Browse "Communities & Sociology"

Many Canadians today see our diverse population as a source of pride and strength — for good reason. More than one in five Canadians were born elsewhere. That is the highest percentage of immigrants in the G7 group of large industrialized nations. Asia (including people born in the Middle East) has provided the greatest number of newcomers in recent years. Since the 1990s, Canadians — who once thought primarily of Europe when they considered events abroad — now define themselves, and the world, differently. As former prime minister Jean Chrétien said: “The Pacific is getting smaller and the Atlantic is becoming wider.”

The following article is an editorial written by The Canadian Encyclopedia staff. Editorials are not usually updated. As we mark Black History Month in Canada in February, it’s worth reflecting on the legacy of Canada’s Black communities and the prejudice Black people have faced.

The history of Indigenous peoples in Canada begins much earlier than any other group living here — and is far more complex.

The Celtic languages belong to the family of languages known as Indo-European and as such are related to most of the languages of Europe and many others found as far east of Europe as India. Linguists recognize 2 main divisions of Celtic: Continental Celtic and Insular Celtic.

Cemeteries are designated consecrated places in which the dead are deposited. The word comes from the Greek koimeterion or the Latin coemeterium, meaning "to lie down to rest" or "to sleep."

The word "census" comes from the Latin word censere, meaning "to assess." A census is an official count of the citizens who live in a particular country. It is used to get an accurate picture of a country's size and the characteristics of the people who live there.

Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) is a geographical area created by Statistics Canada for the purposes of collecting and organizing data for large urbanized areas.

The Corporation des instituteurs et institutrices catholiques (CIC), co-founded by Laure GAUDREAULT came into being in 1946. Its name became the Corporation des enseignants du Québec in 1967, and was finally changed to The Centrale de l'enseignement du Québec (CEQ) in 1972.

Centre for Research on French-Canadian Culture/Le Centre de recherche en civilisation canadienne-française The Centre for Research on French Canadian Culture/Le Centre de recherche en civilization canadienne-française (CRCCF), was founded on 2 October 1958 at the University of Ottawa by 4 professors of literature: Father Bernard Julien, OMI; Jean Ménard; Réjean Robidoux; and Paul Wyczynski, who was its director for 15 years. They began by organizing the methodical teaching and study of French-Canadian literature at...

The Champlain Society was founded 1905 in Toronto by Sir Edmund Walker to increase public awareness of, and accessibility to, Canada's rich store of historical records. Membership, limited at first to 250, is now approximately 800.

Chanukah (also Hanukkah, Chanukkah, Chanuka, and the Festival of Lights) is the Hebrew word for dedication. In Canada, Chanukah has been celebrated since 1760 when the first Jews were allowed to immigrate. Chanukah in Canada is a celebration for friends and families to gather, socialize, eat, and exchange gifts. It is arguably the first non-Christian settler holiday that was widely and publicly celebrated in Canada.

Charismatic Renewal, a transdenominational Christian movement, theologically diverse and ecumenical, begun in the 1950s, currently characterizes significant segments of the church and is frequently referred to as neo-Pentecostal.

There are more than 75 000 charities in Canada. They range in size from low-budget, neighbourhood-centred Meals on Wheels services to national healthcare and educational institutions with budgets of almost $1 billion. The majority of registered charities, some 40%, are places of worship.

Chiac (also spelled chiak or chiaque) is a specific type of discursive switching between French and English among individuals who are highly bilingual and have Acadian French as their mother tongue but Canadian English as their first or second language.

The Tsilhqot'in (Chilcotin) are an Indigenous people who live between the Fraser River and the Coast Mountains in west-central British Columbia. Traditionally Dene (Athabascan) speaking, their name means "people of the red river" and also refers to the Chilcotin Plateau region in British Columbia. The Tsilhqot’in National Government is a tribal council established in 1989 that represents the six member First Nations of the Chilcotin Plateau. In 2014, the Tsilhqot’in people won a Supreme Court of Canada case that focused on the issue of Aboriginal title. In 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau formally apologized to the Tsilhqot’in people for the wrongful conviction and hanging of Tsilhqot’in chiefs during the Chilcotin War of 1864.