Multiculturalism and Its Contradictions: Education for Citizenship and Social Justice in Canada

Abstract

Canada has prided itself in the national imaginary as a state based on inclusive practices, associated with policy described as ‘multiculturalism’. However, the promise of inclusive citizenship stands in contradiction to reality, where diverse communities experience entrenched patterns of systemic discrimination. The official context of formal inclusion associated with multiculturalism masks continuing and deepening exclusionary barriers to equal citizenship for marginalized sectors of Canadian society. Historic and current contextual factors include formal colonialism, racial slavery and the genocidal residential schooling of indigenous children. This unique contradiction – one of promise versus reality – points to specific challenges in advancing education for social justice. While structural exclusions and oppressions of marginalized populations are perpetuated, they are denied in dominant policies and rhetoric.