Multiculturalism, Transnationalism, and the Hijacking of Canadian Foreign Policy
| Published date | 01 March 2008 |
| Date | 01 March 2008 |
| Author | Vic Satzewich |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200806300104 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Vic Satzewich
Multiculturalism,
transnationalism,
and the hijacking of
Canadian foreign
policy
A pseudo-problem?
| International Journal | Summer 2007 | 43 |
Visitors from abroad, and many Canadians themselves, see “multicultural-
ism” as a defining and positive feature of this country. Nonetheless, since
its inception as a federal government policy in 1971, multiculturalism has
generated significant critical commentary. The focus and priorities of the
policy have changed since 1971, and its various incarnations have been sub-
ject to a now familiar bundle of criticisms.1In its early versions, multicul-
tural policy was criticized for its promotion of symbolic ethnicity and its
inability to break down structural barriers to socioeconomic equality in
Canada.2In the 1990s the policy was criticized for promoting cultural rela-
Vic Satzewich is professor in the department of sociology at McMaster University.
1 Augie Fleras and Jean Leonard Elliot,
Engaging Diversity: Multiculturalism in
Canada
(Toronto: Nelson, 2002).
2 B. Singh Bolaria and Peter Li,
Racial Oppression in Canada,
second edition
(Toronto: Garamond Press, 1988), 38-40.
3 Reginald Bibby,
Mosaic Madness: The Potential and Poverty of Canadian Life
(Toronto: Stoddart, 1990); Neil Bissoondath,
Selling Illusions: The Cult of
Multiculturalism in Canada
(Toronto: Stoddart, 1994).
4 Jack Granatstein,
Whose War Is It? How Canada Can Survive in the Post-9/11 World
(Toronto; HarperCollins, 2007).
tivism, undermining Canadian identity, values, and culture, and fostering
ethnic ghettos, as well as preventing the integration of newcomers to
Canada.3
More recently, the policy has been criticized for encouraging the devel-
opment of socially harmful and politically dangerous transnational ties,
connections, and identities on the part of immigrants and ethnoreligious
communities in Canada. In this new round of criticisms, historian Jack
Granatstein claims that multicultural policy facilitates unhealthy transna-
tionalism in the form of engagements in “motherland” issues, dual politi-
cal loyalties, and the import of “old world” conflicts into Canada.4
My aim in this article is to question what Granatstein sees as the link
between politically oriented “unhealthy” transnationalism and the federal
policy of multiculturalism. There are three parts to this article. First, I
review Granatstein’s argument that draws a causal connection between
multiculturalism and socially unhealthy forms of transnationalism.
Second, I question the link between transnationalism and multiculturalism
on historical grounds. I suggest that transnational identities and politics
existed in Canada (and the United States) well before the announcement of
the policy of multiculturalism in 1971. Third, I examine the wider contex-
tual factors that shape transnational political engagements among immi-
grants and ethnic communities. I suggest that contextual factors associated
with sending countries and the context of reception in Canada shape pres-
ent-day transnational involvements. I also suggest that multicultural policy
may have little to do with the promotion of transnational political connec-
tions, actions, and identities.
MULTICULTURALISM AND UNHEALTHYTRANSNATIONALISM
A new twist has been added to the lengthy list of criticisms directed against
the federal government’s policy of multiculturalism. Some commentators
see contemporary multiculturalism as responsible for the promotion of
| 44 | International Journal | Winter 2007-08 |
| Vic Satzewich |
To continue reading
Request your trial