Canada at the Millennium: A TransCultural Society

J.L. Granatstein, distinguished research professor emeritus of history
at York University. He is the author of Who Killed Canadian History? and
co-author of The Canadian 100: The 100 Most Influential Canadians of the
20th Century, Prime Ministers: Ranking

The Canada Heirloom Series has found a profitable formula: produce books
that draw governmental funding and attract private sponsors, never write
a critical word, and market heavily. This volume, a look at 50 ethnic
groups in Canada, comes with a foreword by Sheila Copps, Minister of
Canadian Heritage (“a fitting tribute to our country and its
people”), has 50 pages of puff-piece advertorials on the book’s
corporate sponsors, and showcases the ethnic groups in the most
flattering of lights. The notable successes in the community are singled
out with color photographs, representative figures are shown with
municipal, provincial, and federal politicians to prove their
importance, and no rancor ever exists between ethnic communities.

In a sense, this is a mythical world, a wholly imaginary Canada. There
are no pieces on English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh, or French communities,
to cite a few startling omissions who do not fit into our
“trans-cultural society,” but just about everyone else makes it.
Only those individuals who are featured in the pages should buy this
book. Other readers will marvel at the ingenuity of the publisher and
his ability to put together funding for such projects.