A new survey has found that immigrants consider themselves to be more knowledgeable than Canadian-born citizens when it comes to the country’s history.
The survey, conducted and released by the Association for Canadian Studies, was aimed at studying Canadian perspectives on history.
Of the approximately 2,300 respondents, 82 percent of the foreign-born Canadians claimed to have a “somewhat strong” or “very strong” knowledge of the country’s past. Only about 70 percent of Canadian born respondents claimed the same level of knowledge.
The ACS director Jack Jedwab says the results are most likely due to the fact that immigrants are tested on their knowledge of Canadian history in order to obtain citizenship. He also says that higher education levels in immigrants (when compared to Canadian-born respondents) could be another factor.
Jedwab acknowledges that many immigrants take pride in knowing Canada’s history, and feel that they are a part of the multicultural heritage.
Last year the government revised and updated the citizenship guide used to help immigrants learn about Canada and its history in order to prepare for the test.
Source: Vancouver Sun