Teviah PIMLATT CAPSTONE SEMINAR SERIES Tackling Tensions in Canadian Identity Narratives Volume 6, Number 1, Spring 2020. Managing Editor Dr. Anne Trépanier Desktop publishing Sarah Pledge Dickson Editorial Board Nathaniel Bruni, Martha Attridge Bufton, Miranda Leibel, Ryan Lux, Jack Mallon, Melissa Pole, Daria Sleiman, Dr. Anne Trépanier, Lindy Van Vliet Revision Claire Dignard Copyright Notice Teviah Pimlatt © 2020. All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy, or transmission of this publication, or part thereof in excess of one paragraph (other than as a PDF file at the discretion of School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies at Carleton University) may be made without the written permission of the author. To quote this article refer to: ―, Teviah Pimlatt "The Invention of an Identity: A Comparison of Trudeaus’ Multiculturalisms", Tackling Tensions in Canadian Identity Narratives, Capstone Seminar Series Volume 6, number 1, Spring 2020, page number and date of accession to this website: http://capstoneseminarseries.wordpress.com 2 CAPSTONE SEMINAR SERIES Tackling tensions in Canadian Identity narratives Teviah PIMLATT The Invention of an Identity: A Comparison of Trudeaus’ Multiculturalisms Abstract Despite the contemporary acceptance of multicultural policy amongst the majority of Canadians, the ideology of multiculturalism in Canada is not a piece of national identity that has appeared overnight. In fact, multiculturalism has experienced significant changes since its initial creation in the 1960s. The present comparative research works to identify and compare key aspects in presentations of multiculturalism, notably statements by Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Justin Trudeau, and ultimately argues that the presentation of multiculturalism has changed from an alternative to biculturalism which must be strictly pursued to a core, natural, and celebratory piece of Canadian national identity. The purpose of the research is to situate the results into the academic body of Canadian studies to further explore alternative methods of analyzing national identity in Canada. The paper reveals the inventive and tightly controlled nature of multiculturalism as a large piece of Canada’s contemporary national identity. Keywords Multiculturalism; Canadian national identity; nationalism; Trudeau; biculturalism; Pierre Elliott Trudeau; Justin Trudeau; Collective Rights; Individual Rights; Indigenous Rights; Colonial Multiculturalism; Settler Colonialism; Interculturalism 3 CAPSTONE SEMINAR SERIES Tackling tensions in Canadian Identity narratives Teviah PIMLATT The Invention of an Identity: A Comparison of Trudeaus’ Multiculturalisms Multiculturalism can be defined in a number of different ways. According to the Canadian Library of Parliament’s background paper on multiculturalism, multiculturalism has three distinct interpretations. The website states that multiculturalism as a sociological fact, multiculturalism as federal public policy, and multiculturalism as ideology are the three lenses through which the subject can be analyzed (Brosseau & Dewing 1). Although multiculturalism here is separated into three distinct categories, these groupings intersect with each other to determine how multiculturalism is defined, presented, and received. This paper seeks to address the development of the ideology of multiculturalism in Canada through comparative research. By comparing definitions of multiculturalism between two Prime Ministers, Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Justin Trudeau, the changing presentation of multiculturalism becomes evident. Through analyzing a difference in key words and phrases between the two eras, it becomes clear how the framing and presentation of multiculturalism has been carefully constructed to become a core piece of Canada’s national heritage and identity, as multiculturalism has always acted as a tool to settle political tensions or address sociological changes in Canada. To add, critiques of multiculturalism which unsettle the solidity of the widely accepted national identity further reveal the inventive and flexible nature of the ideology of multiculturalism. However, to begin, it is first necessary to contextualize the creation of multiculturalism in its relevant political era. Setting the stage: the initial introductions of multiculturalism According to Eve Haque, ethnic minority groups and Indigenous peoples within Canada were voicing disdain towards the commission’s idea of “two founding races” during the preliminary and public hearing stages of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism, as these different groups sought recognition for their distinct contributions in the history of the nation (Haque 14). Senator Paul Yuzyk and his leadership during the Thinkers’ Conference of 1968 can be used to exemplify this resistance, as during this conference, the idea of a multi-cultural nation is introduced as a refusal to accept the Royal Commission’s notion of biculturalism. The Thinkers’ Conference was held from December 13th to 15th in 1968, where the cultural rights and responsibilities of ethnic minorities and Indigenous peoples were 4 CAPSTONE SEMINAR SERIES Tackling tensions in Canadian Identity narratives Teviah PIMLATT discussed between cultural and ethnic association leaders, ministers, senators, and researchers; topics of discussion included the rights of “Indians and Eskimos,” the preservation of minority cultures in Canada, and how public policy could be developed to promote this preservation (“Program: Thinkers’ Conference on Cultural Rights”). As the Chairman of the Conference Committee, Senator Paul Yuzyk ensured that the results of the Thinkers’ Conference pertaining to “Canada’s multi-cultural tradition” were transformed into recommendations and subsequently communicated to the appropriate government levels (“Thinkers’ Conference on Cultural Rights Purpose and Committee Outline”). On December 13th, 1968 Senator Yuzyk led the conference with a speech titled, The Emerging New Force in the Emerging New Canada. Using his professional and academic background knowledge in Canadian history, Yuzyk proposed the term “multiculturalism” to define Canada’s sociological reality and history, in place of the Royal Commission’s “biculturalism” which emphasized the notion that the nation of Canada was built solely by the British and French “races” (“About Paul Yuzyk”). With pride in his Ukrainian-Canadian heritage, Yuzyk offered the contributions of Ukrainian settlers to illustrate how various ethnic groups, not only the British and French, participated in the creation of the Canadian nation. Through many sectors such as agriculture, music, culture, law, and medicine, Yuzyk claimed that Ukrainian integration into everyday society is proof that Ukrainians are “builders of Canada and qualifying partners with the British and the French” (Yuzyk 3-4). Furthermore, Yuzyk cited demographic statistics as another justification for a multicultural Canada. Using the term, “the Third element,” to refer to Canadians with heritage other than British or French, Yuzyk claimed that the demographic proportion of the Third element had changed significantly between 1868 and 1968. Skimming briefly through the history of settlement in the Canadian West, Yuzyk’s speech touched upon immigration and settlement after the entrance of Manitoba into Confederation in 1870, the creation of Saskatchewan and Alberta, and the influx of immigration seen in the 1920s and post-World War II (Yuzyk 2). Yuzyk concluded that while the proportion of the French population remained at around 30% from 1868 to 1968, the British population had declined from 57% to 44%, and the Third element population had increased significantly from 12% to 26% (Yuzyk 2). According to Yuzyk, this emergence of the Third element was extraordinary and “indicative of the emerging new factor in Canadian life” (Yuzyk 3), worthy of official recognition in the form of multiculturalism. 5 CAPSTONE SEMINAR SERIES Tackling tensions in Canadian Identity narratives Teviah PIMLATT In order to officially create policies of multiculturalism in Canada, Yuzyk recommended a number of government-assisted initiatives to increase the representation of the Third element in daily life. These included the teaching of non-official languages and culture in Canadian schools (public, secondary, and university levels), the broadcasting of national radio and television programmes on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that would “[present] the contribution of [minority] ethnic groups which would promote better understanding of … cultural heritage,” and an increased representation in “government bodies and rational institutions” (Yuzyk 5-6). Three years later, Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau would agree with the idea of a multicultural Canada and announced a series of government initiatives to support a policy of multiculturalism within a bilingual framework in the House of Commons. Notably during this era, federal leadership was committed to bringing together Canadians through policy and ideology in hopes of establishing a collective national identity. As the 15th Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Elliott Trudeau was a Liberal Party leader from 1968-1984 who led the country with this “philosophy of one Canada and a strong federal government” (“Pierre Elliott Trudeau”). Dubbed “Trudeaumania” by the press during his election campaign in 1968 and in the subsequent years of a successful Liberal government, the era of Pierre Elliott Trudeau leadership saw multiple political accomplishments, including