Geoff Russ and Michael Bonner: Multiculturalism has divided us
Inside Policy Talks4 Sep 2025

Geoff Russ and Michael Bonner: Multiculturalism has divided us

Multiculturalism has been a policy and a political ideal for over 50 years in Canada. It’s shaped our immigration system, institutions, and the way Canadians see themselves.

Yet its meaning has shifted dramatically since then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau introduced it. It began as a national unity strategy. But for many, it’s become a slogan about diversity for its own sake. That’s left us divided about what it means to be Canadian.

The stakes are high. Immigration, national identity, and multiculturalism affect social cohesion, political stability, and our capacity to share a common civic culture. These aren’t just matters for an academic debate. They’re at the heart of Canada’s future.

To dig into this, Geoff Russ and Michael Bonner join Inside Policy Talks. Russ is a journalist whose recent writing for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute examines how Canadian history, symbols, and traditions shape who we are today. Bonner is a historian, former Ontario government policy director, and the author of In Defense of Civilization. He’s recently written for MLI on multiculturalism's origins, evolution, and current challenges.

On the podcast, Bonner tells Peter Copeland, director of domestic policy at MLI, that Canada needs to focus on unity, and that spending more energy focusing on the differences among the people who live in the country is “not what the present moment calls for.” Russ adds that while he believes in welcoming people from around the world, he cautions against importing social and cultural values, as these risk disrupting Canadian values and democratic institutions.

“If you look at the way that democracy has gone since the end of the cold war, democracy is proving to be very much a cultural feature,” says Russ.

Episoder(116)

Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific Construct / Stephen Nagy and Jonathan Berkshire Miller

Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific Construct / Stephen Nagy and Jonathan Berkshire Miller

Welcome to Inside Policy Talks, the in-house podcast of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.In this episode you'll hear Jonathan Berkshire Miller in conversation with Stephen Nagy on his new book Southeas...

9 Mai 202424min

Double Trouble: Goodbye globalization? Balkan Devlen with Elisabeth Braw

Double Trouble: Goodbye globalization? Balkan Devlen with Elisabeth Braw

Welcome to Double Trouble, a special foreign policy focused podcast series within MLI's Inside Policy Talks, to address the growing challenge of the Sino-Russian axis of authoritarianism facing the We...

2 Mai 202436min

How a trans activist group undermined medical science / Aaron Wudrick and Mia Hughes

How a trans activist group undermined medical science / Aaron Wudrick and Mia Hughes

Welcome to Inside Policy Talks, the in-house podcast of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.In this episode you'll hear Aaron Wudrick in conversation with Mia Hughes on her research documenting how WPATH ...

25 Apr 202427min

Facing the Sino-Russian axis / Double Trouble: Balkan Devlen and Jonathan Berkshire Miller

Facing the Sino-Russian axis / Double Trouble: Balkan Devlen and Jonathan Berkshire Miller

Introducing Double Trouble, a special foreign policy focused podcast series within MLI's Inside Policy Talks, to address the growing challenge of the Sino-Russian axis of authoritarianism facing the W...

18 Apr 202431min

Human Rights Tribunal has no business policing 'hate speech': Aaron Wudrick with David Thomas

Human Rights Tribunal has no business policing 'hate speech': Aaron Wudrick with David Thomas

Welcome to Inside Policy Talks, the in-house podcast of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.In this episode you'll hear Aaron Wudrick in conversation with David Thomas, former chair of the Canadian Human ...

2 Apr 202423min

Out of control immigration is breaking the Canadian social contract: Aaron Wudrick with Siavash Safavi

Out of control immigration is breaking the Canadian social contract: Aaron Wudrick with Siavash Safavi

Welcome to Inside Policy Talks, the in-house podcast of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.In this episode you'll hear Aaron Wudrick in conversation with Siavash Safavi."You come here for better opportun...

28 Mar 202429min

Canada could do more in the 'cyber domain': Aaron Wudrick and Christian Leuprecht

Canada could do more in the 'cyber domain': Aaron Wudrick and Christian Leuprecht

Welcome to Inside Policy Talks, the in-house podcast of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.In this episode you'll hear Aaron Wudrick in conversation with Christian Leuprecht discussing his recent article...

14 Mar 202427min

The harms of Covid policy: Aaron Wudrick and Kevin Bardosh

The harms of Covid policy: Aaron Wudrick and Kevin Bardosh

Welcome to Inside Policy Talks, the in-house podcast of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.In this episode you'll hear Aaron Wudrick in conversation with Kevin Bardosh of Collateral Global on his work to...

29 Feb 202417min

Populært innen Politikk og nyheter

giver-og-gjengen-vg
aftenpodden
aftenpodden-usa
forklart
i-retten
popradet
lydartikler-fra-aftenposten
stopp-verden
det-store-bildet
fotballpodden-2
rss-gukild-johaug
dine-penger-pengeradet
nokon-ma-ga
hanna-de-heldige
rss-ness
aftenbla-bla
e24-podden
frokostshowet-pa-p5
rss-dannet-uten-piano
rss-penger-polser-og-politikk