The reason why Ondaatje named the novel "The English Patient" is because Britain, as the core country of the Commonwealth, once had extraordinary cohesion. Although this cohesion is no longer what it used to be when the novel was written, her influence will continue to exist and play an important role in the vast former colonial areas. Due to historical reasons, members of the British Empire after independence such as India and Canada all have the same imprint of British colonial rule in terms of immigrant composition, cultural background, and development paths. The feelings of people in these countries towards their former suzerains are love-hate and indescribable, just like Caravaggio and Kip in the novel: When his guess was finally confirmed, Caravaggio decided not to pursue the bet, and Kip Pu then pointed his gun at the "British" patient he respected.

"The English Patient" took nearly six years from conception to completion. Its creation coincided with the introduction of Canada's multicultural policy. In order to ease conflicts among immigrant ethnic groups, support various ethnic groups in developing their own national culture, and protect their equal status in cultural customs and social life, the Canadian government actively promotes "multicultural" policies.