This post is about multiculturalism in Canada and I hope you enjoy this latest post in the “O Canada” category. (smile)
What does that word “multiculturalism” mean in reality especially because I live in a small city in western Canada.
I admit I live in a small city and the big cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver are tremendously more diverse but multiculturalism is celebrated and encouraged here in sunny Penticton also.
In this little city we have immigrants from Sri Lanka, Jordan, Turkey, Iran, Vietnam, Korea, Nepal and more even, Ontario (gosh ! ha ha chuckle) .
It is not uncommon for there to be special events throughout the year being held by various cultural groups in one of the parks and this includes parades, and of course, there’s the food! Yay!
According to the internet, annual immigration in Canada amounts to almost 500,000 new immigrants – one of the highest rates per population of any country in the world.
As of 2023, there were more than eight million immigrants with permanent residence living in Canada – roughly 20 percent of the total Canadian population.
The Canadian government recognizes multiculturalism in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and created the Multiculturalism Act in the late 1980’s.
I think nearly all Canadians agree that immigrants make our country BOTH a better place to live and are important for the economy.
The Aga Khan described Canada as the most pluralist society on the face of the globe.
Now some fun stuff ♥
Molson Beer in Canada has done a few advertising campaigns featuring a red fridge that only opens when certain “Canadian” related criteria are met. (More on this later)
In 2015 a new Molson Fridge made it’s public debut. It would only open if the words “I am Canadian” are uttered in six different languages.
That new fridge uses Google’s Speech Recognition API and other technologies to recognize 40 languages, from French to Hindi.
Once the fridge recognizes the key phrase “I am Canadian,” the doors finally open to reveal an abundance of ice cold vintage Molson Canadian cans.
See it in action!
If the youtube is not visible click link to see a fun group opening a beer fridge by voice saying I AM CANADIAN in multiple languages – LINK
Thank you for reading, and hugs to everyone who likes and comments – David ♥
In Canada, our diversity is our strength. Our social, political, economic and cultural progress is not made in spite of our differences, but thanks to our differences.
Life and Random Thinking 
Your son sure looks like you. Hope you are well, My Kidney is working fine so life is good. Stay safe Dave. Bob
Sent from Mail for Windows
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Thanks Bob – always nice to hear from you and that you are doing well. Don’t stop! I appreciate you reading my blog and encouraging me and it’s kind of you to do that. – thumbs up, David
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I LOVE this! Someone asked me if Canada has an immigrant problem. I said “No, because we are all, except the First Nations People, immigrants. It’s immigrants who have built this country and will continue to do so.”
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Hi Darlene, I think your reply was excellent and direct to the point about Canadian history. Well said!
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Love it! Fredericton is becoming far more diverse as well. Having people from all over makes all of our lives that much richer. After all, we’re all newcomers here except for the Indigenous peoples.
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♥ Thank you Jane – I agree with your view that more diversity is making our lives more rich. I enjoy meeting new Canadians immensely and they all seem so nice. We also have friends who are from the Ukraine. All these interactions with people from the world reinforce to me the certainty that people around the world are much more similar than dissimilar. We also enjoy here all types of indigenous events so I am fortunate indeed.
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Cute video. Now I will remember it as the Canadian Red Fridge Phenomenon.😂
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There are more red fridges to come Linda 🙂
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Good! I’ll look forward to that!
😊
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This blog post is so uplifting! I particularly loved watching the youtube clip! The entire theme gives you a feel-good-all-over feeling!
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Thank you for that observation! I felt the same way watching it because when I watched it I felt these were all people who didn’t know each other but became united in solving the fridge challenge. Bless you!
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