educational and economic standing.

Most of them remain clustered near the bottom of

Canada’s socioeconomic hierarchy. For another, the upward mobility of immigrants, three-
quarters of whom are members of visible-minority groups, has slowed since the early
1990s. Therefore, if present trends continue, Canada’s mosaic will continue to be stratified,
mainly along racial lines. Unless dramatic changes occur, a few groups will continue to
enjoy less wealth, income, education, good housing, health care, and other social rewards
than other Canadians do.

In Review
Learning Objectives
LO1 Recognize that race and ethnicity are socially constructed
variables rather than biological or cultural constants

Race is a social construct used to distinguish people in terms of one or more physical
markers. Racial distinctions emerge and persist because they help to create and reinforce
social, economic, and political inequalities. Thus, racial differences are not the inevitable
outcome of physical or biological differences. An ethnic group comprises people whose
perceived cultural markers (language, religion, customs, values, ancestors, and the like) are
socially significant. However, just as physical distinctions do not cause differences in the
behaviour of various races, so cultural distinctions are often not by themselves the major
source of differences in the behaviour of various ethnic groups. Said differently, ethnic
values and other elements of ethnic culture have less of an effect on the way people behave
than we commonly believe. That is because social-structural differences (such as
differences in access to material resources and differences in mobility opportunities)
frequently underlie cultural differences. Thus, both race and ethnicity are socially
constructed.

LO2 Analyze why racial and ethnic labels and identities change
over time and place

Racial and ethnic identity and the labels that people attach to different racial and ethnic
groups are social constructs that emerge from, and are transformed by, social relations
between previously separated peoples. Specifically, high levels of pluralism (the retention
of racial and ethnic culture combined with equal access to basic social resources) and
assimilation (the process by which a minority group blends into the majority population
and eventually disappears as a distinct people in the larger society) are associated with low
levels of prejudice (an attitude that judges a person on his or her group’s real or imagined
characteristics), discrimination (unfair treatment of people because of their group
membership), and institutionalized racism (embeddedness of prejudice and
discrimination in established ideologies and practices, not necessarily in the conscious
actions of individuals).

LO3 Appreciate that conquest and domination are among the

most important forces leading to the crystallization of
distinct ethnic and racial identities

Colonialism involves people from one country invading another and engaging in conquest,
the forcible capture of land, and the economic and political domination of its inhabitants. In
the process of gaining control over the native population, the colonizers change or destroy
the Indigenous culture, develop the belief that the natives are inherently inferior, and
confine them to unskilled jobs. Genocide (the intentional extermination of an entire
population defined as a race or a people) and expulsion (the forcible removal of a
population from a territory claimed by another population) often accompany colonialism.
Once entrenched, colonizers may engage in internal colonialism, preventing the
assimilation of subordinate racial or ethnic groups by segregating them residentially,
occupationally, and in social contacts ranging from friendship to marriage. Slavery (the
ownership and control of people) has been a consequence of colonialism in certain times
and places. Colonialism can also give rise to split labour markets, where low-wage
workers of one race and high-wage workers of another race compete for the same jobs. In
that situation, high-wage workers are likely to resent the presence of low-wage
competitors. Conflict is bound to result and racist attitudes to develop or become
reinforced.

LO4 Describe the ways in which identifying with a racial or

ethnic group can be economically, politically, and
emotionally advantageous

The economic advantages of ethnicity are most apparent for immigrants, who often lack
extensive social contacts and fluency in English or French. They commonly rely on
members of their ethnic group to help them find jobs and housing. In this way, immigrant
communities become tightly knit. However, some economic advantages extend into the
third generation and beyond. For example, community solidarity is an important resource
for “ethnic entrepreneurs,” businesspeople who operate largely within their ethnic
community. They draw on their community for customers, suppliers, employees, and
credit, and they may be linked economically to the homeland as importers and exporters.
They often pass on their businesses to their children, who in turn can pass the businesses
on to the next generation. In this way, strong economic incentives encourage some people
to remain ethnic group members, even beyond the immigrant generation. Ethnic group
membership can also be politically useful, enabling ethnic groups to obtain more resources
from the government, for example. Finally, ethnic group membership can offer people
emotional support, especially if they have suffered unusually high levels of prejudice and
discrimination involving expulsion or genocide. Note also that retaining ethnic ties beyond
the second generation has never been easier. Immigration used to involve cutting all or
most ties to a country of origin because of the high cost of travel and long-distance
telephone calls. Lack of communication encouraged assimilation in people’s newly adopted
countries. Today, however, ties to the ancestral communities are often maintained in ways
that sustain ethnic culture—through visits abroad, bringing relatives to Canada for visits,
the use of various types of electronic communication, and the establishment of economic
relations with communities in the homeland. Thanks to these mechanisms, some ethnic
groups have become transnational communities, the boundaries of which extend
between or among countries.

Theories at a Glance Race and Ethnicity

Theory Main Question Application

Conflict theory How does the structure of Colonialism involves people from one country invading
inequality between privileged another and engaging in conquest, the forcible capture
groups seeking to maintain of land, and the economic and political domination of its
their advantages and inhabitants. In the process of gaining control over the
subordinate groups seeking to native population, the colonizers change or destroy the
increase theirs lead to conflict Indigenous culture, develop the belief that the natives
and often to social change? are inherently inferior, and confine them to unskilled
jobs.

Genocide (the intentional extermination of an entire

population defined as a race or a people) and expulsion
(the forcible removal of a population from a territory
claimed by another population) often accompany
colonialism. Once entrenched, colonizers may engage in
internal colonialism, preventing the assimilation of
subordinate racial or ethnic groups by segregating them
residentially, occupationally, and in social contacts
ranging from friendship to marriage.

Slavery (the ownership and control of people) has also

been a consequence of colonialism in certain times and
places. Colonialism can also give rise to split labour
markets, where low-wage workers of one race and high-
wage workers of another race compete for the same
jobs. In that situation, high-wage workers are likely to
resent the presence of low-wage competitors. Conflict is
bound to result and racist attitudes to develop or
become reinforced.

Symbolic How do people communicate Racial and ethnic identity and the labels that people
interactionism to make their social settings attach to different racial and ethnic groups are social
meaningful, thus helping to constructs that emerge from, and are transformed by,
create their social social relations between previously separated peoples.
circumstances? Racial differences are not the inevitable outcome of
physical or biological differences. Ethnic differences are
based more on social-structural than cultural differences.
 High levels of pluralism (the retention of racial and ethnic
culture combined with equal access to basic social
resources) and assimilation (the process by which a
minority group blends into the majority population and
eventually disappears as a distinct people in the larger
society) are associated with low levels of prejudice (an
attitude that judges a person on his or her group’s real or
imagined characteristics), discrimination (unfair
treatment of people because of their group
membership), and institutionalized racism
(embeddedness of prejudice and discrimination in
established ideologies and practices, not in the
conscious actions of individuals).

LO5 Understand that Canada is among the world’s most tolerant

countries and home to persistent racial inequality

In Canada, ethnic and racial tolerance has grown over the past two centuries. A country
founded on principles that kept ethnic and racial groups socially segregated is now a place
where ethnic and racial mixing is common in all spheres of life. Moreover, Canada is today
one of the most ethnically and racially tolerant countries in the world. Nonetheless,
inequalities persist and are especially evident with respect to Indigenous Canadians.

Multiple-Choice Questions
Questions marked with an asterisk are higher-order questions on the Bloom taxonomy.
Answers to these questions are available in the appendix on pages CR-50 and CR-51.

*1. Hutus and Tutsis lived harmoniously in Rwanda for centuries. The Hutus were
mainly farmers and the Tutsis mainly cattle herders. The Tutsis were the ruling
minority but they spoke the same language as the Hutus and shared the same religious
beliefs. Members of the two groups lived side by side, and half the population of
Rwanda was of mixed Hutu–Tutsi ancestry. The two groups never came into serious
conflict.

Then Belgium colonized Rwanda in 1916. Among other divisive policies, the Belgians
passed a law saying that one had to be Tutsi to serve in any official capacity, and they
started distinguishing Tutsis from Hutus by measuring the width of their noses.
Animosity between Tutsis and Hutus grew until, in 1994, the Hutus massacred 800
000 Tutsis within just a few days. What does the history of Tutsi–Hutu relations
illustrate? Choose two of the following.

Race and ethnicity are socially constructed.

The upward social mobility of ethnic and racial groups is typically a function of
state policy.
 Blacks are generally less free to choose their racial identity than Whites are.

Colonialism is often associated with an intensification of ethnic and racial

differences.

*2. Among which of the following groups is symbolic ethnicity most widespread?

Chinese Canadians

black Canadians

Irish Canadians

Indigenous Canadians

*3. People convicted of a crime can sometimes avoid jail by paying a fine. Because
Indigenous people are less likely than white people to be able to afford fines, they are
more likely to go to jail. Which theory does this circumstance illustrate?

critical race theory

contact theory (or the contact hypothesis)

split labour market theory

symbolic interactionist theory

4. Which of the following circumstances led to the emergence of the separatist

movement in Quebec?

the potential demographic decline of the Québécois and the assimilation of

immigrants into English culture

persistent ethnic stratification and the continued use of English as the language of
private industry

both of the above

none of the above

5. Among non-immigrants in Canada, which of the following groups has the highest
percentage of low-income people?

black

Arab

Chinese