Did you know Multiculturalism Day is on June 27?

Say it: Mul-ti-cul-tu-ra-li-sm.

This seven-syllabled, quintessentially Canadian word is now banned in the United States as the government retracts and dismantles diversity initiatives under the new administration.

We Canadians must decide: do we follow our southern neighbour's retreat, or do we double down on this word? We are at a crossroads and what’s at stake is the very heart of the Canadian dream.

While many will mark June 27 and the following Canada Day festivities on July 1 with festivals, flags, and more, I believe we need to be sparking conversations.

The story of Canadian multiculturalism isn't a simple success narrative—it's an ongoing journey of learning, sometimes stumbling, but always striving to do better. When Pierre Trudeau's government established our Multicultural Policy in 1971, they weren't just creating legislation; they were setting up a national learning gap that we're still working to meet today.

And in today's world, this very Canadian trait, as one of the most multicultural countries in the world, is our superpower.

But are we wielding it?

Missed Opportunities

2025 marks the 50^th anniversary of my family immigrating to Canada from the Philippines. With a suitcase and seven kids in tow, my grandparents chose Winnipeg, Manitoba, as home and 50 years later, I am a living embodiment of the Canadian dream they hoped for.

Back in 1971, Pierre Trudeau's government did something remarkable. They didn't just make a socially progressive choice with our Multicultural Policy, they made an economically brilliant one. Yet as the granddaughter of Filipino immigrants who arrived around that time, I must ask: How much has actually changed in the half-century since?

Only 36.5% of foreign-educated nurses and 41.1% of internationally trained doctors work in their fields in Canada. This "brain waste" costs us $39 billion annually, according to the Conference Board of Canada Economic Report 2024, but more importantly, it represents countless missed opportunities to learn from global expertise and experience.

But here's where education comes in. Cities like Toronto are showing us what's possible when we invest in multicultural learning. The city has created more tech jobs in the last decade than San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., combined, largely because companies here have learned to value and integrate diverse perspectives. Research shows companies with diverse leadership outperform their competitors by 33%—proof that multicultural competency directly impacts success.

The innovation story continues across Canada. From Montreal's AI labs to Vancouver's film sets to Waterloo's quantum valley, we're seeing what happens when different viewpoints and experiences come together. More than a third of our unicorn companies—35% of 41 startups with valuations of $1 billion or more—were founded by immigrants or their children. Each success story teaches us the value of embracing different ways of thinking and working.

Connecting Across Cultures

My personal experience reflects that. Just as I regard multiculturalism as Canada’s superpower, I consider a strong multicultural mindset as my personal superpower and a great business asset.

In my early leadership roles, I often felt like an outsider. I was the only woman, the only minority, the only one who saw business opportunities others missed. But that outsider perspective became my edge.

While others saw cultural differences as obstacles, I saw them as opportunities. Businesses, governments, and organizations often struggle to authentically connect with diverse audiences, but by embracing a multicultural mindset, I’ve found ways to connect across cultures with both empathy and strategy.

Even though many Canadian companies have natural advantages in cultural intelligence thanks to our multicultural society, many aren't leveraging this strength. Too often, we treat diversity as a checkbox rather than a competitive advantage. But the future belongs to those who can navigate our multicultural society with confidence and skill.

Getting Serious About Real Change

Unfortunately, I'm starting to hear Canadian executives parrot the same tired arguments against diversity that we're hearing from down south. Some Canadian companies have begun quietly scaling back DEI programs, dropping multicultural marketing efforts, and adopting the divisive language of “we only hire on merit,” as if diversity and merit were somehow opposites.

Let me be blunt: this isn't just wrong—it's bad business.

This Multiculturalism Day, let's skip the usual back-patting and get serious about real change. Instead of just celebrating diversity, let's commit to learning from it. Let's transform our workplaces into learning spaces where international experience is valued. We shouldn't define our success just by being different from Americans. We should measure it by building a country where your skills matter more than where you learned them.

A country where the Filipino nurse can practice nursing, the Indian doctor can treat patients, the African engineer can build infrastructure, and the granddaughter of a Filipino mechanic can be a company CEO.

About Joycelyn David

Joycelyn David, author of The Multicultural Mindset: Driving Business Growth in a Borderless Era, a No. 1 Amazon Bestseller, is the owner and CEO of AV Communications (AVC), a leading multicultural marketing agency. She is also the founder of TULONG, a B2B solutions start-up for the marketing and media industries. In addition, David is an industry speaker and podcaster, and serves on the board for the nonprofit organization POCAM (People of Colour in Advertising & Marketing). Born in Canada to Filipino immigrant parents, David earned her bachelor’s and master's degrees in social sciences, cultural studies, and communications from the University of Alberta and York University.