Multiculturalism
Canada has an official policy of multiculturalism. The reality of a multicultural Canadian society has always existed, and it came into official existence in the 60's as a result of a need to recognise the French-speaking minority in the country. Canada became a bilingual nation and special rights were reserved for French speakers all over the country.
Canada is a country of immigrants and over the years, different groups settled in various parts of the country. Interestingly, Ukrainians tended to move the prairies (Saskatchewan and Alberta) - perhaps due to climate and excellent farming opportunities. Germans moved to southern Ontario and British Columbia, and Scots and Irish moved to the eastern provinces.
The policy of multiculturalism means that new residents are not put through a system of integration ("melting pot" for example) and are encouraged to integrate into Canadian society whilst retaining their faith, language and culture. There has been much debate on the subject, but it has proven to be successful and has made Canada a truly unique place to visit.
Many Canadians refer to themselves in a hyphenate, as in Italian-Canadian, Indo-Canadian, Chinese-Canadian, etc.
Canadian English
Canadians like to think they have no accent and that they speak the most "pure" form of English, in terms of pronunciation. This is because all r's are pronounced and words tend to be spoken quite crisply. But Canadians most definitely do have an accent! In fact, there are several of them! In Newfoundland alone, there are several regional accents and dialects spoken. In the city of Montreal alone, there are at least 4 different accents in English.
We have compiled a glossary of Canadian English for you to take with you on your next trip to the Great White North. This opens as a pdf document:
Glossary CDN English.pdf