Room for All of Us

In this unusually revealing personal inquiry, former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson explores the immigrant experience through the people who have helped transform Canada.

The Canadians she befriends—whether an Ismaili politician, a Holocaust survivor, a Chilean artist, or a Vietnam War deserter—illustrate the changing idea of what it means to be Canadian and the kind of country we have created over the decades. Like her, many of the people who came to Canada did not have a real choice; they often arrived friendless and with a sense of loss. Yet their struggles and successes have enriched our country immeasurably. What drove them to become the kind of people they have become? What would have happened to them if Canada had…