Would you say that immigrants from more educated backgrounds are more likely to adapt to what is often considered “mainsream” Canadian society while those who are less educated won’t do so? Or is it a money thing? Or a combination of both? I went to private school for high school. Pretty much every kid in my class was upper-middle-class, and out of all the non-WASP kids, NONE were all that “old cultured”. The Jewish students certainly weren’t. The school had a historical connection to a church. Orthodox Jews would never send their children to a school like that. The Chinese kids (which made the majority of non-white students), especially those from Hong Kong, would be, based on interests (though excluding pop culture), very “white” and maybe even “high brow” or “snotty”. Most of these kids have at least one parent with a university degree.
But maybe, it’s a cultural thing, and not class or education. Compare the stereotypical Chinese Canadian living in Markham, Ontario (a Toronto suburb with a BIG Chinese population) with a South Asian Canadian family in Brampton (a Toronto suburb with a BIG South Asian population). As they are suburbanites, they likely have the requesite 2,500+ sqare foot house with a double garage, shop at Costco and probably university degrees. But wait….there are differences. Once in a while, you’ll see the wife and female children of the South Asian family in ethnic clothes. As for the Chinese family? Western clothes, even for Chinese New Year (unless you’re a kid under 5). Of course, this isn’t to say that the South Asian family isn’t as culturally integrated as the Chinese family. In general, South Asian Canadians are more likely to run for office. There are more MPs, provincial reps and city councillors who are of South Asian descent than of any East Asian ethnicity. This is likely because India gained independence in the 1950s while Hong Kong still doesn’t have universal suffrage. The Japanese Canadian population isn’t all that big compared to Chinese, and it seems that Taiwanese people prefer the US over Canada. Another interesting point is that I personally can’t think of any Chinese Canadian politician who is CBC or CRC (Canadian Raised Chinese…must arrive in Canada before junior high). Adrienne Clarkson, who was Governor-General until 2005 and Norman Kwong, Alberta’s current Lieutenant-Governor of Alberta do not count, of course.
Another case: I attended a program with two girls who were from similar cultural backgrounds, ethnically speaking. One grew up in a middle class neighbourhood and the other grew up in an area that people in Toronto would classify as “rough.” The girl from the rough neighbourhood was shocked to hear that the suburban girl’s brother played hockey. To the rough neighbourhood girl, people from her culture weren’t supposed to do so. She kind of thought that the suburban girl’s brother was whitewashed, which to her, wasn’t a good thing. Now, I don’t know too much about rough neighbourhood girl’s background, whether her parents have degrees and just couldn’t find jobs in what they were trained for or if they’re just very old country, while the suburban girl was not. To me, however, the rough neighbourhood girl was nutso.
So readers, time for your input. What do you think? Is it education? Class? A combination or none of the above?
