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
As a result the federal government did not take action at first. By 1885, the CPR was completed and the demands for action increased, so in order to satisfy the public, the government enacted the Immigration Act which included the head-tax. During this period, the Chinese entered the city looking for other sources of employment; as they would accept low-wages, businesses were willing to hire them. Although the $50 head-tax slowed immigration, the public kept pushing the government to be stricter as there were too many Chinese in the city. Again the government conformed to the wishes of the public and raised the tax to $100 in 1900. Most Chinese worked in the salmon canning industry (Wing), while others worked as chefs in restaurants making only a few dollars a week (Bright ,13). By sticking together and preserving their language and culture, Chinese gave Canadians more reason to discriminate against them. Chinese were completely a different race from the British, and as John A. Macdonald said, the Chinese migrant "is a stranger, a sojourner in a strange land ... he has no common interest with us ... he has no British instincts or British feelings or aspirations"; Canadians didn't believe that they could assimilate well into the Canadian
China living in Canada (male, female or kid) has to pay "$10" if coming to Canada via sea
For approximately 20 years after the repeal, it was extremely difficult for Chinese nationalists and their families to enter Canada together. The Order-in-Council, P.C. 2115 stipulated that entrance was limited to only spouses and children (under the age of 18) of Canadian citizens at a time when only 8 percent of Chinese-born residents were naturalized citizens. For other immigrants, there were no such restrictions. These restrictions were unfair and bias toward the Chinese community and limited the number of immigrants of Chinese descent in Canada. In 1967, immigration restrictions on the basis of race and national origin were finally removed. Chinese immigrants could now apply for entry on equal footing with other applicants. This allowed Chinese citizens to have a comparable chance to become apart of the Canada. Although the Act was repealed in 1947, it was not until 1967 when the bias against race was fully removed for these
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923 was a terrible thing the Canadian parliament did that showed a bad side if Canada.The Chinese Immigration Act, 1923, known today as the Chinese Exclusion Act, was an act passed by the Parliament of Canada. The Chinese Exclusion Act effectively closed off Chinese immigration to Canada.The Chinese Exclusion Act was terrible because only Chinese people were singled out completely from entering on the basis of race. Secondly, the act was borderline unfair to every person of Chinese descent as it ruined family and economic life for people of Chinese descent living in canada at the time. Finally, it promoted racism in the Canadian government, as they all thought it was a resounding success, and did not think they were doing anything wrong.
While Eastern European immigrants to the Prairies West experienced xenophobia and drawback in the 20th century. They were not taxed on entry in an effort to both restraint their numbers and to generate government income. This was the knowledge of Chinese immigrants under the Head Tax system. Nor were any European, American, or African immigrants challenged with special legislation to conclude the appearance of their family members and to stop additional immigration from their hereditary homeland. For the Japanese Canadian in World War II, the condition was starkly dissimilar: belongings was confiscated, auctioned off, and never returned.
This policy was abolished later on in the war. Additionally the government, as well as the military made it very difficult for racial minorities to ascend the ranks in the army. A lesser portion of the Chinese immigrants did not want to join the armed forces because they believed they had been treated unfairly. When World War II started, the head tax on Chinese immigrants had not yet been abolished. The Chinese people were discriminated against and were forced to pay to immigrate to Canada because of their ethnicity. It can be argued that this policy’s purpose was to discourage Chinese people from settling in Canada. The British Columbian and Saskatchewan government both disagreed with idea of enlisting Chinese Canadians in the army. They thought that after war, the Chinese Canadians would demand the right to vote. Although many Chinese Canadians, were opposed to fighting for Canada because of the discrimination that they faced (head tax), many youth still enlisted because they wanted to show their loyalty to their country. After Japan entered the war, the british began accepting Chinese Canadians to fight. They fought behind Japanese lines in China, Sarawak, Malaya. Although approximately 600 Chinese Canadians had served by the end of World War II, the contributions of many of these men went unnoticed. One such man was George Chow, who was accepted into the armed forces in 1940
After World War Two, Canada’s immigration policy changed. From World War Two to the 1960s, Canada’s immigration policy was restrictive and the government still favoured European and American immigrants because they were more likely to adapt to the Canadian society. The government did try to limit the number of other immigrants. By 1947, the Chinese Exclusion Act was revoked by the federal government. This was a step in the right direction to make Canada’s immigration policy to be more reasonable. By 1962, Canada removed regulations on immigrants from Africa, Asia and other countries. Under Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Canada’s immigration policy became “colour-blind”
Chinese immigration was stopped by the Chinese immigration act in 1923. The number of Japanese immigrants were restricted due to the gentlemen’s agreement. During the Second World War hostility towards Japanese Canadians rose significantly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The federal government ordered all Japanese Canadians to evacuate the pacific coast area. The government sold their properties, and planned to deport them back to Japan after the
In 1965, the last legal barrier to Chinese immigrants fell with the signing of a new law that ended immigration quotas based on race. In the 19th and early 20th centuries the story of the Chinese in America was primarily a legal drama, played out on the nation’s borders and in courts. After the new immigration law went into effect, it became a personal story told by one individual and by one family at a time.
In conclusion, Chinese immigrants came to America for gaining money and return to China. This is the main purpose for the most Chinese immigrants. Most of them worked at Railroad Company, so many laborers died after they began working. All
This stopped or at least slowed it down immigration for a while because no ships went straight from south Asian. On top of that the Canadian government and the Japanese government made an agreement that only 400 Japanese could immigrate to Canada in a year, in attempt to reduce the number of Japanese immigrants to Canada. With the head tax, the bill-49 and the agreement Canada did everything in its
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 limited the amount of immigrants that could come to America each year. The Chinese exclusion act was the first law limiting immigration. Politicians and labor leaders blamed the Chinese for depressed wage levels. The Chinese were not only discriminated against by the public but also by their employers who were taking advantage of their situation by lower wages and decreasing the work environment. Although the Chinese aren’t still suffering from discrimination immigrants everywhere are still tormented by discrimination.
Government allowed unequal pay. For example, a Chinese Immigrant made $5oo every two years; however, the head tax in order to get in to the country was $500. Immigrants of European descent were not required to pay a mandatory fee.
The first measure restricting immigration enacted by Congress was a law in 1862 forbidding American vessels to transport Chinese immigrants to Canada; 20 years later Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act excluding Chinese immigrants. In 1875, 1882, and 1892, acts passed by Congress provided for the examination of immigrants and for the exclusion from Canada of convicts, polygamists, prostitutes, persons suffering from loathsome or contagious diseases, and persons liable to become public charges. The Alien Contract Labor Laws of 1885, 1887, 1888, and 1891 prohibited the immigration to Canada of persons entering the country to work under contracts made before their arrival; professional actors, artists, singers, lecturers, educators, ministers, and personal and domestic servants were exempt from this provision. Alien skilled laborers, under these laws, were permitted to enter Canada to work in new industries. A diplomatic agreement made in 1907 by Canada and Japan provided that the Japanese government would not issue passports to Japanese laborers intending to enter Canada; under the terms of this agreement, Canada government refrained until 1924 from enacting laws excluding Japanese immigrants.
Canada has continuously served as a home to immigrants and refugees from decade to decade harbouring people from a variety of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. The first set of immigrants to settle in the country came from Britain, the United States and from other nationalities mostly including immigrants from Europe who were either desperate to escape from religious or political turmoil or were simply attracted to Canada’s economic promise. Soon after the Canadian confederation in 1867, immigrants from Irish and Chinese backgrounds who occupied most of the country were used as workers and the demand for labourers to