-- OTTAWA -- The identity of Canadians is diversifying so quickly that at the current rate the majority of the country's residents will be hyphenated Canadians by 2021, a new study by a Montreal researcher predicts.Yeah... that whole "being a Canadian" thing... is so "last century" anyway.
While only seven million Canadians listed multiple ancestries in 1986, that figure has steadily risen from census to census. In the latest census conducted in 2006 that number jumped to 12.9 million, Jedwab found.
"At this rhythm, by 2021, on the basis of the question on ethnicity, the majority of Canadians will be "hyphenated" -- that is to say they will be reporting more than one ethnic background," he wrote.Man... that'll really screw with the NDP.
"The analysis shows that any attempt by government to strive toward a common identity for all Canadians is "an illusory course."
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RELATED: The flip side of the equation
"Should immigrants have to choose between becoming Canadian citizens and leaving the country?"
LAST WORD: Tom Kent on culture & immigration
"Most of us are proud to belong to a nation that welcomes diverse peoples and accepts many cultures. But present law permits, even encourages, confusion of loyalties and plurality of citizenship."*
"The sense of a Canadian identity is increasingly diluted."
"It need not be."