Ricardo Duchesne - Critical Reflections on Canadian Multiculturalism

This talk sets out to refute the ideological pillars sustaining Canadian multiculturalism. The historical demographic evidence does not support the claim that "Canada is a nation of immigrants" but shows instead that Canada was founded by European settlers and by native-born Canadiens. The theory of multicultural citizenship is bedevilled by a double standard in granting both collective rights and individual rights to minorities and immigrant groups while suppressing the ethno-cultural rights of Euro-Canadians. The concept of "minority rights" has been deceptively used by cultural Marxists to promote an illiberal program of mass immigration. New scientific studies support the view that humans generally have a preference for their ethnic in-groups, and that such altruistic dispositions as sharing, loyalty, caring, and trust are exhibited primarily within in-groups rather than toward a universal “we” in disregard for one’s community. Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) was heavily influenced by supranational human rights principles detached from Canada's shared Anglo-Quebecois culture, religion, and ethnicity. Nevertheless, insomuch as this Charter, and the Multiculturalism Act of 1988, use the language of collective rights to guarantee the cultural identity of ethnic and religious minorities, this Charter and this Act can be relied upon to affirm the right of all Canadians, including EuroCanadians, to preserve and enhance their ethnic and cultural heritage. Members of the majority culture should not be excluded from affirming their right to collective survival in the face of immigration patterns that are threatening their cultural heritage in Canada.

Ricardo Duchesne is a Canadian historical sociologist and professor at the University of New Brunswick. His main research interests are Western civilization, the rise of the West, and the ideology of diversity. In his 2011 main work The Uniqueness of Western Civilization he emphasizes the "continuous creativity" of Europeans from ancient Greek times to the present and criticises what he sees as the destructive effects of multiculturalism on modern Western culture. His last book, "Canada in Decay: Mass Immigration, Diversity, and the Ethnocide of Euro-Canadians," argues that Canada is not a "nation of immigrants" but a nation created by Anglo and French pioneers and settlers. "Canada in Decay" also questions the double standards of multiculturalism in granting both "collective" ethnic rights and "individual rights" to minorities and immigrant groups while suppressing the ethno-cultural rights of Euro-Canadians