Daniel R. Meister - The Racial Mosaic: A Pre-history of Canadian Multiculturalism

RETHINKING CANADA IN THE WORLD

Series editors: Ian McKay and Sean Mills

Supported by the Wilson Institute for Canadian History at McMaster University, this series is committed to books that rethink Canadian history from transnational and global perspectives. It enlarges approaches to the study of Canada in the world by exploring how Canadian history has long been a dynamic product of global currents and forces. The series will also reinvigorate understanding of Canadas role as an international actor and how Canadians have contributed to intellectual, political, cultural, social, and material exchanges around the world.

Volumes included in the series explore the ideas, movements, people, and institutions that have transcended political boundaries and territories to shape Canadian society and the state. These include both state and non-state actors, and phenomena such as international migration, diaspora politics, religious movements, evolving conceptions of human rights and civil society, popular culture, technology, epidemics, wars, and global finance and trade.

The series charts a new direction by exploring networks of transmission and exchange from a standpoint that is not solely national or international, expanding the history of Canadas engagement with the world. http://wilson.humanities.mcmaster.ca

1 Canada and the United Nations

Legacies, Limits, Prospects

Edited by Colin McCullough and Robert Teigrob

2 Undiplomatic History

The New Study of Canada and the World

Edited by Asa McKercher and Philip Van Huizen

3 Revolutions across Borders

Jacksonian America and the Canadian Rebellion

Edited by Maxime Dagenais and Julien Mauduit

4 Left Transnationalism

The Communist International and the National, Colonial, and Racial Questions

Edited by Oleksa Drachewych and Ian McKay

5 Landscapes of Injustice

A New Perspective on the Internment and Dispossession of Japanese Canadians

Edited by Jordan Stanger-Ross

6 Canadas Other Red Scare

Indigenous Protest and Colonial Encounters during the Global Sixties

Scott Rutherford

7 The Global Politics of Poverty in Canada

Development Programs and Democracy, 19641979

Will Langford

8 Schooling the System

A History of Black Women Teachers

Funk Aladejebi

9 Constant Struggle

Histories of Canadian Democratization

Edited by Julien Mauduit and Jennifer Tunnicliffe

10 The Racial Mosaic

A Pre-history of Canadian Multiculturalism

Daniel R. Meister

A PRE-HISTORY OF CANADIAN MULTICULTURALISM

Daniel R. Meister

McGill-Queens University Press

Montreal & Kingston London Chicago

McGill-Queens University Press 2021

ISBN 978-0-2280-0870-5 (cloth)

ISBN 978-0-2280-0871-2 (paper)

ISBN 978-0-2280-0997-9 (ePDF)

ISBN 978-0-2280-0998-6 (ePUB)

Legal deposit fourth quarter 2021

Bibliothque nationale du Qubec

Printed in Canada on acid-free paper that is 100% ancient forest free (100% post-consumer recycled), processed chlorine free

This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Awards to Scholarly Publications Program, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Title: The racial mosaic : a pre-history of Canadian multiculturalism / Daniel R. Meister.

Names: Meister, Daniel R., author.

Series: Rethinking Canada in the world ; 10.

Description: Series statement: Rethinking Canada in the world ; 10 | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 2021028594X | Canadiana (ebook) 20210286059 | ISBN 9780228008712 (paper) | ISBN 9780228008705 (cloth) | ISBN 9780228009979 (ePDF) | ISBN 9780228009986 (ePUB)

Subjects: LCSH: Kirkconnell, Watson, 1895-1977. | LCSH: England, Robert, 18941985. | LCSH: Gibbon, John Murray, 1875-1952. | LCSH: Cultural PluralismCanadaHistory20th century. | LCSH: RacismCanada History20th century. | LCSH: IntellectualsCanadaBiography. | LCSH: CanadaIntellectual life20th century. | LCSH: CanadaEthnic relations.

Classification: LCC FC105.M8 M45 2021 | DDC 305.800971dc23

This book was typeset in 10.5/13 Sabon.

For Alicia and Fenne

TABLES

FIGURES

I would like to begin by thanking Cuilean Hendra, my high school history teacher, for being an excellent educator and for igniting my interest in Canadian history, and Daniel C. Goodwin for fanning the flames. Dan convinced me to become a history major, supervised my undergraduate honours thesis, encouraged me to apply to graduate school, and specifically suggested that I approach Ian McKay at Queens University. Much to my surprise, Ian graciously agreed to supervise my masters cognate essay. His feedback was (and is) dauntingly comprehensive but always incredibly helpful, and I am grateful for his continued support. The cognates second reader was Barrington Walker, and I should like to thank him for taking me on as a graduate student and for supervising the PhD dissertation on which this book is based. Many thanks to the other members of my PhD Committee, Professors Jeffrey Brison, Margaret Little, Laura Madokoro, and Lisa Pasolli, for their much-needed encouragement and for their thoughtful critiques, which directly informed the writing of this book.

Of course, I would like to especially thank those who helped me transform my dissertation into the book that you are holding. At the top of my list is Laura Madokoro, who kickstarted the publication process by introducing me to Kyla Madden, senior editor at McGill-Queens University Press, and who has supported me throughout. Thank you so much, Laura. Kyla likewise showed enthusiasm about the project from the start and kindly and patiently guided this newcomer through the publication process, offering plenty of encouragement along the way. Thank you! Thanks also to Jeff Brison for sharing his knowledge of the historiography, and to Lisa Pasolli for her feedback on several redrafted sections. Special thanks to Don Wright for being so generous with his time, editorial suggestions, and all-around support. The press also selected some wonderful anonymous reviewers (A1 and A2). Their encouragement was refreshing and their suggestions were challenging; my sincere thanks to them both. The same was true of my copyeditor, Rachel Taylor, whom I would like to thank for making this a stronger manuscript. I would also like to thank the series editors, Ian McKay and Sean Mills, for accepting this book in the Rethinking Canada in the World series. This is a new and exciting series, and I am delighted to be a part of it.

A portion of was previously published as an article in Settler Colonial Studies, and I would like to thank Taylor & Francis Ltd for the permission to reuse that content here. Thanks also to Jonathan Spiro for his permission to reproduce an image from his important biography of Madison Grant. And thanks to all those institutions and companies who granted me permission to reproduce the photographs that appear in the book, including the Ron Morel Memorial Museum and the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies. I would also like to thank the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation for kindly providing a copy of Robert Englands army photograph. I have made good faith efforts to properly acknowledge all reproduced material, but if any errors or omissions are noted after publication, these will be corrected in any future edition.