Komagata Maru Incident

Wave of Immigration Early 20th century – Canada experienced a significant increase in immigration People came to Canada for opportunities to own their own land and to have a better life Canadian government promoted and offered inducements to people from the United States and northern and eastern Europe to settle on the prairies

Not All Immigrants Were Welcomed Many Canadians did not like the arrival of the newcomers At this time in our history, many Canadians were ethnocentric They believed that their race, ethnic group, or culture was superior to all others Many groups of Canadians began to resent the government’s “open door” immigration policy.

Some labour organizations felt that immigrants threatened their members’ livelihoods Some British-Canadians feared that immigrants from eastern, central, and southern Europe would change the British character of the country French-speaking Canadians were afraid that their culture and language were threatened by the immigrants

Business Supported Immigration Business people supported immigration in the boom times Immigrants were a cheap pool of labour Employers in mines, forests, and canneries encouraged the arrival of hard-working Asian immigrants, who accepted lower pay than other workers

By “Continuous Passage” Only Many Sikhs from India had also been encouraged to come to Canada It was difficult to restrict East-Indian immigration because as British subjects they could not be denied entry to Canada To prevent the entry of East Indians into Canada, government changed the Immigration Act in 1906

Immigrants were now required to come to Canada via a non-stop, direct route from their country of origin A direct or “continuous passage” from India was impossible Canadian government thought it had solved the problem of Asian immigration In practice this applied only to ships that began their voyage in India, as the great distance usually necessitated a stopover in Japan or Hawaii. These regulations came at a time when Canada was accepting massive numbers of immigrants (over 400,000 in 1913 alone – a figure that remains unsurpassed to this day), almost all of whom came from Europe.

Komagata Maru In 1914, Gurdit Singh, a Sikh businessman, challenged the continuous passage amendment He chartered a steamer called the Komagata Maru to transport 354 Sikh immigrants to Vancouver Ship left Hong Kong on April 4, 1914, stopped in China and Japan, and arrived in Vancouver on May 23, 1914

Was carrying 376 passengers from Punjab, British India. Of them 24 were admitted to Canada, but the 352 other passengers were not allowed to land in Canada, and the ship was forced to return to India. The passengers consisted of 340 Sikhs, 24 Muslims, and 12 Hindus, all British subjects.

Canadian authorities quarantined the ship, so its passengers could not land Almost 200 police and immigration officers tried to board the ship, but they were pelted with bottles and sticks After two months of being moored in Vancouver harbour, the Komagata Maru was forced to return to India – all of its passengers had been refused entry into Canada

Government of Canada apology