual - they speak English and French equally well.
Until the Second World War, every Canadian province except Quebec was overwhelmingly British. Some Canadians were more patriotic than the British them-selves and were really angry if anyone walked out of a cinema while ‘God Save the King’ was being played. Now Canadians think of themselves as a people in their own right, not tied to either Britain or the USA. The USA has not been a threat to Canada for almost two hundred years. In fact, the 6,416 km US-Canadian frontier is the long-est continuous frontier in the world, has no wire fence, no soldiers, no guns on either side. It is called ‘The Border’.
As we learned in the history chapter, Canadians didn’t just spring from the soil. Aside from a small community ofaboriginals, everyone who lives in Canada is descended from immigrants of some sort, the offspring of agricultural settlers and economic migrants who left their native homelands to eke out a better living in the mysterious New World. Since Canada was originally a French, then British colony, France and the United Kingdom have been the historic origin of much of Canada’swhite majority, followed by settlers from other western European nations.
English-CanadiansCanadians of British descent, often known as Anglos, have traditionally comprised the majority of people in all provinces, and have a long history of trying to aggressively shape the country to reflect the culture and traditions of their beloved motherland. This cultural dominance explains, in large part, why Canada remained a happy colony of the British Empire for as long as it did, why it fought so eagerly in both world wars, and why institutions like the monarchy survive to this day.
British immigrants came in waves; some Anglo-Canadian families have been living in Canada so long they have no idea when their forefathers first sailed over, while others may be the offspring of English or Scottish workers who left the British Isles during 20th century periods of war or depression. Motivated by a desire to keep Canada British, Canadian law favoured such immigrants quite explicitly; until 1976, there was no legal difference between a “Canadian” and a “British subject,” so for anyone who had the money to travel, migration was pretty easy.
Canada is a good example of the way peoples of different ways of life and dif-ferent languages can live side by side under one government. The population of Canada has risen from 11,5 million in 1941 to 25 million in 1980. Most of the new-comers are from Europe, Asia and the USA, so that today less than 44% of Can-ada’s population is of British origin. Quebec Province is still 90% French. There are some groups of French Canadiands in Ontario and Manitoba, but the numbers are quite small.
There are many Indians, Pacistanis and Chinese, and also blacks from the USA, among the immigrants who are pouring into Canada now. Some Canadians are afraid that before long Canada will have coloured citizens that white. Other Canadians are disturbed by the growing racism in their country. Canada, like so many countries, has only just begun to treat her own non-white citizens, Eskimos (or Inuit) and the Indians, as generously as they deserve. The Indian and Eskimo populations have grown quite a lot in the last few years. The government is at last realizing that it has a duty towards this people that it has neglected for so long.
All Canadian children have to learn both French and English at school, but Francophones and Anglophones do not enjoy learning each other’s language. Still, most Quebecois middle class families, living in Montreal are bilingual - they speak English and French equally well.
Until the Second World War, every Canadian province except Quebec was overwhelmingly British. Some Canadians were more patriotic than the British them-selves and were really angry if anyone walked out of a cinema while ‘God Save the King’ was being played. Now Canadians think of themselves as a people in their own right, not tied to either Britain or the USA. The USA has not been a threat to Canada for almost two hundred years. In fact, the 6,416 km US-Canadian frontier is the long-est continuous frontier in the world, has no wire fence, no soldiers, no guns on either side. It is called ‘The Border’.