Canadian Mosaic

Canadian Mosaic

Author	John Murray Gibbon
Publisher	McClelland & Stewart
Publication date	1938
Publication place	Canada

Canadian Mosaicis a book byJohn Murray Gibbon,published in 1938. Gibbon's book, the full title of which isCanadian Mosaic: The Making of a Northern Nation,heralded a new way of thinking about immigrants that was to shapeCanadian immigration policyin the latter part of the 20th century. The idea of a mosaic, in which each cultural group retained a distinct identity and still contributed to the nation as a whole, was in contrast to themelting pot,a popular metaphor for the more assimilationist American approach to immigration.

The idea of a mosaic of cultures forming a nation was adopted by Canadian sociologistJohn Porterin his study of social class, entitledVertical Mosaic: An Analysis of Social Class and Power in Canada.The mosaic theme became a part of Canadianmulticulturalismpolicy in the 1970s, which envisioned Canada as a "cultural mosaic".

References

• Gibbon, J. 1938.Canadian Mosaic: The Making of a Northern Nation.Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.
• Henderson, S. 2005. "'While there is Still Time...': J. Murray Gibbon and the Spectacle of Difference in Three CPR Folk Festivals, 1928–1931."Journal of Canadian Studies,Winter 2005.