Racial Minorities: Canada

Canada is the second-largest country in the world in terms of geographic area. Its minority and indigenous or Aboriginal groups include French Canadians, Eastern Europeans, Asian Canadians, First Nations, Black African, Inuit, and Caribbean Canadians. Other numerous Canadian ethnic groups include English, Scottish, and Irish. According to census reports, Canada has 34 ethnic groups with at least 100,000 members each. Although many of its minorities are born in Canada, Canadian society has long been proud of representing itself as a nation built by immigrants and their descendants.

The government of Canada has long experimented with ways to integrate or assimilate its minorities. In the 19th century, for example, the Canadian government forced Native American children and youth into Indian Residential Schools, coercing them into assimilating into ...