Multiculturalism in Vancouver

Being one of the most integrated cities in the world, Vancouver does not fail to attract those abroad into joining such a rich community. The city consists of such diverse groups that racial norms have become only a small part of identification in Vancouver. Multiculturalism in Vancouver is not just about different racial groups living together in one city, but about the ability to accept the entire population as a “whole,” under the same culture. The search for a median of intersecting lifestyles and behaviors gives Vancouver’s citizens countless opportunities in learning various customs and histories of multiple countries. Vancouver’s mission statements being “to make sure that all of our citizens – regardless of background – have complete access to civic services, and live free of prejudice and discrimination” allows all it’s citizens to feel safe and accepted into the community.

I’m lucky to be born with grandparents who had the chance to start a new life oversees, away from all the high paced labour work. Coming from a family of Taiwanese descent who were early immigrants of Vancouver on my father’s side, my family was extremely poor and was found unable to support themselves countless times. As time passed, my father and uncle were able to further explore the Greater Vancouver area and had met other fellow Taiwanese in the community. Gradually, the amount of Asians started to increase and suddenly, being unable to speak fluent English was not a problem anymore. As my father had explained, not only did he have Caucasian and Chinese friends, he was able to make connections with the Punjabis, Japanese, Italians, and many more. My family had adapted to the multiculturalism and has become completely comfortable with the diverse community around them.

As a city filled with entrepreneurs, Vancouver is able to satisfy anyone with their various styles of business. Whether it is restaurants, language programs, supermarkets, or even shopping malls, there is a place for everyone to enter and feel like they belong. Not only are there various cultured businesses, most companies in Vancouver have a very strong and diverse workforce. When people of different background are put together to work, the richness in ideas better improve the company and make it easier for them to enter the international market. Companies such as “Microsoft establishes themselves [in Vancouver] due to the diverse and talented work force.” Vancouver has “a huge advantage with [their] multilingual work force” and is welcome to businesses of any culture.

Although it was hard for my family to survive in Vancouver in the beginning, they were able to get by and gradually see their business succeed and become profitable. It was close to when my father had decided he could not make a living in Vancouver any longer and it was finally time to fly back to Taiwan when my grandfather gave him one more shot at making a living and allowing our family to permanently reside here. Out of the love from a father’s heart, my grandfather loaned my father a decent amount of money as capital for my parents to open a restaurant in Greater Vancouver. My father search long and hard for the perfect location and discovered what was missing in the restaurant industry. He had realized that Vancouver was overly flooded with Taiwanese bubble tea restaurants but not enough real Taiwanese food. After a few month of doing research and learning recipes, our restaurant was finally up and running. We did not serve the usual “snack and drink” combinations for our customers but actually took what our culture had taught us and applied it in our food and restaurant style. Way back when my grandparents were children until now, our family had always gathered around a big table with at least five to six dishes in the middle pairing it with our own bowl of rice. The dishes consisted of several different meet stir-fries and cooked vegetables. This was the style that all Taiwanese families ate and opening a restaurant with that idea was the best idea my father had come up with. The fact that the food attracted many immigrants and even the locals filled my fathers heart with such joy that he was able to give back to the community with his own cultural experiences.

Growing up in a multicultural city has allowed me to be integrated into the community and be familiar with the culture that my family, my friends, and everyone in the community have been exposed to. A benefit in living in such a multicultural province is that “by law, you have to respect other people’s lifestyles, beliefs, religion and culture and they have to respect yours.” I’ve learned to look at people differently and not judge them on their racial background because the fundamental custom we learn as a whole in Vancouver is the fact that we are all equally the same and should be equally respected as human beings. Anyone who has been in Vancouver for half their life would know that we take this beautifully constructed city for granted and although most expensive, Vancouver is the ideal city to live in with the most welcoming multicultural citizens.

Work Cited

"Diverse Communities and Multiculturalism." Diverse Communities and Multiculturalism. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2015. "Vancouver Mayor Says Diversity Is City's Ticket to Future Prosperity." The Globe and Mail. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2015.

"Multiculturalism." Welcome BC -. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2015.