From the beginning of colonial settlement in the Americas, multiculturalism has symbolized a deeply held yearning by all humanity for freedom. It was at the heart of the Civil War and Canadian Confederation in 1867. But until the 1970s, this yearning for a socially just society was consistently suppressed. Peoples of colour were denied citizenship in the White Man’s Country, the highest achievement of the American Dream and a Manifest Destiny. But fifty years ago this year, Canada took a big step to break with this sordid past and to grasp for a new future by embracing a policy of multiculturalism that would see Canadians open their country to the rest of the world, and to life itself.