Multicultural hospitality and immigration in Winnipeg, Manitoba: Host–guest dynamics

Abstract

Relying on qualitative data obtained from newcomers in Winnipeg, Manitoba, this article critically examines hospitality, specifically host–guest dynamics, with special attention to cultural discontinuities and contentious policies on foreign credentials. In particular, this article sheds light on the contested nature of hospitality practices, thereby moving beyond the notion of vertical power relations between the nation state as host and immigrants as guests to acknowledge the existence of everyday reciprocal practices of welcoming and supporting one another, such as those occurring in ethnocultural communities. In order to highlight the challenges related to the implementation of the principles of hospitality, we begin by making a brief presentation of the dimensions of this concept and by problematizing multicultural hospitality with special attention to critical multiculturalism. Based on qualitative data, we then problematize hospitality with special attention to social relations and cultural discontinuities. Finally, we conclude with a discussion on guest and host factors in the concretization of multicultural hospitality with and for immigrants.