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Aya Fujiwara examines the roles of Japanese, Ukrainian, and Scottish elites during the transition of Canadian identity from Anglo-conformity to ethnic pluralism.

Image courtesy of interviewee. May 29, 2024

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The speaker reflects on their experience of growing up in Japan, a country characterized by homogeneity, and contrasts it with Canada’s vibrant ethnic diversity. Their journey began as an international exchange student in Canada, where they became interested in the evolution of the country's multicultural identity, which historically faced many challenges, including sociopolitical obstacles for non-Japanese individuals living in Japan.

The speaker’s motivation for writing a book on Canada's multiculturalism emerged from their exploration of the historical context, particularly the long-term ethnic activism that laid the groundwork for multicultural policies. They emphasize that the movement towards multiculturalism was not merely a top-down initiative by the government but rather the result of extensive negotiations between ethnic minorities and the federal government over many years.

They highlight the significance of the 1960s as a pivotal period for ethnic activism in Canada, including the struggles of various groups, such as Ukrainians and Japanese Canadians, striving for recognition. The speaker underscores the importance of acknowledging the contributions of these ethnic groups and the ongoing systemic inequalities faced by marginalized communities, particularly Indigenous peoples.

The book aims to expand perspectives on Canadian history by focusing on the experiences and agency of ethnic minorities, promoting a deeper understanding of the negotiation processes that have shaped multiculturalism in Canada. This video reflection calls for ongoing efforts to address systemic racism and inequality while recognizing the long-term nature of reconciliation between the government and Indigenous populations.

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X-TIMESTAMP-MAP:LOCAL=00:00:00.000,MPEGTS=900000

00:00.405 --> 00:04.045
I was born and raised in Japan where the midst

00:04.065 --> 00:07.285
of homogeneity dominates public discourse.

00:08.665 --> 00:13.045
And although society is becoming more diverse there,

00:13.615 --> 00:15.845
there are still, many regal

00:16.065 --> 00:19.725
and ideological obstacles for,

00:19.765 --> 00:21.765
non-Japanese people to live there.

00:22.465 --> 00:25.765
And it was a little bit conservative across society.

00:26.425 --> 00:27.845
So it was even more

00:27.905 --> 00:32.125
so about 20 years ago when I was thinking about this book.

00:32.905 --> 00:35.965
So when I came to Canada, first

00:36.025 --> 00:40.205
as an international exchange student at the UBC,

00:40.865 --> 00:45.165
so Canada's ethnic diversity was actually eyeopening for

00:45.885 --> 00:48.525
19 years old, still,

00:49.145 --> 00:52.005
is not necessarily deeply into the academia.

00:52.345 --> 00:55.005
So I was quite interested in, you know, the difference

00:55.005 --> 00:56.285
between the two countries.

00:56.905 --> 01:00.605
So since then, I have always interested in how Canada

01:01.185 --> 01:05.005
as a central colonial nation, that was,

01:05.755 --> 01:09.165
advocated, had been advocated white s spread

01:09.545 --> 01:14.125
for a long time, began changing its way of thinking

01:14.625 --> 01:18.445
and, you know, began imagining,

01:18.585 --> 01:22.325
its national identity as multicultural.

01:22.705 --> 01:24.405
So that was the starting point.

01:25.185 --> 01:27.485
So I wanted to write a book on

01:27.545 --> 01:30.525
how Canada's multiculturalism was created

01:31.145 --> 01:32.765
and wanted to pay attention

01:32.825 --> 01:35.485
to all the details and the process.

01:35.905 --> 01:38.285
You know, that was the, you know, motivation.

01:38.825 --> 01:40.645
My book is actually old, you know,

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it's not really a new book, you know, to be honest.

01:44.025 --> 01:47.725
So in those days, we didn't have any online archives

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like we have now.

01:49.995 --> 01:51.175
So,

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and also digitalized, newspapers didn't exist.

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Um, so,

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whenever I, I wanted to read them, I have to travel.

02:02.675 --> 02:06.095
So basically it was archival research

02:06.355 --> 02:10.055
and I visited tons of libraries over Canada.

02:11.235 --> 02:14.175
Um, for example, I went

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to Novaco Provincial Archives,

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and, you know, if you know Canada probably,

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Edmonton is more like into, you know,

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Novas Scotia is so far.

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But, you know, we used to travel a lot

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and also Acadia University also in No Scoscia.

02:34.155 --> 02:37.135
And Cape University is also Nova Scotia.

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That is, Scottish side and then Library

02:40.835 --> 02:43.135
and Archives Canada in Awa.

02:43.135 --> 02:45.735
That is a national archives here in Canada.

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And also, for Japanese part, I went

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to UBC rivalry and Niki National Museum,

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and also UBC library.

02:56.445 --> 02:58.615
Yeah, yeah. So, you know,

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Different places where I travel through archives.

03:02.965 --> 03:07.525
Yeah. Generally the 1960s is characterized

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by ethnic activism in North America, right,

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including the rise

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of the French Canadian nationalism in Quebec

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and the Civil Rights Movement in the

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United States, of course.

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And a very social protest, you know, during the 19,

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you know, sixties for sure.

03:26.825 --> 03:28.805
But at the same time,

03:29.065 --> 03:32.885
multiculturalism was often understood in relation

03:32.885 --> 03:36.565
to the right lives of Quebec nationalism

03:36.825 --> 03:40.645
and activism in Canada, and also bilingualism

03:40.665 --> 03:41.845
and biculturalism.

03:42.545 --> 03:47.365
But Reston was the activism by ethnic

03:47.885 --> 03:49.405
Canadian ethnic minorities

03:50.225 --> 03:53.685
and ethnic leaders who sought their economic

03:53.865 --> 03:55.965
and political recognition in Canada.

03:56.535 --> 03:59.245
Other ethnic groups, including Ukrainians

03:59.625 --> 04:04.045
and Japanese, were fighting for their recognition since

04:04.585 --> 04:05.965
the early 1920s.

04:06.625 --> 04:10.205
So it didn't just started, you know, in 1960s.

04:10.915 --> 04:15.165
They were consistently struggling with politic,

04:15.295 --> 04:18.205
struggling for political recognition.

04:18.985 --> 04:22.405
So, this, gives a little bit different perspective,

04:22.865 --> 04:26.205
of 1960s as we know, today.

04:26.665 --> 04:27.925
But I cannot say, of course,

04:27.925 --> 04:32.125
that all ethnic groups in Canada were mobilized for this,

04:32.425 --> 04:34.805
negotiation, for multiculturalism.

04:35.745 --> 04:40.245
Um, the 1960 movement was, mainly,

04:40.715 --> 04:42.645
initiated by Ukrainian groups

04:42.755 --> 04:46.205
because, their ring linguistic

04:46.305 --> 04:49.925
and culture survival in their homeland was quite difficult.

04:50.585 --> 04:52.445
So, you know, they were the main groups.

04:52.625 --> 04:55.925
So it does not necessarily mean that all group went

04:55.925 --> 04:58.125
for multicultural movement,

04:58.305 --> 04:59.445
but that said,

04:59.625 --> 05:01.485
the contribution from other ethnic

05:01.485 --> 05:03.005
minorities are quite important.

05:03.905 --> 05:07.465
And yeah, this is a part that, you know,

05:08.045 --> 05:10.455
we don't pay attention to.

05:10.595 --> 05:13.325
So that is my, yeah, take.

05:13.665 --> 05:16.045
For 1960s, the pursuit

05:16.145 --> 05:20.005
of multiculturalism was implemented as a result

05:20.185 --> 05:23.285
of long-term ethnic activism, as I said,

05:23.825 --> 05:28.485
and as such, it would be a mistake, to see it simply

05:28.745 --> 05:30.645
as the federal government's policy.

05:31.545 --> 05:33.565
So this was not a top down policy,

05:33.785 --> 05:35.805
and it didn't come overnight.

05:36.145 --> 05:39.005
It has been a century long negotiation

05:39.005 --> 05:42.645
between ethnic community and the federal government.

05:43.625 --> 05:48.485
So it's been, along since I published this book, so

05:49.005 --> 05:52.205
I should also mention that the Royal Commission on

05:52.245 --> 05:56.965
Bilingualism and Biculturalism, that is the, you know,

05:57.075 --> 06:01.485
initial step that led to multiculturalism focusing on,

06:02.065 --> 06:03.485
British group

06:03.825 --> 06:08.165
and also French Canadians, you know, this,

06:09.725 --> 06:10.785
royal commission

06:11.405 --> 06:15.745
and also ethnic groups like Ukrainians use the notion

06:15.885 --> 06:17.905
of founding fathers

06:18.285 --> 06:21.865
or founding races of Canada, pointing

06:21.865 --> 06:25.025
to their pioneer works on the parade

06:25.685 --> 06:29.345
and economic achievements and linguistic

06:29.645 --> 06:31.505
and cultural recognition to Canada.

06:32.085 --> 06:36.465
So in this discourse, I must, you know, note

06:36.465 --> 06:40.305
that indigenous people of Canada were often neglected.

06:41.005 --> 06:45.265
So, you know, there is a lots of new way of, seeing

06:45.485 --> 06:49.825
how multicultural indeed is not quite inclusive

06:50.125 --> 06:52.385
of indigenous people of Canada.

06:53.005 --> 06:56.145
Canada is a colonial nation,

06:56.145 --> 07:00.505
where mainstream white Canadians have dominated every aspect

07:01.085 --> 07:02.345
of its national life.

07:03.815 --> 07:08.315
So Canadian history has often written, from,

07:08.325 --> 07:12.475
their perspective and how the mainstream people,

07:13.255 --> 07:15.915
saw ethnic minorities

07:16.535 --> 07:19.515
and how they treated ethnic minorities,

07:19.815 --> 07:24.115
and how the mainstream society integrated ethnic minorities.

07:24.775 --> 07:29.635
So it's important to free the historical agents

07:30.545 --> 07:34.765
and write history from the eyes of marginalized people,

07:35.555 --> 07:37.085
what Canada mean to them.

07:37.585 --> 07:41.085
So history usually changes the

07:42.035 --> 07:45.525
outlook in terms of, you know, what kind of perspective,

07:46.185 --> 07:47.205
it is written.

07:47.465 --> 07:52.405
So I think it is quite important to use different agents to

07:53.055 --> 07:54.485
write our history.

07:54.785 --> 07:58.125
Yes. And second, the negotiation process

07:58.125 --> 07:59.685
between ethnic minorities

07:59.945 --> 08:02.245
and the government is very important.

08:03.185 --> 08:07.405
And I often pay attention to the process itself

08:07.685 --> 08:10.325
because this is a long term negotiation.

08:11.305 --> 08:15.405
And then during this process, both sides, right,

08:16.025 --> 08:19.365
change, you know, transform their ideas,

08:19.945 --> 08:24.125
create intentions, and reaching, compromises.

08:25.025 --> 08:29.645
So through this process, we could, promote the awareness

08:30.065 --> 08:33.845
of many issues, many problems in this world.

08:34.905 --> 08:39.125
So, even in the 19, 21st century, as we know,

08:39.845 --> 08:41.245
systemic racism, inequality

08:41.705 --> 08:46.045
and colonial structure exist in our society,

08:46.665 --> 08:49.725
and we need to spend the time to understand

08:49.945 --> 08:51.765
and deconstruct the system.

08:52.505 --> 08:54.965
And so that's why I always,

08:55.225 --> 08:57.685
You know, pay the, you know, pro process.

08:58.105 --> 09:01.845
Now in Canada, lots of reconciliation between

09:02.585 --> 09:03.645
the federal government

09:04.225 --> 09:08.365
and indigenous people are going, happening.

09:08.385 --> 09:11.405
But this kind of process also takes a long time, right?

09:11.785 --> 09:15.965
And it shouldn't really be, quickly done.

09:16.625 --> 09:20.285
Um, it's take time, think about the process

09:21.065 --> 09:24.325
and what is, you know, needed,

09:24.425 --> 09:26.685
to reach the compromise.

09:26.825 --> 09:29.245
So this kind of a process is quite important.

09:29.425 --> 09:33.445
So I hope that, you know, this book could, contribute to

09:34.465 --> 09:39.245
the notion of a process as well, historical process.

09:39.475 --> 09:39.765
Yeah.

00:00 - I was born and raised in Japan where the midst of homogeneity dominates public discourse. And although society is becoming more diverse there, there are still, many regal and ideological obstacles for, non-Japanese people to live there.

00:22 - And it was a little bit conservative across society. So it was even more so about 20 years ago when I was thinking about this book. So when I came to Canada, first as an international exchange student at the UBC, so Canada's ethnic diversity was actually eyeopening for 19 years old, still, is not necessarily deeply into the academia. So I was quite interested in, you know, the difference between the two countries.

00:56 - So since then, I have always interested in how Canada as a central colonial nation, that was, advocated, had been advocated white s spread for a long time, began changing its way of thinking and, you know, began imagining, its national identity as multicultural. So that was the starting point. So I wanted to write a book on how Canada's multiculturalism was created and wanted to pay attention

01:32 - to all the details and the process. You know, that was the, you know, motivation. My book is actually old, you know, it's not really a new book, you know, to be honest. So in those days, we didn't have any online archives like we have now. So, and also digitalized, newspapers didn't exist. so, whenever I, I wanted to read them, I have to travel.

02:02 - So basically it was archival research and I visited tons of libraries over Canada. for example, I went to Novaco Provincial Archives, and, you know, if you know Canada probably, Edmonton is more like into, you know, Novas Scotia is so far. But, you know, we used to travel a lot and also Acadia University also in No Scoscia. And Cape University is also Nova Scotia.

02:37 - That is, Scottish side and then Library and Archives Canada in Awa. That is a national archives here in Canada. And also, for Japanese part, I went to UBC rivalry and Niki National Museum, and also UBC library. Yeah, yeah. So, you know, Different places where I travel through archives. Yeah. Generally the 1960s is characterized by ethnic activism in North America, right,

03:10 - including the rise of the French Canadian nationalism in Quebec and the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, of course. And a very social protest, you know, during the 19, you know, sixties for sure. But at the same time, multiculturalism was often understood in relation to the right lives of Quebec nationalism and activism in Canada, and also bilingualism

03:40 - and biculturalism. But Reston was the activism by ethnic Canadian ethnic minorities and ethnic leaders who sought their economic and political recognition in Canada. Other ethnic groups, including Ukrainians and Japanese, were fighting for their recognition since the early 1920s. So it didn't just started, you know, in 1960s. They were consistently struggling with politic,

04:15 - struggling for political recognition. So, this, gives a little bit different perspective, of 1960s as we know, today. But I cannot say, of course, that all ethnic groups in Canada were mobilized for this, negotiation, for multiculturalism. the 1960 movement was, mainly, initiated by Ukrainian groups because, their ring linguistic and culture survival in their homeland was quite difficult.

04:50 - So, you know, they were the main groups. So it does not necessarily mean that all group went for multicultural movement, but that said, the contribution from other ethnic minorities are quite important. And yeah, this is a part that, you know, we don't pay attention to. So that is my, yeah, take. For 1960s, the pursuit

05:16 - of multiculturalism was implemented as a result of long-term ethnic activism, as I said, and as such, it would be a mistake, to see it simply as the federal government's policy. So this was not a top down policy, and it didn't come overnight. It has been a century long negotiation between ethnic community and the federal government. So it's been, along since I published this book, so I should also mention that the Royal Commission on

05:52 - Bilingualism and Biculturalism, that is the, you know, initial step that led to multiculturalism focusing on, British group and also French Canadians, you know, this, royal commission and also ethnic groups like Ukrainians use the notion of founding fathers or founding races of Canada, pointing to their pioneer works on the parade and economic achievements and linguistic

06:29 - and cultural recognition to Canada. So in this discourse, I must, you know, note that indigenous people of Canada were often neglected. So, you know, there is a lots of new way of, seeing how multicultural indeed is not quite inclusive of indigenous people of Canada. Canada is a colonial nation, where mainstream white Canadians have dominated every aspect of its national life. So Canadian history has often written, from,

07:08 - their perspective and how the mainstream people, saw ethnic minorities and how they treated ethnic minorities, and how the mainstream society integrated ethnic minorities. So it's important to free the historical agents and write history from the eyes of marginalized people, what Canada mean to them. So history usually changes the outlook in terms of, you know, what kind of perspective, it is written.

07:47 - So I think it is quite important to use different agents to write our history. Yes. And second, the negotiation process between ethnic minorities and the government is very important. And I often pay attention to the process itself because this is a long term negotiation. And then during this process, both sides, right, change, you know, transform their ideas, create intentions, and reaching, compromises.

08:25 - So through this process, we could, promote the awareness of many issues, many problems in this world. So, even in the 19, 21st century, as we know, systemic racism, inequality and colonial structure exist in our society, and we need to spend the time to understand and deconstruct the system. And so that's why I always, You know, pay the, you know, pro process. Now in Canada, lots of reconciliation between

09:02 - the federal government and indigenous people are going, happening. But this kind of process also takes a long time, right? And it shouldn't really be, quickly done. it's take time, think about the process and what is, you know, needed, to reach the compromise. So this kind of a process is quite important. So I hope that, you know, this book could, contribute to the notion of a process as well, historical process.

09:39 - Yeah.

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