How is the term melting pot different from the Canadian idea of cultural mosaic?

Answer 1

"melting Pot" is used in the USA because it is expected for all the new immigrants to blend together to make it one country, one language under one law and government which of course is a great idea but does not always work.

Cultural mosaic in Canada is that people hold on to their own traditions, their own way of dress etc. this does not always work either, most people in Canada would also like immigrants to blend and adopt Canada's way of life, so this is also a question for discussion and debate.

Answer 2

I'm not sure if these terms are used exclusively on Canada and the U.S., but basically:

America is a melting pot of cultures, which means the identity of ethnic groups become blurred within the country melting into one more defined people.

Canada is a cultural mosaic in which ethnic groups add on to the already existing bodies, staying individual and separate.

Answer 3

A mosaic is when different pieces, largely insignificant themselves, are fit together in order to make some sort of picture or image or other artsy presentation). A melting pot is where different pieces come together to form a single type. Whereas a mosaic may include many different types of, say, pottery to form a picture, a melting pot would melt and mix several types of metal to create a stronger, or weaker, metal.

As it pertains to society, one might say a mosaic society celebrates the differences in its people and the different cultures it may contain while a melting pot society would seek to remove those differences and create a single national identity.