在“巴黎條約”規定下法國的“下加拿大”被割讓給英國，可是那時印第安人稱為“加拿大”的整塊土地還要等一百年才真正成為一個獨立國。英國，作為戰勝國，對新的法裔公民可以說是寬宏大量。1774年，英國國會通過了魁北克法案，保證魁北克人信仰天主教的自由，並允許他們繼續使用法國民事法律，英國國王甚至賦予魁北克人最初的權利憲章 (Charter of Rights)，為法語和法國文化的認同鋪了道路，也奠定了後來加拿大的雙語多文化和社會寬容的基礎。
1867年7月1日（加拿大國慶日）英國維多利亞女王接受殖民地英法兩族裔領導人簽署的夏洛特鎮協議 (Charlottetown Accord)，宣布實行《英屬北美法案》(British North America Act)，把已經屬於英國104年的“下加拿大”（今魁北克省），和另一個叫“上加拿大”(Upper Canada - 今安大略)的省份，新斯科舍(Nova Scotia)和新不倫瑞克 (New Brunswick)結合成一個有四個省份的獨立聯邦國家，稱之為加拿大自治領 (Dominion of Canada)。
Are you a Chinese or are a Canadian? This is the crux of the problem.
There is no ambiguity with the word “Canadian”. “Canadian” is not a race (i.e. ethnicity), it is a nationality.
What does being “Chinese” mean?
“Chinese” is a loaded word. It is a race, a culture, a language, a nationality and a whole bunch of emotionally-charged stuff.
Other immigrants have no problem with being just Canadian, pure and simple, but somehow many Chinese immigrants find it difficult to separate these little compartments of their being. And so they feel a need to qualify their NATIONALITY by adding the RACIAL description “Chinese”, as if to set themselves apart from others.
Of course we can never change our “Chinese-ness” (nor should we), but calling ourselves Chinese-Canadian is to set ourselves up as “qualified” Canadians (i.e. conditional Canadians). You are free to do so，yes. But the problem with constantly trotting out your “Chinese-ness” is that you are sending the message to other Canadians that you are somehow DIFFERENT (to them that reads “superior”). If they then treat you “differently”, you have no right to complain.
After all is said and done, it boils down to this: It is simply not necessary to always mix nationality with race.
I swear (or affirm) That I will be faithful And bear true allegiance To Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, And that I will faithfully Observe the laws of Canada And fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.
Someone asked me once, "are you a Chinese? or are you Canadian?" My answer was: "I am Chinese Canadian." "But what if you have to pick one of them, which one would you pick, Chinese? or Canadian?" I said: "This is what I am, Chinese Canadian. I can't be one without the other."
There are ties that we can't severe. There are bonds we can't renounce. In doing this either/or, you have already lost your own personal integrity.
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;
昭君， 很多人以為柴可夫斯基的“一八一二序曲”是紀念1812年戰爭而寫的，但根據維基百科，“the 1812 Overture was written by Tchaikovsky in 1880 to commemorate Russia's defense of Moscow against Napoleon's advancing Grande Armee at the Battle of Borodino in 1812”。 (曲子是為紀念俄羅斯對抗拿破崙推進莫斯科的軍隊寫的，所以曲子裡有法國國歌 La Marsillaise 和俄羅斯的舊國歌 God Save the Czar 的片段。)
