''Canadian Mosaic'' is a book by

John Murray Gibbon John Murray Gibbon (12 April 1875 – 2 July 1952) was a Scottish-Canadian writer and cultural promoter. He was born in Ceylon on 12 April 1875 the second son of William Duff Gibbon a tea planter and Katherine née Murray. Gibbon was educated at ...

, published in 1938. Gibbon's book, the full title of which is ''Canadian Mosaic: The Making of a Northern Nation'', heralded a new way of thinking about immigrants that was to shape Canadian immigration policy in 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 the melting 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 sociologist

John Porter John Porter may refer to: Politicians * John Porter (portreeve), 1390–94, Member of Parliament (MP) for Taunton * John Porter (Illinois politician) (1935–2022), Illinois politician, U.S. Representative * John Porter (MP for Bramber) (died 1599 ...

in his study of social class, entitled ''Vertical Mosaic: An Analysis of Social Class and Power in Canada''. The mosaic theme became a part of Canadian

multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...

policy in the 1970s, which envisioned Canada as a "

cultural mosaic "Cultural mosaic" (french: "la mosaïque culturelle") is the mix of ethnic groups, languages, and cultures that coexist within society. The idea of a cultural mosaic is intended to suggest a form of multiculturalism, different from other systems ...

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. Books about immigration in Canada Sociology books Canadian non-fiction books 1938 non-fiction books Books about Canada Governor General's Award-winning non-fiction books {{Canada-book-stub