Over centuries, elements of Aboriginal, French, British and more recent immigrant customs have combined to form the culture of Canada and thus a Canadian identity. Canada has also been strongly influenced by that of its linguistic, geographic and economic neighbour, the United States. Since the mid 1940s, Canadians represented by government legislation, have been committed to multilateralism and socioeconomic development domestically.
The population of Canada has consistently risen every year since the establishment of the Dominion in 1867, predominantly due to immigration. From the mid to late 19th century Canada had a policy of assisting immigrants from Europe, including city people and an estimated 100,000 unwanted "Home Children" from Britain. Block settlement communities were established throughout western Canada between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some were planned and other were spontaneously created by the settlers themselves. Canada received a large amount of non-British, non-French, immigrants for the first time before and after the World Wars, mainly Italians, Germans, Scandinavians, and Ukrainians.
Legislative restrictions on immigration (such as the Continuous journey regulation and Chinese Immigration Act) that had favoured British and other European immigrants were amended in the 1960s, opening the doors to immigrants from all parts of the world. While the 1950s had seen high levels of immigration from Europe, by the 1970s immigrants increasingly came from India, China, Vietnam, Jamaica and Haiti. During the late 1960s and early 1970s, Canada received many American Vietnam War draft dodgers and deserters. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Canada's growing Pacific trade brought with it a large Chinese population that tended to settle in British Columbia. Currently, most immigrants to Canada come from Asia and this trend is expected to continue over the foreseeable future.
Canadian citizenship is typically obtained by birth in Canada, birth abroad when at least one parent is a Canadian citizen and was born in Canada, or by adoption abroad by at least one Canadian citizen. It can also be granted to a permanent resident who lives in Canada for three out of four years and meets specific requirements. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, was passed by the Parliament of Canada in 2001 as Bill C-11, which replaced the Immigration Act of 1976 as the primary federal legislation regulating immigration.
In 2006, Canada received 236,756 immigrants - The top ten sending countries, by state of origin, were People's Republic of China (28,896), India (28,520), Philippines (19,718), Pakistan (9,808), United States (8,750), United Kingdom (7,324), Iran (7,195), South Korea (5,909), Colombia (5,382), and Sri Lanka (4,068). The top ten source countries were followed closely by France (4,026), and Morocco (4,025), with Romania, Russia, and Algeria. each contributing over 3,500 immigrants.
According to Citizenship and Immigration Canada there are three main classifications for immigrants: Family class (closely related persons of Canadian residents), Economic class (admitted on the basis of a point system that account for age, health and labour-market skills required for cost effectively inducting the immigrants into Canada's labour market) and Refugee class (those seeking protection by applying to remain in the country by way of the Canadian immigration and refugee law). In 2008, there were 65,567 immigrants in the family class, 21,860 refugees, and 149,072 economic immigrants amongst the 247,243 total immigrants to the country. Canada resettles over one in 10 of the world’s refugees. Approximately 41% of people currently living in Canada are first or second generation immigrants. There is no credible information available on illegal immigration in Canada. Estimates of illegal immigrants range between 35,000 and 120,000.
The majority of Canadians live in Canada; however, there are approximately 2,800,000 Canadians abroad as of November 1, 2009. This represents about 7.5% of the total Canadian population. Of those abroad the United States, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, China, and Lebanon have the largest Canadian diaspora. Canadians in United States are the greatest single expatriate community at over 1 million in 2009, representing 35.8% of all Canadians abroad.
Canadian culture has historically been influenced by British, French, and Aboriginal cultures and traditions. Most of Canada's territory was inhabited and developed later than other European colonies in the Americas, with the result that themes and symbols of pioneers, trappers, and traders were important in the early development of the Canadian identity. First Nations played a critical part in the development of European colonies in Canada, from their role in assisting exploration of the continent, the North American fur trade and inter-European power struggles to the creation of the Métis people. Through their art and culture, First Nations, Inuit and Métis continue to exert influence on Canadian identity. The British conquest of New France in the mid 1700s brought a large Francophone population under British rule, creating a need for compromise and accommodation, while the migration of United Empire Loyalists from the Thirteen Colonies brought in strong British and then American influences.
The Canadian Forces and overall civilian participation in the First World War helped to foster a national identity, however in 1917 a conscription crisis caused a considerable rift along ethnic lines between Anglophones and Francophones. As a result of the First World War, the Government of Canada became more assertive and less deferential to British authority. In 1931 the Statute of Westminster gave each of the dominions (which included Canada and Newfoundland) the opportunity for almost complete legislative independence from the Parliament of the United Kingdom. With the gradual loosening of political and cultural ties to the United Kingdom, in the 20th century immigrants from Africa, Caribbean and Asia nationalities have shaped the Canadian identity, a process that continues today with the continuing arrival of large numbers of immigrants from non British or French backgrounds, adding the theme of multiculturalism.
American media and entertainment are popular, if not dominant, in English Canada; conversely, many Canadian cultural products and entertainers are successful in the United States and worldwide. The Government of Canada has also influenced culture with programs, laws and institutions. It has created "crown corporations" to promote Canadian culture through media, such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), and promotes many events which it considers to promote Canadian traditions. It has also tried to protect Canadian culture by setting legal minimums on Canadian content in many media using bodies like the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). It is often asserted that Canadian Government policies such as publicly-funded health care, higher taxation to distribute wealth, outlawing capital punishment, strong efforts to eliminate poverty in Canada, an emphasis on multiculturalism, imposing strict gun control, leniency in regard to drug use and most recently legalizing same-sex marriage are social indicators of how Canada's politically and culturally evolution differ from that of the United States.
In a 2002 interview with the Globe and Mail, Karīm al-Hussainī the 49th Aga Khan of the Ismaili Muslims described Canada as "the most successful pluralist society on the face of our globe", citing it as "a model for the world." He explained that the experience of Canadian governance - its commitment to pluralism and its support for the rich multicultural diversity of its peoples - is something that must be shared and would be of benefit societies in other parts of the world. The largest Protestant denomination is the United Church of Canada (9.5%), followed by the Anglicans (6.8%), Baptists (2.4%), Lutherans (2%), and other Christians (4.4%).
Canadian media offers specialty television channels, newspapers and other publications in many foreign languages, that are widely accessible across the county. For instance, six terrestrial TV stations, CFMT and CJMT in Toronto, CJNT in Montreal, CJEO in Edmonton, CJCO in Calgary and CHNM in Vancouver, air multicultural programming in a variety of languages, while Telelatino airs programming in Italian and Spanish on basic cable.
*Canada: A People's History - Teacher Resources - Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
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![HMCS Regina the Canadian Forces Maritime Command (MARCOM) (in French: Commandment maritime des Forces comediennes), also called the Canadian Navy,[8] is the naval branch of the CF and is a descendant of the Royal Canadian Navy.](http://web.archive.org./web/20110219100956im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/79/d1/f7deb2d3c3e791c20289a7430a22_grande.jpg "HMCS Regina the Canadian Forces Maritime Command (MARCOM) (in French: Commandment maritime des Forces comediennes), also called the Canadian Navy,[8] is the naval branch of the CF and is a descendant of the Royal Canadian Navy.")
![The Canadian War Museum (CWM) (Musée canadien de la guerre (MCG)) is Canada’s national museum of military history. [1] Located in Ottawa, Ontario, the museum focuses on military conflicts that occurred on Canadian soil, involved Canadian forces, or had a significant effect on the country and its people.[2] The conflicts range from early warfare among First Peoples to today’s “war on terror.”](http://web.archive.org./web/20110219100956im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/83/37/647b6ff8c9c1c8eae3b23b6e5fb9_grande.jpg "The Canadian War Museum (CWM) (Musée canadien de la guerre (MCG)) is Canada’s national museum of military history. [1] Located in Ottawa, Ontario, the museum focuses on military conflicts that occurred on Canadian soil, involved Canadian forces, or had a significant effect on the country and its people.[2] The conflicts range from early warfare among First Peoples to today’s “war on terror.”")
![HMCS Regina the Canadian Forces Maritime Command (MARCOM) (in French: Commandment maritime des Forces comediennes), also called the Canadian Navy,[8] is the naval branch of the CF and is a descendant of the Royal Canadian Navy.](http://web.archive.org./web/20110219100956im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/79/d1/f7deb2d3c3e791c20289a7430a22_thumb.jpg "HMCS Regina the Canadian Forces Maritime Command (MARCOM) (in French: Commandment maritime des Forces comediennes), also called the Canadian Navy,[8] is the naval branch of the CF and is a descendant of the Royal Canadian Navy.")
![The Canadian War Museum (CWM) (Musée canadien de la guerre (MCG)) is Canada’s national museum of military history. [1] Located in Ottawa, Ontario, the museum focuses on military conflicts that occurred on Canadian soil, involved Canadian forces, or had a significant effect on the country and its people.[2] The conflicts range from early warfare among First Peoples to today’s “war on terror.”](http://web.archive.org./web/20110219100956im_/http://cdn.wn.com/pd/83/37/647b6ff8c9c1c8eae3b23b6e5fb9_thumb.jpg "The Canadian War Museum (CWM) (Musée canadien de la guerre (MCG)) is Canada’s national museum of military history. [1] Located in Ottawa, Ontario, the museum focuses on military conflicts that occurred on Canadian soil, involved Canadian forces, or had a significant effect on the country and its people.[2] The conflicts range from early warfare among First Peoples to today’s “war on terror.”")
