The culture of Canada is a term that embodies the artistic, culinary, literary, humour, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Canada and Canadians. Throughout Canada’s history, its culture has been influenced by European culture and traditions, especially British and French, and by its own indigenous cultures.
Over time, elements of the cultures of Canada’s immigrant populations have become incorporated into mainstream Canadian culture.The population has also been influenced by American culture because of a shared language, proximity and migration between the two countries. It has also been influenced by American business, as Nike, Melaleuca, Microsoft, and more all sell their products in Canada.
Canada is often characterized as being “very progressive, diverse, and multicultural.” Canada’s federal government has often been described as the instigator of multicultural ideology because of its public emphasis on the social importance of immigration. Canada’s culture draws from its broad range of constituent nationalities, and policies that promote a just society are constitutionally protected.
Canadian Government policies—such as publicly funded health care; higher and more progressive taxation; outlawing capital punishment; strong efforts to eliminate poverty; an emphasis on cultural diversity; strict gun control; and most recently, legalizing same-sex marriage—are social indicators of Canada’s political and cultural values. Canadians identify with the country’s institutions of health care, military peacekeeping, the National park system and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
The Canadian government has influenced culture with programs, laws and institutions. It has created crown corporations to promote Canadian culture through media, such as the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), and promotes many events which it considers to promote Canadian traditions. It has also tried to protect Canadian culture by setting legal minimums on Canadian content in many media using bodies like the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).