[Continuing a series of short excerpts from The Story of Canada, the recently republished history of Canada for kids and families that makes such a good Christmas gift.]
"After the Second World War, Canada reopened its doors to immigrants. Instead of coming just by ship, they came by plane, to airports all over the country. And the proportion of British and northern European immigrants became lower. Southern Europeans were the first groups to grow more numerous; Italian communities expanded rapidly in the the cities during the 1950s, and Greek and Portuguese communities soon appeared. Non-European immigrants also began to arrive. They came from the islands of the Caribbean, from India and Pakistan, from Korea and Hong Kong. Peoples of hundreds of languages and backgrounds now enriched Canad with their traditions."
"The newcomers brought their customs and beliefs with them. Sikh and Buddhist temples stood beside Jewish synagogues or Catholic or Baptist churches, and whole sections of cities sprouted street signs in Chinese, Portuguese or Italian. Suddenly there were shops selling foods, clothing, music, books and artwork that were new, startling and fascinating to many Canadians. The 1950s and 1960s opened Canada to the tastes and styles of the world. It was becoming a multicultural nation."
