What do other diverse cities worldwide think of Toronto's claim to be "the most multicultural city"?

[King of Kensington]

Chicago is particularly bad in terms of US cities. In NYC for instance Blacks live in quite segregated neighorhoods, but they also "bump up" against other neighborhoods with various other ethnicities. In Chicago, you literally have a huge swath of the city's land area that's virtually all Black located on the South Side. It seems to live up to its reputation as the most segregated city in America.

ETA: NYC also doesn't have many virtually 100% Black CTs as Chicago does.

 

[Johnny Au]

It is interesting to note that Chicago's Chinatown is next to the South Side, while New York City's Chinatown (the Manhattan one) absorbed much of that island's Little Italy.

Houston and Atlanta have their main Chinatowns in the suburbs. Atlanta is among the most African American major cities along with Baltimore. San Francisco is mainly Chinese (and is the only city with Chinese being the most common ethic group in any county in the United States; yes, the city of San Francisco has very much the same boundaries as San Francisco County).

 

[M.R.Victor]

I don't think diversity is currently a strength in the same way that a single lap at practice does not make for a winning game.

I think that diversity will become a strength in a globally interconnected world. Toronto will be one of those places where that nauseating old-world bullshit that gets in the way of communication, collaboration and progress will simply not happen. Think of how much talent, time, effort and political capital is squandered in the US doing that absurd dance around their (relatively common, by world standards) lack of ethnic and cultural harmony.

Yes, humans are tribalistic by nature, and that will be a serious detriment to any advanced economy.

 

[the lemur]

Japan has a strong culture, while being completely devoid of ethnic diversity.

Not completely. It's certainly a very homogeneous place, but its population includes ethnic Chinese, ethnic Koreans (two distinct groups, in fact: one that has been there for many generations and another that is, believe it or not, generally aligned with the DPRK) and an indigenous people, the Ainu. However, there is very strong pressure to conform to Japanese culture and norms (naming conventions, etc.) and it is difficult for any newcomer to become a citizen and be accepted, even while conforming 100%.

 

[the lemur]

Those numbers didn't jump ahead in the 5-8 years between surveys, so obviously some different methodology. I'm guessing, first off, that the UN was not counting temporary workers (similarly, it didn't count refugees IRCC). It might have only counted citizens, which may be the issue with Brussels. I'll see if I can find the UN report.

Brussels has a large proportion of citizens of African (Congolese, Rwandan, Burundian) and to a lesser degree North African background. A large proportion of the non-citizen population are other EU nationals working for the EU and its various bodies, plus other international agencies, with a degree of turnover associated with that.

 

[the lemur]

50 years ago, this country had a strong identity; but it was one of white, European heritage (something that was apparently so bad).

How much common ground is a white person from North Bay going to have with someone that grew up in the deserts of the middle east? Their experiences and influences are going to be so different.

New York's identity was established well before it was a very diverse place. I don't think New Yorkers are binded by the array of cultures that dwell within the city, but rather the sheer electricity of the city. It's full of art, entertainment and beauty and that is something that is universally attractive.

It's not that 'white European heritage' (which is not a monolithic thing to begin with, given differences in religion and traditions) was 'apparently so bad' in itself. What people came to object to over time was the set of assumptions that came with a white, chiefly British or Anglo-Celtic mindset that couldn't imagine that an increasing number of people with different experiences wouldn't relate to everything they were expected to.

My wife came to Canada at the age of 3 and recalls a history teacher at her very non-diverse school giving an assignment that assumed every child in the class came from a family that had been in Canada for generations. It was something like 'Write what your ancestors were doing at the time of Confederation. What part of Canada did they live in? etc.' The teacher couldn't be bothered to think of an alternative for kids who happened not to be old stock.

Common ground between someone from North Bay and someone from the Middle East deserts (bearing in mind that most people in the Middle East don't grow up in the desert, aren't nomads, etc.)? Well, not the weather or topography obviously, but aren't there things that all human beings can have in common?

New York was a very diverse place pretty much from its inception! http://www.amazon.com/Island-Center...qid=1453222479&sr=8-1&keywords=russell+shorto

New York is a vibrant place and you don't necessarily hear New Yorkers mention their diversity much, but it's part of that vibrancy.

 

[the lemur]

I don't think they care. The claim seems desperate. NYC is diverse, L.A. is diverse, London is diverse, Paris is diverse.

I don't think other cities spend quite so much time talking about their diversity, and Paris certainly doesn't pat itself on the back for its diversity the way it does for other attributes.

 

[wild goose chase]

Brussels has a large proportion of citizens of African (Congolese, Rwandan, Burundian) and to a lesser degree North African background. A large proportion of the non-citizen population are other EU nationals working for the EU and its various bodies, plus other international agencies, with a degree of turnover associated with that.

Don't have any evidence but I have a feeling that compared to many other high or similarly comparable foreign born cities, Toronto has out of them probably a lot more foreign-born who are in the process of becoming citizens or wanting to do so, if not citizens already. It seems like Toronto is more heavily populated by immigrants who want to make it their home for the long haul, rather than expat/temporary worker as compared to most cities. Even some people like international students or workers that I've met, while in my university years, and kept in touch in from years back have often stayed in the city and gotten citizenship.

We don't have something analogous to Dubai with its high percentage of temporary foreign workers/laborers, nor something like EU-style transnational movement that might account for the foreign-born in say Brussels or Geneva, nor even something like the undocumented workers working "under the table" in the United States either.

 

[prosperegal]

It's not that 'white European heritage' (which is not a monolithic thing to begin with, given differences in religion and traditions) was 'apparently so bad' in itself. What people came to object to over time was the set of assumptions that came with a white, chiefly British or Anglo-Celtic mindset that couldn't imagine that an increasing number of people with different experiences wouldn't relate to everything they were expected to.

My wife came to Canada at the age of 3 and recalls a history teacher at her very non-diverse school giving an assignment that assumed every child in the class came from a family that had been in Canada for generations. It was something like 'Write what your ancestors were doing at the time of Confederation. What part of Canada did they live in? etc.' The teacher couldn't be bothered to think of an alternative for kids who happened not to be old stock.

I guess kids wouldn't bother ask what to do if their family wasn't in Canada at the time of Confederation. Or felt uncomfortable asking. My answer (for me, anyway - something I recently found out in more detail, but knew about in middle school/high school): My dad is a descendant of Chinese Qing Dynasty diplomats/government officials. In the 1860s, one said ancestor travelled from China to parts of Japan, the United States and Peru, representing his country. I know nothing of my mother's side as some were orphans."

Note: What if an old-stock ancestor was an orphan and grew up in an orphanage? How would someone find out about THAT person?

 

[the lemur]

I guess kids wouldn't bother ask what to do if their family wasn't in Canada at the time of Confederation. Or felt uncomfortable asking.

Mostly the latter. Kids don't like feeling like they don't fit in sometimes. IIRC, my wife asked her teacher how she was supposed to do the assignment and her response was something like a shrug and a 'just pretend they were'.

 

[wild goose chase]

I'd imagine that such an assignment nowadays, given to today's young Torontonians, would take on a very different nature.

 

[wild goose chase]

Just an aside, but do people really use the term "old-stock" that often in speech or real life? I don't think I've really heard it very often.

Or did we all start using it because Stephen Harper brought it up last time?

 

[prosperegal]

Just an aside, but do people really use the term "old-stock" that often in speech or real life? I don't think I've really heard it very often.

Or did we all start using it because Stephen Harper brought it up last time?

Probably not much. However, even before Harper, *I* would sometimes use "old line" private/independent schools to refer to places like BSS or UCC (compared with, say, The York School, Toronto French or Bayview Glen - schools founded after the Second World War).

 

[wild goose chase]

Probably not much. However, even before Harper, *I* would sometimes use "old line" private/independent schools to refer to places like BSS or UCC (compared with, say, The York School, Toronto French or Bayview Glen - schools founded after the Second World War).

Yeah there are many usages of phrases similar to "old stock", "old line" or some other similar terms that relate to places, institutions, businesses, products etc. with a more long-established history though I think the controversy was with Harper's usage of it to describe people. Especially in a way that oddly sounded like merchandise on a shelf.

He said: "I think that's something that new and existing and old stock Canadians agree with."

 

[Sandra Wills]

I don't think Toronto is the most multicultural, NY might be the firs in that list. But what I like about Toronto, or in general, most Canadian are very welcoming than any other city. They accept us to be what we are. Interestingly, even with many cultures together they even give gender the equal respect. I love the way Canadians respect women and I was happy how, Canadian Posts celebrated the 100 Years of women's suffrage. Also, many celebrated the women's day in such a great way.