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Why Chinese Immigrants Came To Canada

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Why did the Chinese immigrants flux into to Canada? Firstly, the Chinese foreigners hurried into Canada in 1856, to search for gold in British Columbia. When the gold was discovered, numerous Chinese people who had been working in California raced into the region. The vast majority of these migrants were youthful, landless, ignorant men from the area of Guangdong in southern China. They came for the gold, and to escape the horrible conditions in China. The Chinese immigrants came to Canada via boat. They started landing in the Fraser River valley from San Francisco, as gold miners. Secondly, the next rush of Chinese immigrants came to Canada in the 1880s to build the last area of the Canadian Pacific Railway in British Columbia. They were …show more content…

For example, the Chinese were the first people to be excluded because of their ethnicity. The Chinese Immigration act started in 1923. They had to pay a head tax, they were the only group that had to pay. The Chinese individuals needed to pay $50 to come and live Canada. That may not seem like a lot but back then it was lots of money. The Chinese immigrants were given certificates as proof of head tax payment. They were officially called C.I.5, the C.I stood for Chinese Immigration. The certificates contained the name, dates of arrival, and the amount paid. If the Chinese people wanted to travel to China, they had to get an official stamp on the authentication to come back to Canada. If they didn't they would pay the head tax. Let alone, the Chinese head tax price increased. It started off at $50, later raised to $100, then $500. The higher the prices got, the harder it was for the Chinese people to come to Canada. If a Chinese immigrant came here illegally or didn’t pay the tax, they would be arrested. People like Xun 'Sunny' Wang, have already been sentenced to seven years in jail. Sometimes they would be deported and went back to China. People like Victor Wong of the Vancouver Association of Chinese Canadians were defending the immigrants, "These people have suffered. They have been incarcerated all this time [eight months]and now they are forcibly repatriated without the dignity of advance notice,". The …show more content…

For one thing, the Chinese head tax was collected on Chinese immigration to Canada between 1885 and 1923, under the Chinese Immigration Act (1885). With a couple of special cases, Chinese individuals needed to pay $50 (later raised to $100, then $500) to come and live Canada. The most messed up, most devastating thing was that they left their families back in China. The head tax made it impossible for a Chinese worker to bring their families to Canada. The Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper (in 2006) apologized to Chinese immigrants, and their families, “symbolic payments to living head tax payers and living spouses of deceased payers.”. As a matter of fact, for decades, the Chinese immigrants were treated poorly. They couldn't vote, practice law or medicine and hold public office. They were being discriminated and felt hated. A Chinese head tax payer said that he was too scared to show his family his Chinese head tax certificate. He was scared to show them it because he didn’t want them to have any bad feelings about living in Canada. It was hard for the survivors because their families couldn't speak English. So when they would reunite it would be hard, if they could reunite. A Chinese head tax payer said that he was too scared to show his family his Chinese head tax certificate. He was scared to show them it because he didn’t want them to have any bad feelings about

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