Here in Canada, our standard national framework is based on the imperial aims of two founding cultures, the English and the French, one of which defeated the other but kept it on as a junior partner. Together they dealt with, and then controlled, the indigenous peoples. They strategically invited workers from Europe, South and East Asia, North Africa and the West Indies to join them. Over time, the occupation relationship with indigenous people unravelled and a new one is being made.

One tension in this framework is that all citizens in the nation are treated as equals, but all cultures are not. We have city festivals for Chinese holidays, sure, but that only emphasizes that the other 364 days of the year are for the norm of regular anglophone-francophone things. The other cultures are a treat, not a regular meal.