Canadian Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Canadian Studies - Essay Example It, therefore, means that Asians of the Muslim faith, for example, are encouraged to live like they would in their country of origin and so are other ethnicities (Richter, 2011). On the basis of Multiculturalism, the Canadian Society is today a mosaic of cultures where most immigrants live in homogenous communities around people of their ethnic affiliation, prompting critics to term the policy as a recipe for building ghettos. The mayoral election in Calgary where two of the three leading candidates fit the usual politician stereotype and the third was totally off the mark on ethnic and religious grounds, opened doors to deeper thought on the success or failure of multiculturalism as a Canadian policy. Even though campaigns for this seat were issue-based, especially on the part of Mr. Nenshi, there were underlying discussions on his faith and whether a person who confesses Islam was suitable for a mayoral seat in a Canadian city.In an interview with The Globe and Mail, a Canadian news outlet, Nenshi said, â€Å"It would have been so easy to have an article, just a fun human-interest article in August, about what its like fasting through Ramadan while youre campaigning. What its like at a debate, not drinking water. I didnt do that. I didnt do that because I didnt think it was a relevant question (theglobeandmail.com, 2010)." These sentiments underscored the fact that one is free to practice their faith in Canada without much public scrutiny. If the Nenshi scenario were in the United States, more articles would have been written about his faith and the entire election would have been about religion with less focus on the candidate’s capabilities. Having come from behind in opinion polls and rallied the whole city behind him, received support from across ethnic and cultural divide, there is evidence that Multiculturalism policy is yielding results in Canada. According to Day (2000),