 |
 |
 |
|
Major Immigrant Groups
The Asians
Asians were traditionally discouraged from immigrating to Canada on the grounds that they were believed to be inassimilable because of their foreign languages, manners, and customs. East Indian, Chinese, and Japanese immigrants faced perhaps the greatest discrimination of any nationalities in Canada and found the immigration experience a difficult one.
The Chinese
Between 1881 and 1884, 15,701 Chinese immigrants entered Canada to serve as a cheap source of labour. Half of this total was employed directly on labour crews for the Canadian Pacific Railway while others worked in the construction industry. Once the railway was completed and these workers were no longer of any use to industry leaders, the Chinese began to be viewed as a social and economic burden on Canada.
For these reasons, the Canadian government began to institute restrictions on the number of Chinese workers it admitted into the country. In 1885, Prime Minister John A. Macdonald taxed every Chinese person who wished to immigrate to Canada a sum of fifty dollars in an effort to dissuade Chinese people from coming to Canada. The government also limited the number of Chinese people allowed to be carried on ships that entered Canadian ports.
The Japanese
Only a few Japanese immigrants began immigrating to Canada by the 1880s. The number of Japanese immigrants coming to Canada prior to the First World War was low for a number of reasons. Although a tax of $25 was imposed on the entry of any Asian immigrants into Canada, the tax on Japanese immigrants was raised in 1903 to a terribly unreasonable five hundred dollars. Following anti-Asian riots in Vancouver, British Columbia, the Canadian government reached an agreement with the Japanese government in 1907 to limit the numbers of Japanese people immigrating to Canada.
The East Indians
The majority of East Indian immigrants chose to settle in British Columbia but not until the beginning of the twentieth century. Between 1904 and 1907, 5000 East Indian immigrants settled in the province. Poor economic conditions and political unrest in their native India had forced many East Indians to seek better opportunities elsewhere. Most of those who settled in British Columbia were young male Sikhs. They were content to live as peasant farmers or to work at odd jobs in cities to raise money to support their families in India. As a group, East Indian immigrants became well organized and were able to voice their concerns, especially regarding Canada’s immigration practices, which many believed to be restrictive and unfair.
The Restrictions
Asian immigrants faced prejudiced exclusionary measures that many other nationalities did not face. Native-born Canadians in British Columbia and elsewhere often let their dislike of Asian languages, manners, and customs boil over into angry riots. They were also upset over the supposed economic drain that Asian immigrants caused the Canadian taxpayer. In order to ease these tensions, Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier had to enforce a clause in the 1885 Indian Emigration Act. In 1907 he prohibited East Indians from immigrating to Canada under contracts. British legislators imposed regulations that prohibited any immigrants from coming to Canada unless they could do so without making any stops along the way and unless they had $200 on their person. These “continuous journey” and financial requirements meant that many Asians were unable to emigrate.
Provincial governments also implemented exclusionary measures intended to restrict Asian emigration. British Columbia imposed a series of restrictions on Chinese immigration beginning in 1884 when they were banned from acquiring land belonging to the government. Then, in 1890, they were prevented from working in mines. Finally, in 1897, they were barred from being employed on public works. In 1907, the British Columbia legislature disenfranchised Chinese, Japanese, and East Indian immigrants meaning that they were unable to vote or serve in political office, school boards, or juries.
