The Ideology of Multiculturalism is Just another Marketing Tactic Behind Immigration and Economic Po

What is the relationship between Nationalism in Canada and the media? The goal of this paper is to think like an anthropologist and ascertain the values and beliefs about Canada’s national culture and identity, as it is being community via media narratives. The purpose of this essay is to frame the portrayal of Canada to the world and identify keywords used to portray such an image using the article by Debra Black (2013) from the Toronto Star Newspaper titled Canada’s Immigration System Lacks Heart, Critics Say. This essay argues that the media is portraying a message unique to the government’s needs of economic prosperity, using the ideology of multiculturalism to attract more workmanship.

The problem is that Canada is seen as a very nationalist country that handpicks, figuratively, individuals who can reside in the country under very strict guidelines. Some of the keywords that would imply this from the article include: systemically, tighten, Cuts, qualifications, refugees, too technical, disagreed, rejects, failed, removal and more. With this, we are able to see that there is a specific type of portrayal this writer wishes to instill upon her readers. Only browsing through the page, negative words jump out at the reader because there are so many of them. The article highlights comments from a lot of people, however, most are unknown, without names, or simply called critics (i.e., “explains the Sudanese refugee claimant who doesn’t want his name used”) (Black 2013). There isn’t much weight, then, on their comments even though they are actually the ones substantiating as evidence for the overall argument that Canada does not have a heart when it comes to immigration.

The reason as to why Canada is being portrayed in this manner by a Canadian newspaper must go beyond what the eye can read. There are invisible demands being demonstrated here and it all has to do with our political economic system. The media is attempting to portray the message of those above in higher places within the government. After all, they do work with each other in the name of Canada’s national and international identity as well as image. Canada’s identity to the world has been formed in this manner, moreover. It has been years since Canada is known for its tight borders and hard regulations for immigrants on non-refugee status. Furthermore, Canada is also known for being compliant to refugees, but as the article notes, this is starting to face down and replaced with a more cold-hearted stance on refugees.

As an anthropologist, what is the message here? I believe that the message is that Canada is attempting to slow down immigration but continue to allow access to the country on visiting and short-term residency status. Canada wants to be known as a nationalist country, proud of its stability and efficiency in choosing the right people to cohabitate with other Canadians. Canada wants the world to know that it is special, unique and helpful with those of lesser means. Yet, wants to slow down the process of immigration because of an inability, maybe, to sustain an economic burden.

Thus, while classic Canadian national identity encapsulated in the “Benevolent Mountie” myth of multiculturalism is spread worldwide, the truth may be a little different (Mackey 1998). Doors are closing more often than not to those from the world outside Canada and the idea of multiculturalism seems to be for an economic gain or advantage because the country is still governed by a majority of Caucasian citizens (most of whom, have a generational history with Canada). Furthermore, the ideology of pluralism, an identity that is flexible and understanding of differences, is certainly not what the article under study here was describing. In fact, the very opposite is true. Diverse populations are wanted so long as they can contribute to the country, management of culture is done with the purpose of institutionalizing more workmanship onto the economy, but it does necessarily mean that Canada is truly a multicultural country (Mackey 1998).

In sum, it can be implied that Canada is relating a message when its immigration policies are described as rejecting, neglectful, limited, heartless, etc. It shows that the guidelines used to accept individuals from other countries such as professionalism, money and so on, are based on the need to sustain the country’s economic agenda and have really nothing to do with the ideology of multiculturalism. Further, it can be noted that this latter ideology serves the marketing purpose, but does not live up to its expectations in the long run as Canada continues to be a majority-base Caucasian-run government, even after so much multiculturalism has entered its land.

Works Cited

Black, G. Canada’s immigration system lacks heart, critics say. (2014) Retrieved from http://www.thestar.com/news/immigration/2013/06/28/canadas_immigration_system_lacks_heart_critics_say.html

Mackey, E. House of Difference: Cultural Politics and National Identity in Canada. Florence, KY, USA: Routledge (1998).